Back-of-the-cupboard, perfect-plane-snack bars

Ah, what to eat when travelling. You end up spending so much money on overpriced, average airport food, and while nowadays they do have plant-based options, I actually (how old-school of me) enjoy trying to creatively scrape together the random bits I have left on my shelf into something that will keep me happy while I travel. So, after showing you how to pack, I thought I would get you covered on the cupboard-emptying, travel-fuelling snack department with these cereal bars I made. Try them out; they make for a very satisfying snack. They are easy to make and turn out much cheaper than those tiny bars that sell for about 2 euros a piece ...though whether there will be any left by the time I actually board my plane remains to be seen, because this experiment actually turned out --if I may say so myself- pretty delicious. The ingredients list is very flexible and can be adapted to whatever you have lying about in your cupboard.

My perfect plane companions: a home-made snack and a good book... So far I'm really enjoying The Casual Vacancy!

You will need:

-that big brown banana (or 2 smaller ones) you were about to give up on
-about 40g ( a good handful) of those nuts you forgot you still had --I like them roughly chopped
-that last handful of raisins (or other dried fruit) left in the bag (about 50g)
-135g porridge oats 
-25g of those chia seeds you never know what to do with (or any other seed you have/like)
-that last bit of peanut/almond butter/tahini left in the jar (optional)
-1 tbsp virgin coconut oil (this gives a subtle but amazing aroma --but any regular oil is fine)
-1-2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup, or whatever other sweetener you prefer), to taste
-a pinch of salt (I always like a bit of salt with everything!)
-some cinnamon, if you like

To throw them together:

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Mix all your dry ingredients. I used pistachio nuts, which give an amazing and very particular flavour.

In a big bowl, mash the banana, add the oil and nut butter, and mix. Then tip the dry ingredients in. Mix well and then taste, if you like, to see how sweet it is, then sweeten accordingly. Your mixture should be sticky and hold together.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil. Tip your mixture on it and press it into a rectangle. Don't try to cover the whole tray, you'll spread it too thin; I made mine maybe about a finger-width (about 1cm) high.

Score the mixture into bars and then bake for around 20 min. until golden brown, then let cool.

I wrapped them in parchment paper because I think it's cute and practical :) Happy snacking and happy travelling!