Banana Coconut and Oat Bars

These bars are easy to whip up and great for lunch box snacks, I have also used this recipe as a base to a banana cheesecake before, works a treat!

Ingredients

• 2 ½ large very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon on vanilla bean paste
• 2 cups of rolled oats
• ¼ cup pitted, chopped dried dates
• ¼ cup of chopped nuts, such as walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans
• 2 tablespoons of finely desiccated coconut, and a little extra to sprinkle on top
• Nutmeg, to your taste (optional)

Method

1. Heat oven to 175 degrees and lightly grease a 20×20 cm square baking dish with olive oil or line it with some baking paper.
2. Puree the banana so they’re in liquid form with no large chunks. You should have approx. between 1-1 ¼ cup).
3. Stir in the vanilla bean paste, along with the oats, coconut, dates, and nuts.
4. Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. Sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg and the coconut.
5. Bake for 30 mins or until the edges begin to crisp up.
6. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool.
7. When the pan is mostly cool cut into bars and enjoy.
8. Store at room temperature and they’ll keep for 5 days.
9. They also freeze well.