Protein and prebiotic packed Oat, Quinoa and Nut bars

These are protein packed, super nourishing snack bars, that will boost a mid-afternoon slump or satisfy a sweet craving, and thanks to the nuts and seeds they won’t spike your blood sugar. They are even good for your gut microbiome by providing lots of prebiotic fibre.

Ingredients

2 cups of oats

½ cup of quinoa

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas

½ cup dried fruit (I had a packet of mixed vine fruit, but chopped figs and apricots would be delicious too!)

½ cup of mixed chopped nuts or mixed seeds

3 tbsp honey or maple syrup

4-5 nut butter of choice

Method

·      Heat the oven to 180 degrees

·      Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl

·      Mash the bananas with the vanilla, nut butter and honey

·      Add to the oat mix, then add in the dried fruit and nuts/seeds

·      Combine well and check consistency, it should be sticking together well without being too runny

·      Press the mixture into a parchment paper lined tray, to create a 2cm depth bar

·      Bake for 20-25 mins until browning slightly at the edges

·      Leave to cool and then cut into bars

You could add a drizzle of dark chocolate over them for an added shot of flavour and polyphenols