Strawberry Quinoa Bars
The perfect grab-go-breakfast or anytime snack you'll love that you can feel absolutey good about eating.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked, cooled quinoa (cooked in water not broth)
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (instant works fine as well)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
- 2 tbsps honey
- 1 lg egg, lightly whisked
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp milled flax seeds + 3 tbsps water)
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp tahini (or nut/seed butter of choice)
- 2 tsps fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F/ 177C. Spray an 8x8" or 9x9" square baking dish with baking spray and line with parchment paper going up the sides for easier removal.
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First prepare the flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp milled flax seeds with 3 tbsps of water in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
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In a large bowl, mash the bananas. (Be sure they equal 1 cup.) Add the honey, whisked egg, tahini, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla and stir to completely combine.
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Then stir in the flax egg, which should have thickened a bit.
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Now add the oats, cooked (cooled) quinoa, hemp seeds and baking powder. Stir it all together until almost completely combined. And fold in the chopped strawberries last.
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Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, level to even out and place in the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake for about 25-35 minutes until the top is set and no longer wet. The edges should be just slightly golden brown.
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While they are absolutely divine warm out of the pan. If you let them cool a bit on a cooling rack, you can lift the parchment out and cut them more easily into bars.
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Store the leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or tightly wrapped in the freezer for 2 months. Thaw in the refrigertator.
Recipe Notes
*If you don't already have cooked quinoa on hand, you can cook 1/2 cup dry quinoa with about 1 cup of water and follow the instructions on your package. (generally a 2:1 ratio water to quinoa cooked about 20 minutes.) Cool it completely once its cooked and measure out the 1 cup you need for this recipe.
*To make these vegan, skip the egg and use 2 flax eggs (2 tbsps ground flax + 6 tbsps water.)
*You can sub any berries you'd like for the strawberries. Other fruits would be nice too.
*The honey can be replaced with maple syrup, coconut sugar or if you're going completely sugar free, I've had succes with xylitol.