Frosty Banana "Cream"

My favorite part of eating ice cream when I was younger was waiting for the ice cream to melt through the cone and then eating that mushy sweetness. I love melted ice cream. I've been craving a little sweetness lately and missing those sweet summer days. Here's a raw treat to beat the heat. 

Frosty Banana "Cream"

(3-4 servings)

2 organic bananas, frozen and cut into small slices

handful of raw almonds

1 spoonful organic raw honey

dash cinnamon

1/2 cup almond milk

Blend in your food processor. You can either eat the dribbly, chilled goodness or pour it into a container and stick it in the freezer for a little while. :)

Enjoy!

Finger-lickin' Nana Puddin'

My grandmother makes the best banana pudding ever. I mean, EVER. A single bite of it is lasting ambrosia. It is a happy time whenever I get to visit her, period, but the icing on the cake is a delicious batch of banana pudding waiting for me. Now. The trouble is her recipe involves cool whip, which is full of hydrogenated oils and less than ideal not to mention the excess sugars in the pudding and sweetened condensed milk.

So, here's what I did. I made up a new "healthified" banana pudding recipe, which is very tasty in its own right. You may decide for yourself which route you take. Maybe you'll make both and have a tasting party for your tongue. Who knows?

Finger-lickin' Nana Puddin'
(Makes 6-8 servings)

3 super ripe bananas
2 ripe bananas (can be mushy or just ripened), thinly sliced
7.5 oz extra firm tofu
18 oz soft tofu
2 shakes cinnamon
1 heaping tbsp raw honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 box vegan vanilla wafers (or non-vegan, if you like - just check the box and make sure you know what everything in it is)

Take the overripe bananas, tofu, cinnamon, honey, almond milk, and vanilla and put all into a food processor or blender. Mix until all creamy and smooth.

Next take a bowl (tupperware or glass) and set a layer of wafers in the bottom.

Spoon in some of the blended mixture over top then layer in more wafers and banana slices.

Repeat until you have used up all the banana slices and the blended mixture.

Add one last layer of wafers on top and put into the fridge to set. Should be ready to eat in about an hour.

Enjoy!

Delicious Morning Banana Milk

So I was looking for a way to jumpstart my morning energy levels and kept experimenting until this delectable AM treat swirled into my brain.

Delicious Morning Banana Milk

1 small banana
1/2 spoonful raw honey
sprinkle cinnamon
1/4 cup almond milk
optional, add a scoop of protein powder and a little more almond milk.

Take above ingredients, blend, and enjoy. This is also a great, healthy pick-me-up for later in the day. :)

Sinless Strawberry Ice Cream-in-a-Glass

"No, young man, you can't have cake for breakfast. You get fried cake with syrup for breakfast! Now, load up on that and try not to nap." 
-J. Gaffigan

Ever notice how much we love sweet things in the morning? Why on earth is that? Growing up, I was never really a fan of syrups on my pancakes or waffles, but I sure could polish off a bagel slicked with sugar-laden cream cheese or a plate of spam drizzled in honey (one of my favorite youthful treats - don't laugh!). Now, with a little more wisdom and will-power, I avoid most sugars because I know that an hour or two after the deliciousness will come the uncomfortable lethargy that always seizes me after a bout with a sweet treat. Still, I have a sweet tooth - I think it runs in my family - and the way I tame it?

Dessert for breakfast - three times a week. Now, I know what you're thinking. Whaaaaat? No!! Don't fall off the wagon! Not after all this talk of health and happy wholesomeness!

Trust me.

So let me take you through one of my "dessert for breakfast" mornings. I wake up at 6:40am, I go to the gym and I run for thirty minutes, then I run through the list (squats, leg lifts, dumbbell press, pushups, crunches, side bends, side squats... I won't scare you with the rest.) In short, it's a little past 8am when I get back to my apartment and start this short and sweet ritual. Protein, vitamins, calcium, probiotics - it's all in here. And it tastes like strawberry ice cream.

Sinless strawberry ice cream-in-a-glass
(serves 1)

1/2 banana, sliced
1 large spoonful nonfat plain yogurt*
1 scoop whey protein* (I use GNC's Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein)
1/4 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
5 strawberries, frozen
[*You can make this a vegan recipe easily with simple substitutions. Soy protein, for instance. And there are some yummy vegan yogurts out there. Whole Soy and Silk, if you want a soy alternative. Nogurt, if you want something non-dairy and non-soy.]

