Blueberry Oat Snack Bars

As summer is coming to a close I find myself gripping to any summer related food as tightly as I can. Although fall is my favorite season I know if I embrace the squash world too soon then I will regret not having fully taken advantage of the last of sun kissed blueberries, tomatoes and peaches. Because they are SO GOOD right now!!!

This recipe came together at the end of my most recent trip with the mister to Germany. His mother lives in their family farmhouse in the countryside in Bavaria and it is pure peaceful bliss. We wake up with the rooster next door, we laugh when the chickens fly over the fence into her garden, we have tea in the courtyard and spend days taking walks, breathing in the clean air and just embracing the most lovely of low stress environments.

As we were preparing for our flight back to the US I realized we had lots of blueberries and bananas that were on their last leg. I also remembered that preparing for an international flight is always more enjoyable when I have nutritious, gluten free (for me) and peanut free (for the mister) snacks at the ready. Sometimes the food is spot on and sometimes it’s a complete disaster of fried nonsense.

Hence the Blueberry Oat Snacker. It’s not too sweet, not too gummy, not to difficult and a beautiful way to use up those blueberries and ripe bananas! The bottom crust and the top “streusel” is the same mixture so that’s nice and easy. The filling is thickened with flax meal but you can easily substitute chia meal or even chia seeds if that’s what you have at the ready. Just be sure to let it sit longer if you are using the actual chia seed, another 15-20 minutes should do just fine. I used quinoa flour to give you a nice pop of protein and the whole oats give a good chewy texture to the bar. Cardamom is one of my most favorite spices but if you don’t love it then simply substitute 2 t. of cinnamon. See! It’s so easy to use a recipe as a template that you can then shift, stress free! It’s my mantra of the fall season post this trip to Germany.

And if I get to eat these beauties to remind me of my time spent in the Bavarian countryside then that makes them that much sweeter.

Blueberry Oat Snack Bars

Makes 12 bars 

• 2 c. fresh or frozen, thawed blueberries
• 3 T. ground golden flax meal
• 2 T. fresh lemon zest
• 2 T. maple syrup

Crust

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 T. melted coconut oil, butter or safflower oil
• 2 T. maple syrup
• 2 T. lemon zest
• 1 c. old fashioned oats
• 1 c. quinoa flour
• ½ t. ground cardamom
• ¼ c. lightly ground almonds or pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl mix together the blueberries, flax meal, lemon zest and maple syrup. Set aside. If you are using fresh blueberries lightly mash some of them with the back of a fork.
3. In another medium bowl mix together all the crust ingredients until evenly moistened. Reserve about 1 cup for the topping and press the rest into the 8×8 pan.
4. Spoon the blueberry mixture on top of the bottom crust and then sprinkle reserve crust on top.
5. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown.
6. Let sit about an hour and then slice and enjoy!

happy, healthy eating!

~kendra