I need to learn to take better pics
I have often said that bananas would make some wicked Caveman Cookies (see Caveman Cookies here and here). I decided to put that to the test. Instead of cookies though, I made bars as it is even a little easier.
I generally try to avoid bananas as they are higher than I like in natural sugar. This came out to where they are packed with a delicious banana flavor but actually have little enough banana in them to where they are like 1.5g of natural sugar each… not to shabby. (Bee, maybe these are easy enough to solve your bar dilemma?)
Ingredients:
- 2 Bananas
- 3 cups nuts. I used 2 cups almonds and 1 cup cashews
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 eggs
Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients except eggs in a food processor.
2. Pulse until well mixed. You want it pretty well chopped but chunks are delicious so not too much.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine mixture with eggs.
4. Press into an 8×8 pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until done. Mine took about 30 minutes.
6. Cut 4X4 so you have 16 bites/bars. (or however you want to divide it up.
7. Enjoy!
I think these are absolutely delicious. Let me know what you think!
March 12th, 2009 - 8:03 am
Man those sound delicious, thanks. How do you think this would be if you made the base more like Mark’s bars? Ie, tad of honey, vanilla, coconut oil, almond butter, etc and used a finer almond meal to keep it solid. Or do the bananas do that good enough so it’s not needed? Thanks! Diggin it (i love bananas)
March 12th, 2009 - 8:11 am
J Turnage,
I actually make another bar that is based off of Marks bars that I absolutely love. These are a little easier though so I am thinking about making a combination of the 2. You can check it out here
http://www.sonofgrok.com/2009/01/recipe-sog-bars/
lately I have been using frozen strawberries and blueberries for the fruit and pistachios, pecan and walnuts for the nuts. I started addin 2 whole raw eggs to it to and baking it for like 30 mins to make it more solid.
To answer your question more directly though… The egg and banana in these do an excellent job of holding it together. No extra “binders” needed.
March 12th, 2009 - 8:26 am
Oh YEAH!!!
Those look AWESOME (and thanks for the shout out). Thanks SoG!
March 12th, 2009 - 8:28 am
Mmmm, these look good. I am going to have to make these over the weekend and report back =) Thanks!
March 12th, 2009 - 9:25 am
Sounds tasty to me. Guess I better pick some bananas on the way back to the cave tonight
March 12th, 2009 - 9:49 am
These look great. I’m going to give them a try. I think your picture is fine too.
- Dave
March 12th, 2009 - 10:11 am
i take worse pictures, so no worries.
These sound good- i tried something similar once and failed miserably, so perhaps an actual recipe may be in order. thanks!
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
March 12th, 2009 - 10:15 am
Ok, so these gave me an idea. Why not add in some cacao nibs for a slightly chocolate taste? I will definitely give these a try!!
March 12th, 2009 - 10:18 am
Bee,
Enjoy!
Megan,
Hope they work out as well for you as they did for me!
Dean,
Let me know how you like em!
David,
Thanks. I take most of my pictures with my cell phone early morning before heading to work so they tend to be dark and fuzzy.
FoodRenegade,
You could easily get away with adding some chocolety goodness to these.
March 12th, 2009 - 11:18 am
Do you rehydrate your shredded coconut before you put it in the food processor?
March 12th, 2009 - 12:41 pm
Robert M.,
I do not rehydrate it. I just throw it in as is.
March 12th, 2009 - 1:06 pm
SoG – I have yet to try any of your dessert recipes, and I want to try them all.
Being blessed to have come to paleo/lowcarb by choice rather than necessity, I voluntarily set the bar for myself as low as possible, to the point where lots of people ask if I’m diabetic. With my newly sensitive taste buds, it looks like I could (if I wanted) make just about every recipe at Healthy Indulgences without adding any of the sweeteners listed, natural or artificial — just relying on the fruit or other ingredients. Certainly these ‘treats’ are an indulgence, but it’s up to each of us to limit our own portions
And it’s surprisingly easy to recognize and satisfy our hunger without overeating or doing undue harm to ourselves — that is, when we aren’t throwing our “appestat” out of whack with sugars, carbs and processed crap!
March 12th, 2009 - 1:23 pm
damaged justice,
I have not really tried any of the recipes over at healthy indulgences. I have viewed them before but they all seem heavy on sweetners. A little bit of fruit is more than enough for my sweetbuds too. A lot of my motivation for creating “desert” type things is because they ARE popular with most people and so it is a good way for many people to eat healthier. It is funny though… since I have started creating primal sweet things, I actually find that I enjoy deserts now (the primal ones i make) a lot more than I ever did before with all the refined sugar and rubbish lol.
