Blueberry & Banana Bars

It is cold, and I have fresh blueberries and lots of oats. That was all the inspiration I needed to make up this recipe. I was not too sure on the amounts of ingredients but this worked out perfectly, I am so proud of myself that I actually wrote it all down! These can be eaten next to vanilla 'ice cream' as dessert or as a breakfast. Hearty, hot and creamy and really really good for you. Lets bake!

You will need:

Filling~
~1/2 pint fresh blueberries
~1 large banana, cut into chunks
~1/4 cup agave syrup
~splash of vanilla
~3 Tbl corn starch
~2 Tbl soy milk, or other milk sub.
~1/3 cup pineapple juice concentrate

Dough:
~1 1/2 cup steel cut oats, quick cook
~1 1/2 cup oats, quick cook
~1 1/2 tsp baking powder
~1/2 cinnamon
~1 cup chunky applesauce
~6 Tbl Agave
~6 Tbl soy milk or water
~1 tsp vanilla extract
~2 Tbl cornstarch or tapioca flour
~scant 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
~3 Tbl flax seeds (opt)

Preheat the oven to 375d. Start with the filling and in a little sauce pan pour in the berries, agave, and juice. Bring to a medium heat. Our goal is to get the liquids heated and mixed and to keep the berries whole. So stirring gently, add in on Tbl. cornstarch at a time and keep stirring until all three are in. It will thicken quickly so do NOT let it burn and remove form heat immediately after it thickens. Now is the time to add in the vanilla, soy milk and bananas and stir until mixed, again keeping it gentle for the berries. Set aside.

For the other, grab an 8x8' baking dish and grease... I use Crisco. In a bowl, dump in all your ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon out half and spread out evenly in the baking dish. Pour over the filling and scrape out as much of the 'gel' as you can. Then spoon over the last half of the filling. Bake for 25 minutes. Will be brown and a little crunchy on top. Let cool for ten minutes or more so it will hold it's shape and not burn your little mouth! Enjoy!