Heart-y Cranberry Bars

The Recipe's Story

My  good friend Katelyn passed along a heart healthy breakfast cookie recipe to me which I had to try. As a new mom I like having a quick one handed breakfast to start my day right. These bars are portioned out, crumble free and best of all these bars are very flavorful.

I liked the original healthy recipe but found some of the ingredients hard to find or expensive. I adapted the recipe to make these bars moister and a bit more cost friendly. One or two of these make a good alternative to a granola bar snack and three make a well balanced breakfast.

This breakfast is filled with heart healthy, weight friendly ingredients. Using honey as opposed to sugar does not significantly cut down on calories if you substitute tsp. to tsp. but honey is sweeter so you use less and therefore save calories. Flax meal, pecans and cranberries are great sources of antioxidants. Canola oil, pecans and flax meal offer Omega 3. Bananas have a whole host of nutrient rich components among them potassium. Lastly, these are high in fiber with oats and fruit. These bars a a staple in our home.

Heart-y Cranberry Bars

3/4 cup quick oats

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (can be stored in the freezer up to one year)

1/2 tsp. flax meal

1/4 tsp. salt

3/8 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 mashes ripe bananas

1/8 cup canola oil

1 tsp. honey

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine oats, coconut, flax meal, salt, pecans and cranberries. Stir in bananas, oil, honey and vanilla until combined.

3. Press a heaping tablespoon of mixture into a two inch cookie cutter of choice onto the cookie sheet. Continue with the remaining mixture.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the pan.

Servings: 8

Calories: 165 per bar