A week or two back, one of MiMi's cousins asked for some suggestions of things to do with ripe bananas. Her family was getting tired of banana bread and like a lot of us she had a revolving bunch of overripe bananas.
After giving her some links to the seemingly hundreds of banana recipes I have here on the blog, it got a fun discussion going on my Facebook page. So I thought it would be fun to put the question out to the group at Feed Your Family Food to see what they had to say. It has been fun getting some new recipe ideas from everyone in the group and the banana question was no different.
While I do like to keep some bananas in the freezer for smoothies and "nice cream," sometimes you just want to make something now. So I couldn't wait to try the recipe our friend Sharadan shared in the group.
She and her daughter, Miss K, like to make these fun chunky monkey oatmeal balls together. She even shared a picture of Miss K mashing the bananas for a batch. It is a great recipe to let the little ones help on.
The only change I made to the recipe was replacing a bit of the oatmeal with flax. Mostly I made the change due to having a large bag of flax in the freezer right now, so I'm putting it in everything! You can certainly use all oatmeal if you'd rather.
Either way, these delicious little balls are a super fun snack. They are full of good stuff and really portable. I threw a few in my lunch for work and we were all snacking on them when we got home. It's hard after a long day at work to come home hungry and know you still have to start dinner. So these helped fill the void!
So now I'm curious. What are your favorite ways to use ripe bananas?
Yield: 2-3 dozen

Chunky Monkey Oatmeal Balls
prep time: 10 MINScook time: total time: 10 mins
These delicious little balls are full of peanut butter, oatmeal, banana and honey! They are the perfect snack for kids and grown ups alike. Plus they are are a great new way to use some of those ripe bananas!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 bananas
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 cups oats (I used 1 3/4 cups oats and about 1/3 cup ground flax)
- 2 T mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Mash the bananas until smooth.
- Stir in honey and peanut butter until combined.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.
- Roll about a Tablespoon at a time into a ball.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours to firm up.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat as you go!
copyright: Cooking With Carlee, 2017
Created using The Recipes Generator
What a fun way to enjoy ripe bananas! I tend to eat them up before they get to that point but when they do I usually mash them up in my oatmeal. Banana bread is my favorite way to use them.
ReplyDeleteBanana bread is always a favorite and mashing them in your oatmeal is a great idea too!
DeleteGimmie all the balls!!! I swear you have the BEST ball recipes. I just love these balls of goodness, protein and flavor!! And a big yes for any way to incorporate oatmeal!!!
ReplyDeleteWe definitely have a shared love of oatmeal! These were fun. That future daughter-in-law of mine is a keeper ;-)
DeleteThese chunky monkey oatmeal balls sound so fun to make and so good to eat. We all can use a new way to use those ripe bananas. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI hope you love them!
DeleteYum! And we have some ripe bananas right now :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'll bet the kids will think these are fun!
DeleteThanks for linking these up on the Celebrate 365 Back To School Party - what a great snack for after school or even breakfast!
DeleteMy kids start school next week so these would be good to toss into their snack bags. Visiting from Happiness Is Homemade party.
ReplyDeleteI took a few in my lunch to work each day after we made them. It was fun to have a treat to look forward to! I hope your kids love them too!
DeleteYum! I love the suggested addition of flaxseed! And I need this recipe, because we are quickly entering that time of year known as "the season of the perpetual need for portable, high-protein snacks." :) Stopping by Wonderful Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteHa! That sounds about right. Though anymore it feels like that season is all year!
DeleteThese look amazingly delicious, and I can't wait to Mae some.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them!
DeleteCongratulations on the feature on Wonderful Wednesday link party!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Amy!
DeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteYour post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week and thanks so much for sharing it with us,we have pinned your post to our Features Board. Have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much, Miz Helen! It is always fun to fill up my red plate with you!
DeleteThese are so easy, yummy, and fun to eat! I like you can control the ingredients! THanks for sharing at #Celebrate365
ReplyDeletePerfect for snacking! Thanks, Jan!
DeleteMan, these look good! And they remind me of a treat my sister used to make.
ReplyDeleteOver ripe Bananas? I stick to the standard bread and muffins. I've tried some "crazy" recipes before and never found any that were really up our alley.
I make a lot of muffins and cakes, but it nice to have a little healthier option too! We always have a few in the freezer for smoothies too.
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