March 12th, 2009 - 2:08 pm
This was a very timely post as I had a free afternoon and was thinking about making Caveman cookies. I had also thought of a banana flavor, so thanks for doing the work for me!
I used 2 C Almonds and 1 cup Walnuts for banana bread flavor. They are just out of the oven and FABULOUS. Especially with butter if you’re not too much of a primal purist.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
March 12th, 2009 - 2:45 pm
Those look good – but too much banana methinks. I am loving loving the Caveman cookies still – I add a cup of blueberries to your recipe…so good.
Think I will go get a few now.
March 12th, 2009 - 5:05 pm
Kelly,
Sorry I missed your comment earlier. Got caught in the spam filter for some reason. Experimentation is a series of failures until livable success lol I am glad i am not the only failed photog on the web,
March 12th, 2009 - 5:06 pm
Sara,
I am glad they worked out. Checked out your blog… your kids look JUST like you!
Mark,
Since i would have 1 of these max per day it works out to like one banana every week and a half lol. Its not too bad at all. Glad you are enjoying the Caveman Cookies!
March 12th, 2009 - 9:56 pm
I too need to try more of SoG’s desserts. These ones really got me tempted although I’d be too scared of eating the whole batch at once while watching a movie.
March 14th, 2009 - 7:45 am
I really need to make these
March 14th, 2009 - 11:26 am
ttfn300,
They are tasty!
March 15th, 2009 - 5:36 pm
Sounds great! Do you soak the nuts (and then dry) before using? As per Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon?
Blessings!
March 15th, 2009 - 6:39 pm
I made some of these for Pi day. I dropped them down to 2 cups of nuts but I still found them a little dry. I also added two teaspoons of vanilla.
If I make them again I’ll probably make a couple of changes. One, I would grind the dry ingredients first and then add the banana. I’ll probably also add some orange marmalade (1/2 cup) and coconut oil (1/4 cup) to moisten them up. I also think they should be made thinner, so a 11×11″ pan or such.
Roger:
These would freeze well, so if you cut them up and freeze them, it’s tough to eat them frozen so you have to think in advance and defrost one before you eat it.
March 16th, 2009 - 3:12 am
[...] Son Of Grok gives us Banana Nut Bites. [...]
March 16th, 2009 - 8:14 am
[...] had some leftover bananas from making the Caveman BNBs and I decided that I wanted to make a pie/cake with them. Wow… this… one.. is… [...]
March 16th, 2009 - 8:23 am
Ann Duncan,
I have never been a nut soaker. My stomach seems to handle them fine. I know that there have been good arguments for soaking nuts but I have never had the need.
Robert M,
Good advice on the freezing… I needed to do that with the Gorilla Cake but it disapeared too quickly to even get it in the freezer lol! I did not find the BNBs too dry for me but if they were for you, then by all means adapt to your liking!
March 16th, 2009 - 1:30 pm
I made the BNB this weekend and love them! I used equal amounts of almonds and walnuts and tried not to chop them all up too much in the food processor to leave them a little chunky. Also tried the Caveman Cookies again this week and those are something I’ll need to keep working on. They are too moist and just don’t form well. I think I might try them as bars next week and press them in an 8×8 pan like the BNB. I’m not that big a fan of coconut so I cut a little of that out and add more nuts. I’m glad I found your website for these great recipes.
March 16th, 2009 - 2:16 pm
[...] via Son of Grok » Blog Archive » Recipe: Caveman BNBs (Banana Nut Bites). [...]
March 19th, 2009 - 11:46 am
[...] I have to tell you that these Banana Nut Bars from Son of Grok were just about the BEST thing I put in my mouth last week. Grain-free. [...]
March 19th, 2009 - 12:56 pm
Have you ever tried using a protien powder in these recipes as well, like Jay Robb Egg White powder? It’s sweetened with stevia so there’s no add’l sugars.
Thanks,
Sam
March 19th, 2009 - 3:37 pm
Sam M.,
I avoid even stevia myself (though I think it is far and above better than other sweeteners – My wife uses it in her coffee). I also tend not to use protien powder. I think it plain pure 100% whey protien is probably ok but i prefer to get enough protien through whole, real food sources. Most protien powders are so full of crap its not even funny.