Take your strawberries, put them in a freezer bag and drop them in the freezer the night before.

The next morning... Place all ingredients in blender. (I use my Cuisinart Immersion Blender because the cleanup is ridiculously easy and quick, but any blender will do.) Blend. Enjoy.

If you want a thicker, more ice creamy texture, try freezing the banana overnight as well. Or cut the orange juice down to 1/8 cup. Find your own style. You can replace the strawberries with any other berry - so long as you make sure they're nice and hard-frozen when you blend them, you'll get that cold, desserty experience.

Cheers!

For a few more dessert for breakfast ideas, follow these links:
Homemade Pop Tarts
Amazake Carrot Muffins
Easy Jam Tart

Sunflower Bites

Another pair of bananas going dead, so I had no choice. I was forced to make breakfast cookies once more. Now, there's just no point in repeating a recipe when I'm always trying to think of new, interesting recipes to share with you, so I decided to go a little off script for this. 

Sunflower Bites

2 bananas

2 heaping spoonfuls of crunchy sunbutter (This is sunflower butter. Delicious!)

1/8 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup rolled oats

1/8 cup almond meal

1/8 cup flaxseed meal

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup golden raisins (alternatives: diced apricots, dried cranberries, dried cherries)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Paper two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mash two bananas. Stir in sunbutter, honey, and vanilla until well combined. Add pumpkin pie spice. Stir. Add almond and flaxseed meal. Stir. Add in raisins (or alt of your choice) and rolled oats.

Using a large spoon, scoop one large spoonful at a time on to the cookie sheets, leaving the scoops a couple inches apart. Flatten the cookie scoops with a fork.

Bake for about 16 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Awesome Granola Goodness

I was in the mood for some healthy snacking options, so I went looking for all the things I loved and tried to figure out how to combine them into one nutritious dish. These granola bars are what I came up with. The toasted flax seed meal gives the granola a slightly smokey, warm taste, the fruits make it chewy and sweet, the nuts give it a delicious crunch. I made these not too sweet, because my lack of exposure to processed sugar has made my tongue and body more sensitive to such things - did I tell you all about Valentine's Day? Someone brought over this amazing smelling strawberry layer cake. I had a small slice and felt dizzy and jittery the rest of the night, like I'd drunk six cups of caffeinated coffee. Yikes!  All that said, if you're sweet tooth is unstoppable, you can add more honey, agave, or even maple syrup. If you're sweet tooth rules you, add cacao nibs to the top of the bars after they've baked and put them back in the oven for another 1-2 minutes so they melt over the top.


Awesome Granola Goodness
(makes about 21 pieces)

2 large bananas

2 tbsp spoonfuls of sunbutter (could use peanut butter)

2 tbsp earth balance spread

~¼ cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup steel cut oats

2 tsp cinnamon

½ cup flax seed meal

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup dried apricots, cut into small pieces

~¼ cup agave nectar

½ cup sliced almonds, unsalted (can be toasted)

½ cup walnut pieces, unsalted

½ tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Parchment paper a square casserole dish, grease the sides.

In a bowl, toss the oats and nuts together. Transfer to the casserole dish and toast for 10 minutes.

Over low heat, toast the flax seed meal in a dry pan for about 1 minute. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the apricots and raisins to that mix.

In a soup pan, heat earth balance, sunbutter, honey, agave nectar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon over high heat, until it has all melted together become bubbly. Turn heat back to low.

Take out the toasted oat/nut mix and transfer to the flax seed/fruit bowl. Pour the butter/sugar liquid into the mixing bowl.

Set the oven to 300 F.

Stir until the mixture is well combined. Mash two bananas and stir until the whole mixture is thick and firm.

Pour the mix into the lined casserole dish. 

Put the casserole dish back into the oven for about 35 minutes.

Allow to cool for 30-60 minutes before slicing into bars. Then store in fridge for another 20-30 minutes. The cold of the fridge will help the granola jell into delicious, chewy pieces. 

Nom Nom Breakfast Cookies

My last batch of flour-free oatmeal cookies were delicious, but crumbly. This time, I decided to work on the crumbliness, while still not adding anything processed or guilt-inducing.

