Updated: Skinny Peanut Butter and Banana Bars

You win some, you lose some.  And for me, this recipe is definitely a lose.  A couple of weeks ago I was in conversation with another blogger about writing a guest series of posts.  The series had to have a theme to it and I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do and what my first recipe would be.

Doing a bit of idle research a little later, I happened across this recipe which I hoped would be an inspiration for my first post.  I had really been looking forward to giving it a go but days turned into weeks and suddenly nearly a month has passed without me making it.

Today, however, despite the husband insisting on an impromptu shopping trip (I'm rubbish at shopping in company), I still found time to finally whip up a batch of these healthy little treats.

And I wish I hadn't bothered.  The ingredient list had it all.  Nuts, oats, honey (I substitued maple syrup), brown sugar, spices, rice krispies, peanut butter, chocolate.  And still less than 150 cals per piece.  Bargain.

Ugly blighters didn't photograph well...

I even got a kick out of using my finally procured set of measuring cups - I hate American recipes the way they measure everything in cups.  Is it a tightly packed cup or a loose cup?  I know it's a throw back to the days before scales were invented.  But seriously?  With baking being such a precision art, surely in this day and age you would think that scales would be the order of the day.  But thanks to Sainsburys, I have my own set of cups, thus opening up a whole new world of recipes to me.

The end result had a disappointingly soggy bottom.  I know not why.  I followed the recipe.  It said they'd be moist and chewy.  Which they were.  But the bottoms are resolutely banana-soggy.  I don't see the point of the puffed rice as the sog from the bananas has obliterated it.

I think it's something that I might become accustomed to if I ever get my sorry backside back on the diet wagon (severe relapse into piggy-hood this week in response to a ridiculous bout of endometriosis pain - won't go near the scales for at least two weeks now!)

I was looking for a healthy snack.  I think I'd rather stick the component parts (minus the egg whites) into a little tub and just eat them as they come rather than all mushed up and cooked together.  Instead, I shall just stick with my rather over-priced little Graze snack pots that arrive through my door on a weekly basis.  I've now fallen in love with the giant plain chocolate buttons that ocassionaly find their way through my letter box.  There's something rather decadent about eating chocolate in amongst all the healthy snacks that they send you.  And not that I've been paid for this, but if you use this code (2DF7LP8D), you can get a free Graze box from them.

If you do want to give the recipe a go, then you can find it here.

Personally, I'd rather stick with the Guilt Free Brownies.

Update 13th Feb 2012 - well after dissing these little bars, I did a 9.5 mile run yesterday morning.  Came in, the child was awake so after a quick shower and change, I got up and into a round of making everyone breakfast, whilst slowly expiring from lack of carbs myself.  So I picked up one of these and honestly, it is the best post-run food ever!  Exactly what the doctor ordered with the combination of carbs and fast and slow release sugars and protein (bananas, peanut butter, brown sugar etc).  Going to try to refine the recipe and maybe drop the bananas as I wasn't a fan of the strong banana taste.  They're down, but definitely not out!