Discard Bars

If you are looking for a nutrient-dense grab-and-go snack, you have found them!

Topped with a bit of cream cheese icing they can even pass for a dessert. These discard bars have made the perfect substitute for the cakey pre-packaged bars I used to buy. And with the option for carrot or banana with various add-ins you can keep them interesting.

Start by preheating you oven to 375F and lining a baking pan with parchment paper. I love the 9×13″ with shorter sides from this set, it makes spreading the sticky batter a lot easier.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Add in the discard, egg and mashed banana or shredded carrots and mix well.

I keep bags of shredded carrots in the freezer to cut down on prep time and utilize garden carrots year round.

Add oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Choosing quality ingredients can make a huge difference to the overall nutrition in your dish. Simple changes like using an unrefined mineral salt can provide you with essential minerals and eliminate common additives found in table salt. Whole wheat flour contains a higher nutrient content than all-purpose, but commercial versions are still highly processed and contain additives. Sourcing organic flour is a better option, but the best is finding a local source of freshly milled flour. This might be easier than you think, start asking around! If you cannot find it locally, there are brands that will ship directly to you.

Mix in any additions you are including. These can be nuts, dried fruits, or chocolate chips. Adding walnuts to the banana or carrot is a go-to in our household, but you can never go wrong with a banana & chocolate chip or carrot & raisin combo.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. This step can be a bit difficult because of how sticky the batter is, but I promise it’s worth it. Gently pulling the parchment paper in the opposite direction you are spreading can be helpful.

Bake the bars in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. The should be getting a golden brown top and should spring back up if you gently press on them. Remove from the baking pan by lifting the edges of the parchment paper and transfer to a cooling rack. Slice into 24 squares.

If your family doesn’t devour these as soon as they come out of the oven, they store wonderfully in the freezer. I like to make a few varieties, freeze them all and then pull out just what is needed for lunches or snacks the next day.

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Discard Bars

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Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sourdough discard
• 3/4 cup carrots, shredded OR 2 bananas, mashed
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup nuts/chocolate chips/dried fruit optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375F and line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper.
• Cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Add egg, sourdough discard, and bananas or carrots and mix well.
• Add oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in dried fruit, nuts or chocolate chips if you are adding them. Batter will be thick and sticky.
• Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake for 25-28 minutes at 375F. Lift by the parchment paper to remove from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool.