I am always trying to figure out new creative ways to get Bode to eat healthy and try new foods, and at this age he prefers to feed himself which means that my recipes need to be handheld.  I made teething biscuits at one point and they were yummy but fell apart too easily,  I’ve thought about granola bars but they might be a little tough for his teeth, so I decided to make Baked Banana, Blueberry, Oatmeal bars.   This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found on SkinnyTaste.com but improvised to make mini muffins vs. bars.  My son LOVES sweets so I wanted to make sure whatever I made tasted good but didn’t have too much sugar.  The sugar in this recipe comes from honey and the fruit (bananas and blueberries) so its not too sweet but tastes just like oatmeal – YUM!  I’d make this again as regular size muffins vs. mini muffins or serve it as bars for a ‘breakfast-themed’ event…

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas, (the riper the better) sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 blueberries
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup uncooked quick oats
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk (I used organic whole milk but according to the SkinnyTaste website you can use fat free milk)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly spray your pan of choice (muffin tin, or baking dish) and set aside.

Place the sliced bananas in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  Add the blueberries on top of the sliced bananas, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tbsp of the honey and cover with foil.  Bake for 7 minutes (if doing muffins and longer if doing bars) or until the bananas get soft.

While the fruit is baking, combine the dry ingredients – oats, nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, salt and mix together.

In another bowl whisk the wet ingredients – milk, vanilla extract, 1 egg, and honey.

Once you remove the bananas and blueberries from the oven, pour the dry mixture over the top.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and make sure its all distributed evenly.

Bake the oatmeal for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and oatmeal has set.

Serve warm.