Food waste drives us nuts. Did you know Australians throw out $8 billion of edible food every year? We’ll spare you the lecture about the impact this has on climate change because we’re by no means perfect (like this unbelievable lady!) but we firmly believe bananas should never be binned.

Even when they’re soft, black and look disgusting, simply freeze them to use in smoothies, make banana bread, or whip up a batch of these oat bars.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to seven days or freeze them. If they start to get a little on the dry side, a quick zap in the microwave brings these bars back to life.

Throw them in the lunch box or enjoy with a cup of tea.

This recipe used a 22cm x 32cm slice tin and turned out 24 bars. 

You will need

• 1½ cups wholemeal self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 200g dates, roughly chopped
• 100g butter, melted
• 1¼  cups milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 bananas, mashed

What you do
Preheat the oven to 190℃. Line a 22cm x 32cm slice tin with baking paper. Combine the flour, salt, oat bran, sugar and dates and in a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, eggs and bananas. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the tray and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool then cut into 24 bars.