For quite a while I have been searching for a cheap, homemade replacement for CLIF Bars, which I love but, you know, they’re more than $1 apiece and I’m a tightwad. Earlier this year I thought I had found the right recipe, but the bars wouldn’t hold together. I ended up with a very serviceable granola: nothing went to waste, but it didn’t live up to its promise. Now I think I have hit on a real winner.
I spotted this recipe online, then customized it to my own tastes. The most important change I made was to add a third banana, as the mixture seemed too dry when I used only two as recommended.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mash 3 medium-sized bananas to create a “batter”
- Add 1½ cups of rolled oats
- Add ⅓ cup of raisins
- Add 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
- Mix thoroughly by hand
- Form into 9-10 CLIF Bar-sized servings (these will not spread out as they bake)
- Place on a baking sheet coated lightly with cooking spray
- Bake for 15 minutes
The result is really satisfying to eat and something I think I could wrap in plastic and take on a long bike ride without any mess. (The chocolate chips in the original recipe could be a problem.) The finished product doesn’t make my fingers sticky. These are easy to digest too: simple, natural ingredients with no added sugar.
If you know me well, then you know that I am no cook! This recipe, though, barely qualifies as cooking. It’s so easy. And obviously it’s customizable. Maybe someday soon I will try dried cranberries or chopped dates instead of raisins. But what I really want to try is to take these out of the kitchen and onto the bike.
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