the bare minimum 009: chocolate banana oat bars

Recipe of the Week

Chocolate Banana Oat Bars with Peanut Butter and Honey

Ingredients

• 4 ripe, borderline rotten bananas

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1/3 cup peanut butter

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 (generous) teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 1/4 cup almond flour

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or a chopped bar

• 1/2 cup mixed nuts, optional (pecans, walnuts, etc)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment. I think my pan is a 7x9 rectangle or something weird like that. Do what feels right.

2. In a large bowl, mash bananas until mostly smooth. Stir in peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Add oats, chia seeds, almond flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until mixed.

3. Fold in chocolate and nuts, if using.

4. Transfer to pan and press down firmly.

5. Bake 20–25 minutes until set and allow to cool completely before slicing. These hold up great for 3-5 days on the counter, even longer in the fridge, and you can freeze them too.

Bare With Me

Life Outside the Kitchen

Trip to Nashville

When a lot of guys get old, they get into hunting or golf to escape their family. I, on the other hand, love my family and enjoy being with them. While you’ll never catch me sitting in a tree for 8 hours hoping a deer walks by, I do love running and have since I was in high school. My love for it comes and goes, but I find it to be incredibly nostalgic and rewarding.

An old high school friend of mine hit me up in the fall about linking up in his town for this race. It’s a half-marathon, which I’ve notoriously dogged on. I’ve always said it’s half the impressive distance and not something you’d see me celebrate. Well, here I am. Celebrating.

In 2017, I ran an ultramarathon. I trained for 6 months and took it super seriously. Between then and now, I’ve done a bunch of races as long as 32 miles, and as small as a 5k. I’ve also raced a 100 mile gravel race in Emporia, KS. Again, another thing I trained hard for over many months.

With this though, I didn’t train. I went on a couple runs and rides, and of course lifted in my garage gym, but I didn’t follow a formal plan for no reason other than I felt like I could wing it. I called it a “couch to half-marathon”. My first goal was to finish, my second goal was to finish in under 2 hours. I did both!

All things considered it was smooth. Around mile 4 I lost my homie but we both just ran our own races from there. I didn’t bring headphones, and didn’t say a word for probably ten straight miles. Just me and my thoughts, for better or worse.

Here are a few photos I snapped.

After the race, we crashed out for a bit and later that afternoon hit Tennessee Brew Works for food and went to a Nashville SC game. Jon’s wife and kids came along so we chose a spot that everyone could enjoy. The menu was limited but that’s something I love in a restaurant. Had to go with the hot chicken, when in Rome. It was fantastic.

Nashville beat Charlotte 4-2. The whole game was electric. Something I love about soccer is it’s 90 minutes long, full of action the entire time, and then you get to go home.

I’d never been to Nashville. I’d love to go back with the family. The number of similarities between there and Austin was shocking honestly. It tripped me out how they almost feel like the same place, it’s just more humid there.

What I’ve Been Into

Reading: The Power of Now

Listening: New Noah Kahan + Red Clay Strays

Watching: NBA playoffs, also hockey? Who knew that was entertaining.

Doing: Recovering from my run and trip.

Let me know if you give these bars a shot. Tell me what dinners, lunches, or snacks you’d like to see over the next few weeks!

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