Josh and I were just talking the other morning about smells and their ability to bring back memories or suddenly make you think of a time or place you haven’t thought of in years. A quick google search revealed that this is known as “odor-evoked autobiographical memory”. It seems research has been conducted and concluded that odors are especially effective as reminders of past experience, much more so than cues from other senses, such as sights or sounds.
I can’t help but feel like this is often the case with food as well. Maybe part of it is due to the smell of the food, but with my mom no longer here with us, so often making, serving, and eating a recipe she always made brings back vivid memories. Whether the memory is from childhood, adolescence, or special get-togethers as adults, the food somehow triggers clear images. Sometimes I feel like I can see the room or even the table, feel the atmosphere, remember her laughter. It’s like my brain somehow recalls things that I might not have otherwise thought to remember. If that makes sense.
These granola bars do exactly that. They take me back to being in my parents house in college, chatting with my mom late in the evening while she made these every other week or so. Watching her go through each step, bake, remove and press, bake, remove and press, add chocolate chips, bake. Then once they cooled, she’d cut them and wrap each one individually, before putting them in a gallon bag and sticking them in the refrigerator. All the while keeping up a casual conversation with me. It was through those college years, living at home, that my mom became one of my closest friends.
I went round and round trying to think of a title for these. Knowing that labeling them “Mom’s Granola Bar” might not be the best for SEO, yet feeling like there was no other appropriate name. So I finally settled on Mom’s Chocolate Covered Protein Bars. The recipe isn’t exactly what she made, there are substitutions here and there to try to make them slightly healthier, to boost the protein, cut the sugar, etc. But they’re 100% modeled after her granola bars. Bars she made with love for my dad to take to work. Knowing he loves his chocolate, yet wanting him to have an alternative to a candy bar.
And the older I get, the more I realize I do things simply because…that’s the way my mom did. Like storing my flour and nuts in the freezer, or keeping bread in the fridge. So, like my mom, when I make these, I wrap them individually and store them in a gallon bag in the refrigerator. Easily pulling them out for Josh’s lunch, a quick snack, or a healthier treat to satisfy my sweet-tooth.
If you’d rather skip the protein powder and like the idea of butterscotch chips combined with the chocolate, email me directly and I’ll send you my mom’s exact recipe.❤
Mom's Chocolate Covered Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups ground oats {certified gluten-free if necessary}
- 1 cup whole oats {certified gluten free if necessary}
- 1 cup bran flakes {substitute with GF corn flakes if needed}
- 1/4 cup flaxseed
- 1 cup protein powder
- 1 ripe banana mashed
- 1/2 cups honey {or maple syrup for vegan}
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips {vegan if necessary}
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix ground oats, whole oats, bran flakes {roughly crushed}, flaxseed, and protein powder together.
- In a separate medium size bowl, mix mashed banana, honey, creamy peanut butter, and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Spray 9x13 pan with coconut oil cooking spray, then add batter and spread evenly. Use a metal spatula and press down firmly. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and press down firmly again with metal spatula, then bake additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, press down one last time with metal spatula, then pour 1 cup dark chocolate chips on top and return to oven for 1 minute.
- Remove from oven and spread chocolate chips into a smooth layer. Put in freezer for about 10 minutes or until chocolate has hardened. Cut into 24 squares and store in airtight container.
Nutrition
