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Every few weeks, I inevitably find myself with a handful of old, brown, spotty bananas. I typically enjoy my bananas on toast with peanut butter, cinnamon and a drizzle of honey, but occasionally I purchase too many and end up with an excess. Ordinarily, when my bananas are too ripe to eat, I whip up banana bread. Old, overripe bananas are ideal for banana bread as they are sweeter, softer and more flavourful, producing a moist and tender loaf.

My preferred banana bread is Mary Berry's one-bowl loaf; however, if I'm being completely honest, I'd grown rather tired of banana bread and was keen to experiment with a recipe that wasn't packed with sugar and butter.

Determined not to let my ageing bananas go to waste, I searched online for a fresh recipe and came across these simple banana oat bars from The Lean Green Bean.

They may not sound as indulgent as banana bread, but they were surprisingly satisfying.

Furthermore, I already had the six core ingredients for the bars sitting in my cupboard: bananas, peanut butter, maple syrup, an egg, rolled oats and baking powder.

The recipe, created by registered dietician and founder of The Lean Green Bean, Lindsay, is gluten-free, dairy-free, child-friendly and pairs perfectly with a cup of tea.

Unlike many other recipes, these straightforward bars don't demand precise measurements, meaning you can accidentally add too many oats and too little banana and still produce a thoroughly enjoyable bake.

Ingredients

• One cup ripe bananas (I used two large bananas)
• Half a cup of peanut butter
• Two to four tbsp maple syrup
• One egg
• One tsp vanilla
• Two cups of rolled oats
• Half tsp baking powder
• One tsp cinnamon

You can also incorporate chocolate chips, hemp seeds and ground flax. I added approximately 50g of high-quality dark chocolate chips. Chopped walnuts, seeds and other nuts can also be included, according to your preference.

Method

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl.

2. Then, add your wet ingredients (peanut butter, maple syrup and egg) and mix well.

3. Next, stir in the oats, cinnamon, baking powder and chocolate chips and mix until combined.

4. Pour into an 8×8 baking tin lined with parchment paper.

5. Bake at 350F/180C for 20 to 22 minutes.

6. Let cool, cut and serve.

I've kept mine for three to four days, and while they do become slightly dry, a swift 30-second blast in the microwave restores them to a lovely, tender consistency.