Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

I feel like I go through the motions of life a lot lately. Work for 8 hours, come home, work-out, clean, spend time with H and go to bed. It’s sort of sad how often I don’t take a step back, and count my blessings until something tragic happens to someone close to me.

It makes me embrace the little things in life, and I wish I did this more often. I may not be the healthiest, smartest or prettiest person on the planet (which I constantly knock myself down for), but gosh darnit, I’m a lucky gal. I live with a great husband who appreciates me for all of my quirks; I have a wonderful, crazy, supportive family; I have a job that is directly related to my college degree; and I have a dog that will make H and I smile, no matter how hard our days are…..to name a few.

There’s also the simple pleasures in life….finding a cute dress on clearance for 75% off, kicking a work-out’s booty, finishing a craft project…all of these little things make my life what it is, and I’m so lucky to say that it’s a great life. When it comes to food, the simplest things can be wonderful too. Sure, I love a beautiful, decorated cake, but something as simple as these banana oat bars can be love at first bite, too. While I love my stand mixer, I just adore recipes that can be mixed with a wooden spoon in a bowl. Less dishes, and for some reason, I feel like a little more love goes into dishes like this.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Source: mildly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large mashed ripe bananas
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour or use baking spray on the interior of a 15×10 inch baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Whisk the first 4 ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the applesauce and the two sugars. Beat the mixture for about 2-3 minutes, until well-blended. Add the eggs in, one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Mix in the bananas and vanilla for another minute.
4. Stir in the flour/oats mixture, until just mixed, and then fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared baking sheet, and bake the bars for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top of the bars are golden. Cool the bars completely in the baking sheet on a cooling rack, cut into bars and serve.