Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bars

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bars

a.k.a "Crack Bars"

"Simma down now!" (SNL quote for those of you quote inclined... which is usually me!) Before you go calling the police on me because I made crack bars hear me out... you'll be addicted as quick as I was.

... this is a serious matter. I was paroosing my normal food blogs and stumbled across a recipe entitled "crack bars". I was hooked immediately because a mother at my school makes cake balls also known as "crack balls" (because they are soooo delicious and addicting... only legal:) and any food with the word "crack" in it automatically means it's going to be really good! When I clicked the recipe link this is what I found... my newest healthy addiction! They are so delicious and very easy to make.

In the words of my grandma "hot diggity dog! They look so good they'll makes ya wana slap ya momma!" 

Picture and recipe courtesy of Clean Eating Chelsey (my pictures as you can see below are terrible and I knew they wouldn't entice you to make this recipe... so thank you Chelsey!)

Let's rewind for a moment. I teach during the year and nanny during the summers. The girls I nanny are like my daughters/sisters. I've been watching them since they were in diapers and now they are moving on to 2nd and 1st grade (holy cow!). I love them dearly! Last summer I started nannying the day school let out up until school started again. We had a blast but I was burnt out. So this summer I decided to work Monday-Thursday and take Friday's off for myself. Anywho back to where I was going with this... last Thursday the girls wanted to bake some goodies which was a perfect time to get this recipe underway. We went to the store and got them the cupcake mix they wanted and all the ingredients for these delicious bars. After the girls made their cupcakes they wanted to help me out as well! (It lasted for 2 minutes but they helped me get things rolling). 

So without further adieu (drum roll please.....)

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bars ("crack bars") Love this blog!

What you'll need:

 

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bars (makes 16-20 bars, depending on cutting preferences)

• 1 and 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 and 3/4 cups gluten free oats  (I couldn't find gf oats and regular ones don't bother... your choice)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 banana, smashed
• 2 tbsp. agave nectar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 pound strawberries, divided
• 3 dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, oats, baking soda, and salt – mix these ingredients together. In another small mixing bowl, combine your smashed banana, vanilla, agave, water, and almond milk. Stir until semi-smooth and add to your dry ingredients. Stir the bar batter until the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated. Set aside the batter.

To make the filling, first hull all of your strawberries. In a food processor, process 3/4 of the strawberries with the dates. Dice the rest of the strawberries and add them to the strawberry filling.

To assemble the bars, first spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray (or coat with coconut oil – yum!). Spread half of the batter evenly on the bottom of the pan and top with the strawberry filling. Gently drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top of the filling. Lastly, sprinkle the bars with coconut and cinnamon and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. 

Here's my product picture: 

                                                          Here's Chelsey's product picture:

There's clearly NO comparison! (not to self learn how to set up a food photo shoot!) Sorry for the lack of decadent, beautiful photography... I'll work on that. But seriously how can you look at this and not want to make it?! 

What's even better is that they are a great snack/treat and my favorite thing to do with them is to crumble one up and put it in my morning yogurt... YUM-O (thank you Rachel Ray for that saying).

I made a batch of these with the little girls and took them to Mike's parents boat house this past weekend because his family was in town and they were a hit! So my plan is to make another BIG batch this Friday and pack them up for my family's beach trip next week!

So there ya have it.... crack bars in all their glory! I'm tempted to play around with the ingredients and maybe try some different fruit inside this time. I'll keep you posted!

Enjoy!

PS: what should I make next?!