RSS Feed

Posts Tagged ‘banana’

  1. Chocolate Peanut Butter Covered Frozen Bananas

    March 8, 2012 by erinRD

    These were brought to a party a few weeks back. When I asked Heather where she got the recipe, she said Pinterest. I love Pinterest. Thank you for bringing amazing things to my life.

    I immediately searched for them and found them on (never home)maker’s site. That night I dreamt about bananas. No joke.

    I blame the crazy pregnancy dreams.

    2 large bananas
    1/3 cup dark semi-sweet chocolate chips
    1/3 cup natural peanut butter

    Directions:
    1. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or wax paper. Cut your bananas in ~1 inch slices.


    2. Throw the chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1-2 minutes at a time stirring every minute to make sure it doesn’t burn.


    3. Dip the banana pieces in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Lay them out leaving some space between them on the parchment/wax paper. Then when you’ve “covered” them all, use the remaining mixture to spoon over the tops.


    4. Stick the pan in the freezer for a few hours and then put them in a container to keep in the freezer. Makes ~20 banana bites (depends on how big you slice the bananas).

    Nutrition Notes: At around 50 calories a piece, these are perfect for a craving without going overboard!

    Taste Test: Clearly these are life changing. People don’t dream about bananas for nothing! ;)

    Enjoy!

     

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,, | 11 Comments

  2. Guest Post: Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

    July 29, 2011 by erinRD

    Hi! I’m Selene, and I’m guest blogging for Erin while she’s on her Alaskan adventure! I’m a registered dietitian, wife, and mom who is dedicated to pediatric nutrition. I’ve worked at a WIC clinic for the past year and a half where I’ve been able to reach out to families with young children. For more information you can check out my blog at ABC’s of Mealtime.

    Between my two year old son and my husband (who loves his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), we’re always stocked up on peanut butter in our house. Although peanuts are a very common allergy in many young children, it is an otherwise healthy food for most children. Because of its potential as an allergy, it shouldn’t be introduced until two years old.

    Many brands of peanut butter that are available in the grocery stores are very high in added sugar. When I have some extra money to work with, I love to buy the fresh peanut butter from Whole Foods. Realistically, this doesn’t happen very often. I pick the healthiest alternative by checking out the ingredients list on the food labels.

    Peanut butter is also a great, easy source of protein. Here’s a new recipe that I’ve been working on that can work great for both kids and adults at breakfast, brunch, or even snacktime! It’s a great alternative to pre-made muffins that you can buy in the grocery, which tend to high in trans fat.

    Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
    Recipe adapted from Jif

    Batter:
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    2 Tbsp brown sugar
    1 Tbsp baking powder
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1 large egg
    1 cup milk
    1/3 c applesauce
    1 ripened banana

    Topping:
    3 Tbsp sugar
    3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
    3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

    First, heat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper cups. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon in medium bowl. In separate bowl, mash ripe banana with fork until smooth. I like to freeze ripened bananas for recipes such as these.

    Add egg, milk, and applesauce to mashed banana. Stir until well combined. Add liquids to flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter evenly among cups. Next combine the topping ingredients: sugar, flour, and peanut butter in small bowl. Mix with fork until crumbly.

    Divide topping over muffins. Lightly stir into muffin with knife. Bake ~18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan to rack to cool completely.

    Enjoy! After tasting, I was worried that they didn’t have enough sweetness. However, they passed my two year old’s taste test!

    Thanks for reading.

    _________________

    Thanks to Selene for this wonderful recipe! Can’t go wrong with peanut butter and bananas! Yum! :)

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  3. Banana Orange Smoothie

    February 5, 2011 by erinRD

    Tonight is game night! We are heading over to our friends house downtown to play board games. Yes I am a dork and proud of it! I have a new game to bring tonight called Wits and Wagers. Has anyone ever played it? It looks like tons of fun….

    (Source)

    Before game night we are going to try Graham Elliot’s new sandwich place in River North affectionately called Grahamwich. I am in love with Graham, he is amazing so I am hoping this place will deliver!

    In other news, I’ve got another amazing smoothie for you guys – it’s soooo yummy and it uses a secret ingredient – avocado!

