Izzy (and Mama) Eat: The Gourmand Goes To College...

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

A Study In Substitutes: Banana-Oat Bars


A plague of bananas as always, has left me in search of something other than banana bread. I wanted a granola bar, instead I found these:
Banana-Oat Bars from Epicurious. Honestly I was in search of something healthier but these seemed like the most appealing choice. In efforts to increase the "healthy" factor, I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour for the regular and I decreased the overall amount of sweetener (SUGAR) from about three cups to two, substituting 1 cup of honey for 1 cup of sugar.

The results were pleasing and promising for the use of honey in other recipes. However they in no way, shape or form resembled a bar of any kind. Izzy claimed they tasted like banana bread but I would beg to differ. The honey flavor was prominent and the resulting treat was moist with a large crumb whereas my banana bread drier with a far smaller crumb.

This experiment bodes well for future attempts to use honey or maybe even agave as a sugar substitute. Meanwhile, Izzy and his friend J., happily gobbled up large mouthfuls of this newest banana concoction without complaint.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You might want to try the Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake from Epicurious (Gourmet). It has half the sugar and half the butter than your bars, plus it includes yogurt, so it seems overall more healthful. With the mashed banana and the yogurt, it is a super moist cake. I'm not crazy about banana flavored stuff, but this cake was not bad. A good recipe for brown bananas!