Nom-Rating: *** (3/5)
We’ve been back from Belize for one week and I m still enjoying cooking with Belizean-type ingredients. I’ve fallen in love with the BBQ Shrimp Quesadillas that I made earlier in the week and despite the fact that we ate them three times (gotta love leftovers), I’m contemplating making them again this weekend!
Besides all the seafood, another great component of many meals in Belize was the tropical fruit. Pineapple, mango, starfruit, mamifruit (no idea how to spell this and not even sure if I say it correctly) and papaya, just to name a few. In honor of all the great fruit we ate (and some of the not so great fruit), I decided to make a delicious looking recipe from this month’s Simple and Delicious magazine, Banana Macadamia Muffins.
Except not.
I didn’t have any macadamia nuts, so then they became banana muffins. And although I do like muffins, they’re not my favorite because I have trouble eating them if it’s not breakfast time. Sooo, I took the recipe, left out the macadamia nuts, added more pineapple (and a bunch of other stuff), baked them in a 9×13 pan and called them banana pineapple granola bars. Ta Da!
You’re going to love them! And you can eat them any time of day because they’re granola bars! And they are semi-healthy (emphasis on semi)!
And they’re mixed up in one bowl!
Dry ingredients go in first.
Next, add the eggs, oil and vanilla.
Now for the fun part! This is where you can choose whatever add-ins you would like in your granola bars. The bananas, pineapple, honey and oatmeal are important, but the coconut, chocolate chips and macadamia nuts are all option. Come up with your own deliciousness…or just stick to mine. Either way!
After everything is nice and mixed up, spread the mixture in two 13×9 inch pans.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean. I would tell you to let them cool for about 5 minutes before attempting to eat one, but I didn’t wait, so go for it. Just be careful not to burn your tongue.
Verdict: I eat granola bars almost every day, so I’ve been waiting to find a good recipe that will allow me to make my own. This recipe was super tasty and I loved eating these for breakfast, lunch, snack-time, pretty much whenever. Unfortunately, they’re only marginally healthy, so I’ll either need to tweak this recipe a bit more or find a different one to work with. If you’re going for taste, these are true winners, but if you’re asking your granola bars to be more than just a tasty snack, this recipe falls a bit short.
Nom-Rating: *** (3/5)
Oh, granola bars are definitely healthy. Living in the tropics, i get all these tropical fruits all the time! i guess its time to throw them into a granola bar soon!