The SoG
March 22nd, 2009 - 11:16 am
SOG,
We tried making these last night as we were craving popcorn for the movie and needed something to curb our apps. Well, it did the trick! They are sooo filling that 1/2 bar later we we super full! I do think that next time I will add some salt or something with a little more flavor… I’m not sure if my taste buds are just still used to the super sweeteners and processed foods, but they came out a little bland. I did use unsalted sunflour seeds as that is what we had instead of the cashews. Maybe using cashews and makeing the nuts the salted variety might due the trick. When we put butter on them it made them pretty tasty. I do love the idea though it will give me the chance to expariment with different things i never knew would be possible. in the last 3 months I had lost 40 lbs and a lot has to do with your writings as well as Mark’s daily apple, I also have been reading bee’s as well. great stuff from real people. Thanks again for bringing this to the rest of the world! We love it!
-Fletch
p.s. Not sure if kalamta olives and capers are primal, but i made a chicken recipe the other night that was awesome! deboned chicken, onion, garlic, colored pepper of your choice, tomato, the olives (diced), a few capers… put in a baking dish and bake it till chicken is done. I love it and the sauce the is made just from cooking is so tasty!
March 22nd, 2009 - 11:44 am
Wow those sound really good! I’ll definitely have to make them this week.
I love that they are made of really simple, natural ingredients. I’ll have to check out your other recipes too!
Thanks,
Gina
March 23rd, 2009 - 8:07 am
Fletch,
Awesome to here they worked well for you! Congrats on your success so far. Sunflower seeds do tend to bland things out so that may have been your issue. A little sea salt never hurt anything either. Olives and capers are very primal. That recipe sounds mighty tasty.
Gina,
Enjoy them. Please check out the other recipes too… I hope you find some stuff you enjoy!
March 27th, 2009 - 8:30 am
We had some banana’s that were getting pretty ripe, so I tried these out. I used 2 cups almonds, 1 cup of mixed nuts, and added 2TBSP of raw cacao powder b/c bananas are sweet and I thought it would be good. It was. Good stuff Mr Grok!
March 27th, 2009 - 12:56 pm
Mark,
Glad they worked out. Sounds pretty goos with the choco deliciousness.
April 6th, 2009 - 12:25 pm
[...] Son of Grok banana bars. These are flaming delicious and since they are Paleo with only banana for sugar, I can have a small piece and not worry too much about carbs. Rh took a bite and proclaimed them delicious. Now to keep them away from the batch! [...]
April 9th, 2009 - 7:00 am
[...] least my yogurt set up and the Son of Grok banana bars were seriously good. I also made coconut milk, which the kids really enjoyed and we used them in [...]
April 13th, 2009 - 3:24 pm
Out of curiosity, would it work to blend the bananas and nuts in the food processor until coarsely chopped and then add the eggs and chop until “chopped with chunks.” This way you wouldn’t have to get a mixing bowl dirty.
April 14th, 2009 - 4:18 pm
~M,
I imagine that would work fine.
June 25th, 2009 - 10:51 am
You have some good recipes on here. I made these little bars last week right before a 4 day trip to Puerto Rico. Luckily, we had the bars since we got stuck in airports half the day, these are all we basically ate besides breakfast. These are just right on the sweetness scale.
One change I made to get a bar with more moisture was to drizzle some extra virgin coconut oil over the batter in the final mixing.
July 10th, 2009 - 5:23 am
oh i love to eat bananas raw. i also love foods and recipes with banana in it. they taste very very good
September 19th, 2009 - 11:13 am
Hi SOG – just wanted to chime in and say that I make these regularly since I found the recipe and they are a staple for me. I use walnuts, pecans, almonds. I love these bars, and so do my kids. Thank you so much for the recipe!
October 24th, 2009 - 5:07 pm
Awesome!!! Mine took a little less time in the oven on the top rack. I took some vanilla extract creative liberties. Deeelicious! Thaks man.
January 11th, 2010 - 3:37 pm
[...] http://www.sonofgrok.com/2009/03/recipe-caveman-bnbs-banana-nut-bites/ [...]
February 11th, 2010 - 12:44 pm
I just made these a few days ago and they are delicious. Like a couple of the other commenters, I found them a little dry and lacking in sweet (I think because my bananas were only just barely ripe). But the easy solution for that was to put just a dab of honey on top and spread it around. Perfect!
February 22nd, 2010 - 8:34 pm
LILI LILI