Banana Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Over the years I have been becoming more and more conscious about what I put into my body.  Instead of just putting items into my cart at the grocery store I am now looking into the nutritional value of the items I buy.  In my opinion, the problem with most store bought granola bars that are reasonably priced is all the extras that are in them, they are not very filling and nutritionally speaking they don't give you a lot of bang for you buck.
This conclusion caused me to start looking for recipes for home made granola bars and this is one of the first recipes I came across and I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand, including a banana that was desperately hoping not to end up in the freezer.  I found it a very easy recipe to prepare and it did not take long to put together.  It is easy enough to make when you have half an hour to spare and want to do something productive but not too complicated.

Banana Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup mashed banana

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups oats

3 cups rice crispy cereal

3 tbsp flax seeds

3 tbsp sunflower seeds

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)

1. Beat together the eggs, yogurt, mashed banana, vanilla and sugar in a bowl.

2. Add the flour, baking soda and wheat germ in small bits at a time, while mixing.

3. Stir in the flax seed, sunflower seeds, oats, rice crispy cereal, chocolate chips and walnuts.

4. Pour the batter into a foil lined 10x10 pan.  (If you would like thinner bars use a larger pan)

5. Bake at 375 F for 8-12 minutes or long enough for the top to turn golden brown but still be moist.

6. Let the bars cool in the pan for about ten minutes before cutting them into your desired size.

The original recipe can be seen here.