    Banana Orange Smoothie

    1/2 avocado
    1 medium banana
    1 orange
    1/2 cup greek yogurt
    3-4 ice cubes
    1 Tablespoon whey protein powder
    1 Tablespoon chia seeds
    1/2 cup almond milk

    Directions:
    1. Add everything to a blender and blend away.
    2. Put remaining avocado in the freezer for your next smoothie.

    Nutrition Notes: Now what the heck is almond milk? If you are allergic to dairy products, don’t like the taste or just trying to cut down on dairy  - almond milk is a fantastic alternative to use. With only 60 calories, 150mg of potassium and 5mg of sodium per cup almond milk it contains a lot of nutrients to rival cows milk. Almond milk is also lactose, gluten, casein and cholesterol free and it’s also free of saturated fats. The fact that it lacks casein (the protein found in milk) it is very low in protein. But since we added protein powder to this smoothie, we don’t have to worry about that in this recipe but keep it in mind if you use almond milk in other recipes. Sub for cows milk 1:1 in recipes.

    Taste Test: The addition of avocado makes this smoothie so silky smooth – the texture is so great! I will definitely be adding avocado in more smoothies! Yum!

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie

    February 3, 2011 by erinRD

    What’s better than a healthy hot breakfast ready in 5 minutes? No excuses to skip breakfast anymore! …I’m watching you ;)

    Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie
    Adapted from Edible Perspective

    1 medium banana
    1 egg white
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 Tablespoon milk
    1/3 cup rolled oats
    2 teaspoons brown sugar
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
    1/4 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon Chia Seeds
    1/2 cup blueberries
    1 Tablespoon maple syrup

    Directions:
    1. Mash banana in a small bowl with a fork. Whisk in egg white.
    2. Add vanilla extract and milk and stir to combine.
    3. Add dry ingredients: oats, sugar, spices, baking powder and chia seeds.
    4. Microwave for about 2 minutes.
    5. Top with blueberries and maple syrup.

    Nutrition Notes: Let’s chat a little bit about blueberries because they are a powerhouse of health. They have the highest antioxidant content of any fruit. Antioxidants help build up your immune system and fight off free radicals that contribute to many diseases. Blueberries have also been shown to preserve vision, aid in digestion, promote brain health and protect against certain cancers such as colon and ovarian cancers.

    Taste Test: This was amazing! The addition of cinnamon and nutmeg were great. It took about 5 minutes to put everything together and it only used up one bowl. Love it. The variations are endless with this dish. Add any fruit to the top, use nut butters, top with almonds or walnuts…get creative and listen to your mother (and me) and eat your breakfast! :)

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,, | 4 Comments

  5. Berry Love Smoothie

    January 24, 2011 by erinRD

    I have been loving smoothies lately, especially after a nice sweaty run. Even in the winter, they are refreshing and yummy! I have no problems getting my veggies in every day, but fruit is another story. Smoothies are a perfect way to add fruits to your daily diet!

    Berry Love Smoothie

    1/2 cup greek yogurt or almond milk
    1 banana (you can use any fruit: pear, apple, orange etc.)
    3-4 ice cups
    1/2 cup orange juice
    1/2 cup blueberries (you can use any berries: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries etc)
    1 Tablespoon Whey protein powder
    1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

    Directions:
    1. Blend all ingredients into blender until smooth.
    2. Stick a straw in it and enjoy! Serves 2.

    Nutrition Notes: This smoothie is packed with nutrients. The protein powder and greek yogurt add a good amount of protein to the smoothie. Have you heard about these wonderful chia seeds? Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, as well as fiber, magnesium, manganese, calcium, copper, phosphorus, zinc and iron. Phew! You do not need to grind chia seeds and can add them whole in a variety of different ways: in oatmeal, smoothies (duh!), over salad and baked goods! The list goes on and on!

    Taste Test: This smoothies is tangy and not too sweet. I love the thick consistency of smoothies. The chia seeds are definitely noticeable in the smoothie since they don’t blend down into the smoothie but this doesn’t bother me – it’s more like having strawberries or blackberry seeds in your smoothie.

    Happy blending!

    Category Drink, Smoothie | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments