Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Low Fat Vegan Banana Bars

These little bars are very kid-friendly and make a perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack for kids and adults alike.

They're simple to make and frugal - a great replacement for those overpriced boxes of bars from the "healthy" aisle at the supermarket.

This is a forgiving recipe that you can make without actually measuring if you like. The measurements below are what I used this time and it worked well. But, I usually don't measure at all to make this one.

Banana Bars
Stir together:
5 overripe bananas, mashed
3 1/2 cups Quick Oats (If all you have is old fashioned oats, pulse them in the food processor to make them "quick" - if you're Gluten Free, be sure to buy GF oats)
1/2 cup raisins*
Press with wet hands in small cookie sheet lined with nonstick foil, or in oiled pan (9x12 or so)
Bake 400 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes, till it pulls from sides of pan and edges are golden-brown.

*Optional: Any type of dried fruit or nuts may be used, in accordance with your preferences. if you buy chocolate chip granola bars for the kids at the grocery, don't hesitate to throw chocolate chips in here!

Cut with pizza wheel or knife.

Mash Banana with Fork, and stir vigorously.

Stir in oats and raisins or other add-ins.

Press in to prepared pan with wet hands.

May be served plain for breakfast, snacks or picnics. Good spread with peanut butter, or topped with apple slices. These freeze well, and are pretty tasty straight from the freezer. Also good toasted in the toaster-oven to reheat.

This is being shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
Healthy School Lunch Ideas/A Life in Balance

Cooking for the Single Vegan or other Special Diet

There are lots of single vegans out there - or people who for some other reason eat differently from their families. Some live alone, others live with omnivores who eat radically different meals (Perhaps one spouse enjoys fast food, while the other is eating Lenten meals).

Sometimes it seems like a big hassle to cook just for yourself. A lot of vegans fall into the hummus-bread-and-veggies-for-every-meal rut. And, that's IS a great meal - but you probably don't want it every lunch and every dinner for the next ten years!

And, sometimes looking at the task of preparing dinner when you're ravenous just makes you want to reach for the nearest bag of chips!

There are some cookbooks that specialize in recipes for just one person - but that really doesn't fit my style. You end up doing just as much work as if you were cooking for a large family, but only have one meal to show for it.

When I was single, I did bulk cooking for the freezer, which saved a lot of time and money, and ensured I had lunch to take to work in the daytime, and a meal to eat as soon as I walked in the door from work. No need to cook when starving after a long day's work!

What I did was this: I made standard recipes that were designed for 4 to 6 servings. As they finished cooking, I would eat one serving if I wanted - then would package the remaining servings in single-serving-size freezer containers, label them and pop them in the freezer.

Of course, no one wants to eat the same food every meal - so I would overlap cooking sessions (maybe making one dish on Saturday, and before those dishes were all consumed, another on Monday after dinner! Cooking after dinner is pretty enjoyable - you're not grumpy, tired from work and too hungry : ) As I added dishes to the freezer, I would end up with a selection of 6 or 7 different favorite dishes to choose from.

This method also works well if you have two people who aren't always hungry for the same thing the other one is eating every night.

This post is also being shared at Penny Pinching Party and Healthy Vegan Fridays 
and Living Big on Less Money

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