How to Use Up Over-ripe Fruit: Bananas

I hate to waste money and the amount we pay for groceries seems to be increasing at a ridiculous rate. So, I’ve found a couple of ways to use up fruit that is past it’s appetizing days but is still wholesome.

To use up our browning, over-ripe bananas, I make Oatmeal Balls. I originally made them from a recipe that was going around Facebook called “Three Ingredient Cookies”. The recipe included just bananas, oats, salt, and optional chocolate chips. In my world, chocolate is never optional and cookies require butter.

But a rose would still smell like a rose if it was called “stink weed”, and yummy “cookies” are still yummy even if they aren’t really cookies.

Anyway, the recipe has been revamped and reposted so many times, I’m no longer able to find the original one that we started using. After my initial bake, my husband continuing making them for breakfast at our house when we had over-ripe bananas available. He called them “Breakfast Cookies”.

I recently revised my views about what dinner should look like in our house (maybe I should write a post about that sometime) and now I make these for dinner. With their new job as entree, I also gave them a new title: Oatmeal Balls. I toss in a few additional ingredients and we have a healthy, delicious dinner that the kids happily eat.

Pro Tip: Set out a spread of veggies and dips. Carrots, celery, frozen peas, whatever you want to introduce your kids to. For dips, I offer hummus, guacamole, and salad dressings. Then call the kids in while the Oatmeal Balls are still in the oven. The kids will start picking at the veggies while they wait for the Oatmeal Balls to finish baking. Bam! They ate their veggies or at least looked at them for a bit and will be more willing to try them in the future.

Without further ado, here is my recipe for Oatmeal Balls.

Super Healthy Oatmeal Balls

By Blamdarot

Primary Ingredients:

1 over ripe, mushy banana

¾ cup rolled oats

⅛ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ tsp salt

Optional Ingredients:

• chia seeds
• Hemp seeds
• 1 tbs Cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add primary ingredients to a bowl or stand mixer. Mix until well incorporated. Add optional ingredients, if desired. Mix again. If dough looks wet, add more oats and seeds until dough looks merely moist.

Form dough into balls using about a tablespoon of dough per ball. Place balls on cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until balls are firm but not crispy.

Yield is variable and depends on the size of the banana(s) and how many optional ingredients are added.