Let me tell you, it's hard coming up with so many different ways to use spinach! Sometimes a little inspiration is required...like today. I found a pin on Pinterest from the Undressed Skeleton blog with a recipe to make Banana Spinach Protein Bars. It sounds seriously crazy, but just like the blog says, you can't even taste the spinach because of all the banana. Honestly, I was really skeptical about that description and about the taste in general, but I've found that I'll really try anything at least once (even if that means I have to suck it up and literally eat all the failure when I'm done).
After following the original recipe, I tweaked it just a little to get a little more, nutrition-wise, out of each bite. I think I added too much banana on accident which made it a bit extra liquidy, so I added more flax seed meal and more protein powder than the recipe originally called for. Also the directions for what kind of vessel to cook them in was pretty ambiguous, so I just guessed on that. My tweaked version of the recipe is below. Small warning: It came out a little dry in the middle, but if you can live with that, go for it! If I make these again, I'd probably add more banana to keep it moist.
After following the original recipe, I tweaked it just a little to get a little more, nutrition-wise, out of each bite. I think I added too much banana on accident which made it a bit extra liquidy, so I added more flax seed meal and more protein powder than the recipe originally called for. Also the directions for what kind of vessel to cook them in was pretty ambiguous, so I just guessed on that. My tweaked version of the recipe is below. Small warning: It came out a little dry in the middle, but if you can live with that, go for it! If I make these again, I'd probably add more banana to keep it moist.
Banana Spinach Protein Bars
Crosscut of the finished product!
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
Directions:
Original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp ground flax/flax seed meal
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp PB2 (peanut flour, or can substitute with natural nut butter of choice)
- 3 scoops vanilla protein powder (but I considered chocolate as well)
- 1 large banana (or two small bananas), extra ripe and mashed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 C spinach, chopped
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8"x8" pan with nonstick spray.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until everything is well mixed and evenly distributed.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 12-13 minutes. The edges should be golden brown.
- Let the bars cool before cutting them.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or longer in the fridge.
Original recipe can be found here.