Nom Nom Breakfast Cookies

2 large bananas, mashed
3 heaping spoonfuls Better n' Peanut Butter (can use normal peanut butter or sun butter - if you choose to use peanut butter, avoid brands that add sugar and chemicals)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup rolled oats, processed to a fine powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup raisins (alternatives: cranberries, cacao nibs, dried cherries)

 Preheat the oven to 350 F. Paper two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mash two bananas. Stir in peanut butter (or alt of your choice), honey, and vanilla until well combined. Pour 1/2 cup oats into a food processor and grind into a fine powder. Add that powder, plus half a cup of rolled oats to the wet mixture. Add cinnamon and baking soda. Stir. Add in raisins (or alt of your choice) and remaining rolled oats.

Using a large spoon, scoop one large spoonful at a time on to the cookie sheets, leaving the scoops a couple inches apart. Flatten the cookie scoops with a fork.

Bake for about 16 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

These come out yummy and filling, with a delightful combination of textures - both soft and crunchy. Enjoy. :)

Banana-Walnut Muffins

So there I was, looking at a pair of wilting bananas and I thought - banana bread? No. Too big and heavy. I know! I'll make muffins!

Banana-Walnut Muffins
(12 servings)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 overripe bananas
1/8 cup Splenda-sugar baking blend
3 tbsp egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
~1/4 cup walnut "baking bits" *you can get these in bags at Trader Joe's

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Mash the bananas in a bowl until they're really mushy. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir well with a spatula. Add the applesauce. Stir again. Add the baking powder and baking soda and salt; then slowly add in the flour.  Stir until well combined (don't forget to scoop up the bottom and the sides).

Next, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups and put in your preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Ta da! All done! And in no time at all. You can replace the walnuts with raisins or some other nut or fruit as you prefer. Carob chips would probably be awesome too. :) Enjoy.

Gram's Banana Pudding

Nothing brings to mind memories of childhood comfort for me quite like my grandmother’s banana pudding. It’s simple, delicious, addictive, and (shock of shocks!) mostly healthy. Unfortunately, it’s also always been unreasonably difficult to replicate for some reason. Try as I might, given her list of instructions and ingredients, I still could not achieve the level of ambrosia that occurs in her version of this “easy” dish.

So this time, we did it together, and I wrote down everything she did. It came out wonderfully and disappeared within seconds.

Gram's Banana Pudding (sometimes called Nanner Puddin’) 

What you need:

2.5 qt Corningware bowl* (It doesn’t have to be this brand. But it does have to be this big and it needs to have a flat bottom.)
hand mixer
mixing bowl
spatula 

Ingredients:

Sugar Free JELLO Vanilla Pudding mix (1.5oz/42g)
2 cups cold, fat-free milk* (If making a larger portion or using a larger pudding mix box, always use 1 less cup of milk than the package instructions direct.)
4-6 bananas, barely spotted* (For the tested recipe we used 4, but they differ in size and some folks like more than others.)
1 box Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers* (Gram says if you don’t mind the extra calories and sugar, you should replace these with Pepperidge Farm Chessmen and use the same as instructed.)
1 14 oz can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz container of Cool Whip Free

Directions:
Pour milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle in the package of pudding mix. Stir with a hand mixer until well blended, then add the whole can of sweetened condensed milk. 

Mix until “just a little thick”.

Fold the cool whip in with a spatula until you can no longer see any dark yellow streaks in the mix.

Now, for the prep. In the corningware bowl (or whatever appropriately sized serving bowl you’ve chosen), put down a layer of nilla wafers.

Slice bananas into ~1/2 in thick slices. 1 layer of those on top of the wafers.

Now pour 1/3 of the pudding mix on top of that.

Repeat, for two more layers, with nilla wafers first, then banana slices, then the next third of pudding.

Repeat again. 

You’re done! Now simply place the lid of the corningware bowl (or cover with clingwrap) and put into your refrigerator.

Allow the pudding to set for at least 2 hours and a max of 2 days. How long you let it set depends on how much you like the pudding set, and also has an effect on how much the flavors will have blended and ripened together. I prefer 8-12 hours for the perfect mouth-feel and comfort-taste.

Serve generously.

Thanks, Gram.