Homemade breakfast bars

Matt eats a Fiber One bar every morning for breakfast, and a couple months ago Lola decided she needed to eat a "breakfast bar" with her milk in the mornings, too. Half the time she doesn't even eat it, but she insists on having it. I feel like we throw away most of them (or Oscar eats them). We've tried a dozen different kinds, and they're all pretty much loaded with sugar, including the Fiber Ones, which Matt says he'd like to get away from if he can find something better. Well, voila! I found a recipe on pinterest for homemade "breakfast bars" with no added sugar, no flour and no butter. Crazy, right? These are definitely healthier and cheaper than buying boxed bars. They just came out of the oven and smell (and taste!) delicious; however, they haven't passed the inspection by the official taste tester (Lola), so I'll have to report back on that.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup milk (or almond milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

2 large very ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together oats, flax, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add milk, vanilla, egg and stir until combined. Add mashed bananas, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Stir well. Pour mixture into an 8 x 11- inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into bars. Store in airtight container or in the fridge.

Notes: The original recipe called for 1/4 cup dark brown sugar. My bananas were super ripe and sweet, and I didn't think it needed any extra sugar, so I didn't use it. (And they came out sweet enough, I think.) The original recipe also called for 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips. I'm sure the PB chips would be awesome, but I wanted to try to keep the sugar as low as possible. So I just used 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, and that's all, which is plenty for a "breakfast bar," I think. I also used natural peanut butter with no added sugar or salt. The (single) ingredient is literally just roasted peanuts I LOVE me some peanut butter, but I'll admit I can't really eat the natural stuff on its own. It's so bland. But it's great for baking because you can omit the extra sugar and salt and just get the delicious peanut-y taste. And finally, the original recipe didn't call for flax, I added it. Because we all need a little more flax in our lives, right?