Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars

I've been on a quest to find a healthy, oatmeal bar to replace my addition to the sugar laden Quaker Oatmeal To-Go bars. I used this recipe as a jumping point (found at kateats.com) and made  two variations which I have posted below the original recipe.

I also plan on trying them with PB2, which is powdered peanut butter. This variation would call for 1/2 cup of PB and I'm thinking about adding raisins or some semi-sweet mini chocolate chips as a treat.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used 1/4 cup cranberry trail mix, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup chopped dried "just banana" from TJ’s)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1.25 cups skim milk
• 1 egg or egg substitute
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet ingredients.
4. Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine.
5. Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Cut into 9 squares.

Makes 9 servings . Each bar is appx. 165 calories

**You can double the recipe and use a 9×13 baking dish. While delicious, the only sweetness in these comes from the dried fruit. Add in 1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar if you like.

The variations are endless: cranberries, coconut, all kinds of dried fruit, nuts, etc.

Banana-Craisin Oatmeal Bars:

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
• 1 cup Almond Milk, Unsweetened, Vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 scoop of Vanilla whey protein (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Following cooking directions above, however I removed the bars from the pan, flipped them, placed the large square onto foil and baked for an additional 10-minutes to dry out the bottom side.

Makes 9 servings . Each bar is appx. 170 calories

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup Almond Milk, Unsweetened, Vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Following cooking directions above, however I removed the bars from the pan, flipped them, placed the large square onto foil and baked for an additional 10-minutes to dry out the bottom side.

Makes 9 servings . Each bar is appx. 80 calories. These came out a little flatter than the banana ones and would make a great snack.

* If you make a variation of these or if you already make your own homemade oatmeal bars, I would love to hear about your recipe!