Simple, delicious oat snacks

Let's face it, we all enjoy a good snack from time to time. The problem is, most snacks don't align with our health goals. They tend to be loaded with added sugars, ingredients that are hard to pronounce, or just items that we want to avoid.

So, I played around with some simple, whole foods and came up with a tasty treat that won't hurt your wellness objectives. It's also made to be flexible to your specific tastes. At 5 ingredients or less, this healthy oat snack checks all the boxes!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large banana

1/3 c + 1/6 c oats

2 T raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruit

1 tsp almond extract or vanilla, orange, coffee or other flavored extract

1 scoop (approx 30 grams/1.5 T) plain protein powder

Makes approximately 6 oat snack bites.

Keep in mind that this recipe is made to be flexible. If you only have vanilla-flavored protein powder at home, then maybe you skip the extract. If you don't have any protein powder at home, then you can make the recipe without protein (this also works for those with kidney disease who require a low protein diet). Whether your bananas are yellow or mostly brown, they'll all work. Don't overthink this - it's truly as simple and flexible as it seems!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel banana into small or medium bowl

Mash banana with a fork

Add remaining ingredients and mix well

Scoop out 6 evenly-sized oat bites and place them on nonstick cookie sheet

Place in oven for approximately 15 minutes

Let cool and enjoy!

PICTURES OF THE PROCESS:

Besides the baking sheet, these are the only tools you'll need

Mash the banana - or, in this case, bananas, for a double batch

Add remaining ingredients to mashed banana(s)

The green color is from the pumpkin protein powder used

A double batch of healthy, oat snacks