Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars

I like creating recipes and using ingredients that are a little surprising or unique. I think it is fun and important to be willing to try new things. You never know what you might like! These bars are a fun way to eat quinoa, vegetables and fruit in bar form for breakfast, a snack or dessert! Plus, they are only sweetened with fruit, not sugar! I always like making recipes that sneak in as many vegetables or fruit as possible. You could easily replace the carrot with zucchini for a zucchini bread bar or omit the veggies and add chocolate chips or just include more raisins for a sweeter treat since as the recipe is, they aren't super sweet. Play around with the ingredients and see which combination you like best. While I used an egg, these could quickly be made vegan by subbing in a flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water). Make these on the weekend and freeze them in individual baggies for a quick grab-and-go breakfast or snack/dessert during the week!

Servings: 12
Prep/Total Time: 40 min

Ingredients:
Bars

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 2 ripe bananas, chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup carrots, finely shredded
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Frosting

• 4 oz banana puree baby food
• 3 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of ginger
• dash of salt

Directions:
Bars

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F while the quinoa is cooking.
2. Add the bananas, applesauce and peanut butter to a large bowl and mash everything together with a fork and then use a hand mixer to blend on high speed until smooth.
3. Add in the vanilla and egg and blend until thoroughly combined.
4. Add the oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the bowl and mix well.
5. When the quinoa is ready and slightly cooled, add in with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Fold in the raisins and pumpkin seeds.
7. Line a 9x11 baking sheet (with edges) with parchment paper and dump the mixture on the pan and smooth it out.
8. Bake for 35 minutes or until slightly brown and edges are starting to peel away from the sides.
9. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then finish on a cooling rack until completely cool to touch before cutting into bars.

Frosting

1. While the bars are cooling, make the frosting (if you want). They also taste great without it, too!
2.  Combine the banana baby food, peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt and mix on high until everything is incorporated and smooth. Add more peanut butter if it looks like it needs to be a little thicker. Add frosting to a piping bag or baggie with the tip cut off and drizzle over the bars before serving.

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