Healthy(ish) Coconut Oat Fudge Bars

there's something you need to know about me

i usually try to make good food choices

but sometimes, i just go with what i love,

and throw health to the wind

(hey, I'm only human!)

perfect example: starbucks' oat fudge bar

oh em gee - these things are amazing!

but they're also amazingly full of calories and sugar and who knows what else

they definitely fall into the guilty pleasure category
(which means I might have one once, maybe twice a year)

so it's no surprise that one day i thought to myself, 

"hmmm...i wonder if i could make a healthier version?"

and thus began the search

now, before i go any further, 

i'll dash your hopes right from the get go

and tell you that these turned out nothing like the real deal

which left me kind of disheartened, 

but once i shifted my perspective 

and just looked at them as a healthy oat-y chocolate-y bar,

they were suddenly pretty good,

even good enough to share with all of you!

(it helps that the girlies loved them, 

and i'm always on the hunt for / eager to share good toddler snacks!) 

Healthy Coconut Oat Fudge Bars

(adapted from this recipe)

batter:

1 medium banana

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted to liquid form

1 egg

2 tablespoons agave nectar / syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 cups rolled porridge oat mix

(porridge oats = rolled oats that have been rolled to the point of being crumbly, the package I bought (Rogers brand) came with oat bran, wheat bran and flax seed - hence the "mix" part.  If you can't find the mix, just use 1.5 cups rolled or porridge oats then add 1/2 a cup of oat or wheat bran)

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

chocolate center:

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/3 cup good quality dark chocolate, chopped up 

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

topping (optional):

a handful of extra oat mix

a handful of shredded, unsweetened coconut

***

- preheat oven to 350*

- combine oat mix, flour and flax seeds in a bowl and set aside

- mash your banana up in another, larger bowl

- add the coconut oil, egg, agave and salt to the mashed banana and mix until well combined

- add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, about 1/4 cup at a time   then set batter aside

- in a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk on medium/high

- once the milk has warmed through, stir the chocolate in and turn the heat down to medium or medium low

- continue stirring until the all the chocolate has melted into the warm milk

- in a small bowl or cup, mix cornstarch with a little bit of water then add it to the saucepan

- remove the saucepan from heat and stir until it has thickened up a bit, then set aside

- grease a 9x13 pan, then press about 1/2 the batter into the bottom of it 

- spread about 2/3 of the chocolate "sauce" on top of the batter

- add the remaining batter (be careful not to burn yourself if your sauce is still hot - mine wasn't, since i kept having to walk away and deal with the kiddos)

- top with the rest of the chocolate then sprinkle on optional topping (oat mixture and coconut)

- bake for 10-15 minutes

- once cooled, cut into squares and serve