I don’t know why I do this, but I have a bad habit of over buying groceries. I almost always start off with a list, but I have a hard time sticking to it. I’ll walk down an aisle, see something, and think I’m out of that and grab one.
I justify it by saying I don’t want to make another trip. Smart, right?
Well, not so smart when that thing I thought I was needing actually has a replacement sitting at home. Then I end up with multiple packages of napkins, foil, ketchup, etc.
Those really aren’t that big of a deal, because they are nonperishable.
The real problem is I also do this with whole foods. Eggs, for example…I don’t want to run out of eggs. I thought I only had a couple left, so I want to pick up some more. I get home to find I already bought a dozen and a half a few days ago, but forgot. Now I have 36 eggs!
This same thing happens with asparagus. You surely don’t want to run out of asparagus. Haha 😀 I’ll end up with 2-3 bundles of asparagus. Who can eat that much asparagus in a week?
Bananas are another food I over buy. We consume a lot of bananas around here. 3 pounds of bananas at Costco are a great deal. 3 pounds of bananas at Sam’s Club…another great deal. Well, Cindy now you have 6 lbs. of bananas!
See I’m good at math, but not at remembering what I last purchased. Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me? Maybe I just need to slow down.
Thankfully, when you have too many bananas you can always turn them into something wonderful. My recipe for Banana Walnut Bars uses 4 bananas. Woo hoo!
These bars are delicious! They bake up in a fourth of the time it takes to make a loaf of banana bread, with all the same flavors. My son is a huge banana bread fan and said these are even better. 😀
These bars are thick and soft, with a delicious walnut streusel topping. They are perfect for quick, filling breakfast!
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- ¼ cup whole white wheat flour
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 large bananas, smashed
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cup whole white wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- In a small bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and nuts. Pour in melted butter and combine with a fork. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper. Coat bottom with non-stick spray.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon with a whisk; set aside.
- In a small bowl smash bananas with a fork so there are no big chunks. Stir in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. Set aside.
- Use a mixer and cream butter and sugars together. Mix in eggs until combined. Add bananas and vanilla, mix until blended.
- With mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture. Blend until throughly combined and you don't see any flour.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread out with a rubber spatula or spoon.
- Sprinkle evenly with streusel.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Holding onto parchment paper remove bars from pan and place on a cooling rack.
- Cool for 10 minutes. Cut into 12-15 bars.