Fix Me A Snack

I was recently confronted with a pile of over ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter. Eight of them in fact. We are in the middle of a hot hot summer here in Connecticut and I haven’t felt like making any sort of food for my family lately, much less special snacks. But somehow I stumbled across a recipe for Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches in Gourmet Today. Et viola!

This recipe is easy to pull together and you don’t need an ice cream maker. If you don’t have dulce de leche lying around, you could try replacing it with carmel sauce or maybe even some brown sugar to taste.

Next time I’ll make a double batch and get rid of more of my bananas. The kids were more than happy to eat it all up.

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 ripe banana, peeled
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons dulce de leche
Butterscotch chips (optional)

Place the milk, cream, banana, lime juice, and dulce de leche in a blender. Process until smooth (about 60 seconds). Divide mixture between two ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Serve topped with butterscotch chips or any other topping that tickles your fancy.

Yield: approximately 1 cup
Prep time: 10 minutes
Freezer time: overnight

The key with frozen bananas is to use ripe, but not over ripe, bananas. The bananas in the picture below are perfect canidates. These are full of natural sugar, but not extremely mushy.

Peel two or three bananas and cut them into thirds. Insert wooden popsicle sticks into each piece of banana. Lay the pops in a flat-bottomed airtight container. Make sure that the bananas are not touching so that theydo not freeze together. Freeze for one hour or longer. If the bananas have been in the freezer for more than a few hours, you may want to let them sit out at room temperature for 5 or 10 minutes in order to make sure they are soft enough to eat.

 

1. Honey Crunch Banana Pops

I found this lovely treat at Baking Bites. It’s easy and a beautiful alternative to chocolate-covered bananas.

 

 

2. Chocolate-covered Banana Pops

Those of you who are pure of heart and more savvy than I in the kitchen would use some Valrhona melted in a double boiler. Me, I am haunted by a vague memory of the melted chocolate getting all clumpy when I made frozen banana pops years ago. If one bit of moisture sneaks into the chocolate or onto the banana, the chocolate goes from smooth to hellish in no time. Therefore, for this recipe, I enjoy the insurance policy that the coconut oil provides. Maybe I’ll work past it someday. But I doubt it because it’s pretty darn tasty as is.

It goes without saying that these treats are even more appealing rolled in sprinkles, finely chopped peanuts, or toasted shredded coconut. The banana pop in the picture above is covered with candy coated sunflower seeds.

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chocolate bar, chopped into small bits)
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (optional)

Microwave the chocolate and coconut oil in a cup on low power (10 or 20 percent) for 2-3 minutes. Stir well and microwave further if necessary, checking and stirring frequently. Dip the frozen banana into the melted chocolate once. (Excessive dipping creates a really thick chocolate shell that overpowers the banana.) Remove the banana from chocolate and allow the shell to set for one to two minutes. Roll in sprinkles, chopped nuts, or coconut before the chocolate sets, if desired. Serve.

 

3. The best of both worlds

Less apt to send your kids into a sugar coma and full of sweet crunchy goodness. Just drizzle some melted chocolate over #1 Honey Crunch Banana Pop.

 

4. Frozen Yogurt Banana Pops

This snack feels easier because you start with an unfrozen banana, throw it together, and pull it out of the freezer 6 hours later or whenever you need a quick cold treat.  

The jam and the ripe bananas make this healthy snack pleasantly sweet. It’s like eating a banana dipped in a thin layer of ice cream.

2 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into thirds
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon blueberry jam

Insert popsicle sticks into the base of each banana piece. Mix yogurt and jam together in a ramekin or small bowl. Dip each banana into the yogurt mixture or coat the banana using a spoon.

Place dipped bananas in a flat-bottomed airtight container on top of a sheet of wax paper. Allow to freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

 

More yummy banana possibilities I’ve seen around the food blogosphere recently:
Frozen Banana Bites from (never)homemaker via the healthy cooking goddessDebra Zambetti.
Frozen Bites (scroll down for Chocolate Peanut Butter Bananas) from Simple Bites.

This post is a part of a series of 101 ways to enjoy plain yogurt. (Keep scrolling down after you click on link to see the entire list.) For more information about yogurt in general, go to my Yogurt page.

78. Banana Chocolate Chip Popsicles

The chocolate chips, even the mini kind, always sink to the bottom of the popsicle mold. But it’s fun to try to distribute them evenly by adding them last. I’ve thought about replacing them with chocolate sprinkles. But mysteriously, the children actually eat the entire popsicle and not just the chocolaty top. So we’re happy with this snack the way it is.

1 cup plain yogurt
1 ripe banana, pureed
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Stir together the yogurt, banana, and maple syrup in a small mixing bowl. Fill 6 2-ounce popscile molds with the yogurt mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of yogurt mixture. Seal and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Removing the popsicle from the mold is easier if you run the mold under warm water for 5 seconds.

 

79. Smore Yogurt

The idea for this delightful yogurt treat came from Dina Rose of It’s Not About Nutrition.

My oldest kid has been insisting on eating anything but yogurt for the past couple weeks. I don’t blame her. I’m getting pretty sick of it myself. But the lure of Smore Yogurt proved too much for her this morning and she caved in with abandon.

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 graham cracker, crumbled
2-3 teaspoons chocolate sauce
10-15 mini marshmallows

Place yogurt in a small bowl. Top with graham cracker, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce. Stir it all up and serve.

 

80. Blueberry Lemonade Popsicle

My bet is that you could replace the lemonade concentrate with maple syrup and call it Maple Blueberry Popsicles. I should have gone the more simple route, but the frozen juice concentrate’s siren song was too powerful.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
2 tablespoons lemonade concentrate

Mix the yogurt, blueberries, and lemonade concentrate together in a small bowl with an immersion blender. Distribute yogurt mixture between 6 2-ounce popsicle molds. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Removing the popsicle from the mold is easier if you run the mold under warm water for 5 seconds.

Thanks again to Janet for the idea.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

In a small bowl, mix yogurt and juice concentrate until well combined and smooth. Pour into popsicle molds. Allow to set in the freezer for 3-4 hours.

Makes 8 popsicles (2-ounce).

 Print

I believe the picture says it all (red grapes and watermelon on a stick). Leave in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours. Thanks to Janet for the idea.

Note for Young Ones:
As far as toddler safety goes, the grapes did not freeze solid during my experiment so they would be fine peeled and cut to the size your child prefers. The watermelon freezes very well and eats a lot like a popsicle at first. If your child is coordinated enough to hold on to the popsicle stick, it should work out well.

 Print

My kids had a wonderful time making these and getting terribly messy in the process! This is the quickest way I’ve come up with to use up over ripe bananas lurking in the kitchen.

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (preferably dutch process)
1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
2-3 bananas cut into 2-inch thick slices
Popsicle sticks

Mix sugar, cocoa powder, and flaxseed in a small shallow bowl. Roll the banana slices around in the powder mixture until coated. Transfer to plate and insert popsicle sticks. Serve immediately. The banana can sometimes slip around on the popsicle stick, but just eat it and try another one.

 Print