Tropical Smoothie

This a prefect breakfast smoothie. The orange juice adds a tropical zeal! Even in frigid November.

"I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts" Merv Griffin

Ingredients

• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 pear, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups of orange juice 

Directions 

Blend ingredients until smooth.

 Alternative Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 pear, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups of cranberry juice

Directions 

Blend ingredients until smooth.

Banana "Ice Cream" With Sweet-and-Salty Roasted Almonds

I'd wanted to make banana ice cream for a long time. When I tried it with a different recipe, I ended up with a solid mass of banana. This works and tastes great! It's from It's All Good by Paltrow and Turshen.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
• 1/4 cup finely chopped roasted almonds
• 2 tsp plus 2 tbsp maple syrup, divided
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Freeze the banana slices in a single layer on a tray or plate lined with parchment or wax paper. Once the slices are frozen, use them immediately or keep frozen in a zip-top plastic bag or airtight container for up to a month.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the almonds with 2 tsp. of maple syrup and the pinch of salt and set the mixture aside.

Combine the frozen banana slices, the almond milk, the remaining 2 tbsp. of the maple syrup, and hte vanilla in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is the texture of soft-serve ice cream, scraping down the sides as necessary. Don't worry if hte mixture is not toatlly smooth at first-- once the bananas start to break down and defrost in the food processor, they'll give in and the "ice cream" will take shape quickly.

Spoon the banana "ice cream" into bowls immediately and sprinkle each serving with a bit of the almond mixture.

Elvis Presley

Chocolatey peanut butter goodness. I found this while looking for smoothies on a baking site.

Yeah, I suppose this isn't really a health drink, but I can pretend, right?

 "Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley from Lilo and Stitch

(aka the film that makes me like Elvis Presley music)

The actual song

Ingredients:

• 1 medium banana
• 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp oats
• as much chocolate milk as needed to cover banana and peanut butter 

Directions:

Put peeled banana, peanut butter, oats, and chocolate milk in blender. Blend until smooth.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

      Whoa, what a week! With all this snow in the northeast, I don't know if I should be jealous that I'm not missing school or grateful that I'm not snowed in without power. To those of you who are snowed in or have lost power or both, hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

      I've been meaning to make this banana bread since it was first posted on fortheloveofcooking.net. Finally, two brown bananas later, I have. I made one change from the original: chocolate almond milk instead of buttermilk. Mainly because chocolate milk was the only thing I had on hand, and I really wanted to make this today. So if you're feeling adventurous (or you can't be bothered with buttermilk), you can substitute chocolate milk and see how it goes (tastes great to me!).

           Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth.

 

Add the mashed banana, eggs, milk, and vanilla then beat until blended. Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.

 

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it's not completely melted).
Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

 

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter. Swirl batters together using a knife. Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.

 

Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve. Enjoy.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 70-75 min.

Total Time: 90 min.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
Additional chocolate chips, for topping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the mashed banana, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla then beat until blended. Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.
Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it's not completely melted).
Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter. Swirl batters together using a knife. Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.
Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve. Enjoy.