Fix Me A Snack

I think the next series I do will have to be about ways to use up over ripe bananas. It seems to be a question that puzzles me too often. And maybe it would provoke me to make a banana cream pie. I’m up for anything involving pie.

So here’s a lovely way to use up an over ripe banana.  It’s creamy without containing any dairy, which is a bonus on these hot summer days. The kids gave this one rave reviews. I’m excited to make them an egg cream someday soon.

2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg white OR 2 tablespoons pasteurized egg white product*
1/2 cup cold water
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ice cubes (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon honey

Unless you’re using a pasteurized egg product, pasteurize your egg white in a double boiler over gentle heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg white along with the sugar and 1 teaspoon water. Place bowl over a small saucepan containing an inch or two of simmering water.

Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant read thermometer to take the temperature. Keep the themometer in the egg mixture as much as possible and not touching the bowl. Once the thermometer reads 160, remove the bowl from heat and continue to whisk for another minute to be sure the egg doesn’t coagulate.

Pour egg mixture into a blender along with the 1/2 cup cold water, banana, vanilla extract, ice cubes, and honey. Mix until smooth. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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.

We had a bit of a situation developing at my house this morning. A ripe avocado was on its way out. I just can’t stand to see an avocado go to waste. In addition, some bananas were looking like no one was going to eat them.  All this amounted to the perfect excuse for some experimentation. Thus the Green Monster Smoothie was born.

According to Lori at Fake Food Free, bananas and avocados are a popular snack combination in Brazil. And Dani Spies whips up some mighty fine lookin’ baby food using the same ingredients.

My preschooler happily took a taste, told me it was perfect, and then didn’t touch the rest of it. Is she actually trying to be polite and make me happy???!? This makes no sense at all.

I can see this being more of a hit with the toddler-set. I enjoyed it, but it is super rich and all I could put away was about a cup. So, unless you have a crowd, you might want to halve the recipe.

 

1 ripe Haas avocado, pitted
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 1/2 cup milk (or more if you’d prefer it thinner)
1 tablespoon sugar
Small pinch salt

Place the avocado, banana, milk, sugar, and salt in a blender and process until smooth. Serve.

Note: Cut up the banana and freeze it beforehand for a snack on a hot day like Lori did.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups
Prep time: 10 minutes

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How could I be blogging about healthy snacks for over a year and not have a post about my childhood favorite? Perhaps I didn’t think it was fancy enough. But today I have the clarity of mind to know that the simple snacks are often the best. Not only because they are easy for mommy to make, but because they are darn tasty! Thanks for making me these when I was little Mom! And I’ll call you soon!

2 pieces toast, preferably raisin and/or whole grain
2 tablespoons nut butter (such as peanut or almond)
One small banana, sliced
Honey

Spread nut butter on toast. Top with banana slices and a drizzle of honey. Serve warm!

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Inspired by The 6 o’clock Scramble’s Snack list. The soft marshmallows on top of creamy melted peanut butter are a winning combination. Seriously. The smell of this snack was very distracting during the “photo shoot”.

1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
4 teaspoons nut butter (such as peanut or almond)
8 mini marshmallows

Line the bottom of two small bowls with 4 banana slices each. Top each with 1 teaspoon nut butter. Layer on another four banana slices and additional teaspoon of nut butter. Place 4 marshmallows on top.

Microwave on high for 20 – 30 seconds or until marshmallows start to melt. Top with sprinkles or chocolate sauce and serve.

Yield: 2 servings
Prep-time: 5 minutes

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A friend of mine special-ordered this recipe. I hope it provides a happy home for all of her overripe bananas.

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana (from two medium bananas)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 10 seconds. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the egg, banana, oil, honey, buttermilk and vanilla. Make sure that the honey is dissolved and not hiding out anywhere in a big clump. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir to combine. Add the blueberries and fold them in gently.

Pour batter into a greased muffin tin. Fill the cups 3/4 full. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the biggest muffin comes out clean.

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep-time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 23 minutes

Note: My friend tested these out for me and told me that mini muffins only take 13 minutes to bake. Oh, and she said they have earned a place in her recipe box! Yippee!

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These are so good! I have yet to make my own chocolate-hazelnut spread. But it is completely on my list of things to do.

2 slices whole grain bread
1/2 of a ripe banana, sliced into 1/4″ slices
1 tablespoon Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread
1 teaspoon butter, divided

Preheat a saute pan over medium heat.

Place the banana slices on one slice of bread. Spread the nutella on the other slice of bread. Put the nutella slice of bread on top of the banana slice with the nutella side down.

Melt 1/2 teaspoon of the butter in the saute pan and swirl it around the bottom of the pan. Cook the sandwich for a few minutes or until golden brown. Remove the sandwich. Add the rest of the butter to the pan. Return the sandwich and cook the other side for a couple more minutes.

Cut the sandwich into small squares or shapes as your whim dictates. Serve. Allow to cool a few minutes if you are feeding young ones.

Yield: 1 sandwich
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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I’m not totally sure if this recipe is post-worthy. But my youngest just devoured several of them . I’m sure the chocolate sauce didn’t hurt, but still it is out of character for her to eat several of anything. I think this would be a nice treat for toddlers. To top it all off, I used up an over-ripe banana and some leftover rice. Bonus!

 

2/3 cup cooked brown rice
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 tablespoon unsalted nut butter (such as almond or peanut)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnnamon
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
Small pinch salt
Butter for pan
Chocolate sauce or chocolate syrup

Place the rice, banana, nut butter, cinnamon, honey (if desired), cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth (about 1 minute), scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in skillet coating the bottom. Spoon generous tablespoon-sized portions of the banana mixture into the pan spacing at least an inch apart. Cook the cakes for a couple minutes on each side. Allow to cool before serving (how long depends on your child). Serve drizzled with chocolate sauce or chocolate syrup.

Yield: 12 cakes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

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Yes, we have a jar of petro-chemical based “cherries” lurking in our pantry. No, I am not ashamed. Unsurprisingly, my “testers” consumed these with glee. Next time I might need to put a bit of whipped cream around the base of the ice cream.

Note: Cherries could be replaced with a dollop of strawberry jam or just a plain ol’ strawberry.

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