I can never understand why the brown spotted bananas are considered bad and are always on sale. The brown spotted ones are the best ones! You can actually eat them when you buy them. If you buy the “good,” full-priced bananas, you’ve got to wait a week before they’re ripe enough to eat. I’ve been back to the grocery store 5 times by then.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain, since I like cheap bananas. In fact, I like them so much that I got a little overzealous last time I saw them on the sale rack and may have bought a few too many (but really, how could you NOT buy 11 bananas for 95 cents?). No worries, though, rotting bananas just means I get to bake!

Since I have to get up so early now, I don’t have much motivation to make complicated breakfasts in the morning. And lately, I’ve been getting sick of cereal. These breakfast bars sounded like the perfect make-ahead, portable breakfast!

Banana Fig Breakfast Bars

(adapted from Serious Eats)

• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
• 3 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, walnuts, figs, and salt. (I also added some protein powder, but that’s totally optional). In another bowl, mix together mashed bananas, sugar, and melted butter until combined.

Add banana mixture to oats and stir until evenly incorporated.

Spread mixture into prepared baking dish, and bake until bars are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool, then cut into squares.

The bars were delicious. So delicious that they didn’t last very long… which means that next time I’m shopping, I’ll be on the lookout for more discount bananas!