Sometimes around this time of the year I get a little overzealous about all of the summertime fruit that’s in peak season. I eat a ton of fruit, but I wind up getting excited and buying more fruit than even I can eat before it gets too ripe.
Case in point was a few weeks ago, when I found myself driving past a strawberry farm stand while out running errands. I simply had to pop in and buy not one, not two, but three pints of strawberries (it was a buy more kind of deal!)… after I had just nabbed a big bag of cherries and a yuuuugggge container of blueberries, on top of my usual banana and apple purchases.
For the next few days, I ate lots of fruit: threw some on top of smoothie bowls, in my cereal, mixed in with yogurt, on its own as a healthy dessert… but I couldn’t eat all of the fruit fast enough.
So, I did what any good baker would do and I started coming up with ways to use some of the fruit in baked goods… hence today’s recipe!
These strawberry banana bread bars make for a nice light breakfast, snack or dessert. Featuring diced fresh strawberries and mashed banana, they’re a great recipe to whip up in the summertime while berries are at their sweetest!
Do you guys go overboard on your fruit buying this time of the year? Or am I the only one? At least it tends to result in some delicious baked goods in my kitchen!
Strawberry Banana Bread Bars [vegan]
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup strawberries diced
- 2 cups whole wheat flour*
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 TSP apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread*
- 2 TSP vanilla extract
- 1/2 TSP salt
- 1 TSP baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x11 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Place the whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Add in the salt, brown sugar, and baking powder. Stir briefly with a wooden spoon.
- Add in the mashed banana, vanilla extract, melted butter and almond milk mixture. Stir well, and fold in the strawberries.
- Pour the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bread is lightly browed and a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
- Allow to slightly cool before cutting into 12 bars and enjoying.
Jennifer says
Strawberries are my favorite fruit. They’re so good this time of the year and I practically buy them by the ton!
foodielovesfitness says
Yessss they’re the best!
Neha says
Gosh I’ll love these bars and all the health food after scoffing a ton of treats that I baked. Gorgeous post and wonderful blog you’ve got here. Kudos!
Also check out my recent post of granola snack bars’ recipe on my blog if you get a chance. Here is the link. https://greedyeats.com/granola-bars-nuts-chocolate/ 🙂
foodielovesfitness says
Thank you! Yes it always feels good to get back to healthier eating after splurging a lot.