After School Snack: Frozen Peanut Butter Bananas

October 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

These days school is jam-packed full of learning, extra-curriculars, and even a taddy little bit of fun. They’ve even moved lunch time up for many kiddos to make room for other activities. Some children eat lunch at 10:00! What is this world coming to? But they are waking up at the crack of dawn so an early lunch isn’t so bad. But as parents we must be prepared to hear those impending words each afternoon….

I’m huuuuuungry. Can I have a snack?

Can you blame them? They have been busy for 7 HOURS. All of that icky math and science can really work up an appetite you know? The least that we can do is give them a snack. Here’s a simple snack idea for your busy student (or hungry parent!).

Start by cutting up a couple ripe bananas into bite-size pieces.

Microwave 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter and stir in 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder.

Dip each banana piece into the peanut butter and set on wax paper.

You can drizzle any leftovers on the tops if you’d like.

Freeze for at least an hour and you’re done!

Bing bang bong and you’ve got a very tasty (and healthy) snack! It’s a nice little change from chocolate-covered bananas. The peanut butter actually adds nutritional value with it’s healthy fats and boost of protein. Not to mention the potassium in the banana itself. But who cares about all that? The peanut buttery goodness with a hint of cocoa is super yummy!

Here they are after they are frozen. The peanut butter gets hard, but not as hard as chocolate would so you’ll want to eat them pretty quickly after removing them from the freezer. Ie- don’t leave them sitting around for long periods of time.

YUM!

After School Snack: Frozen Peanut Butter Bananas
Recipe Type: Snack, Dessert
Author: Pennywise Cook
Frozen peanut butter bananas create a healthy afternoon snack!
Ingredients
  • 2 Bananas, Cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1/4 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
Instructions
  1. Place peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for about 30 seconds to melt. Stir in cocoa powder until mixed well.
  2. Dip banana pieces into peanut butter and place on wax paper. Drizzle remaining peanut butter over top if desired.
  3. Freeze for at least an hour. Preferably 3-5 hours or longer.

 


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Banana Cream Cheesecake

July 20, 2012 by 4 Comments

Happy FRIDAY pennywise cooks! May your day be filled with productivity and a little bit of fun, too. 🙂

It’s been just a little while since I shared a cheesecake recipe with you. I’m fond of cheesecakes to say the least. I’m not sure if it’s their creaminess or the fact that you can pair them with practically any sweet flavor that makes them so appealing to me. I’d eat them plain too.

There used to be this cheesecake shop where I used to live. Leonelle’s Cheesecakes. A slice was $2 and it was HUGE! A large cheesecake was $28 and the smaller versions were $19 and worth every single penny. They were low carb without any added preservatives or artificial gunk. He even used a natural sugar. Those were the best cheesecakes we’ve ever eaten. When we moved from that city and came back to visit, we found that his shop was closed. It made me sad. My husband and I would always grab one and eat the entire cheesecake in one night while watching a movie.

I guess it’s best that it’s no longer there…

I was talking to someone the other day and they told me about a banana cream cheesecake they had eaten recently. They raved about this cheesecake. My gears started turning and I knew I had to make one. You know me and my love of bananas.

I made a few changes to Kraft Foods’ recipe for Banana Cream Cheesecake. I adapted it to healthify it a bit. But believe me, it’s still incredible.

It starts off with white cake mix, egg, oil, and sugar made into this crumbled mixture. This is the crust. Never thought of using white cake mix as a crust before, but this was a great idea. It wasn’t cakey at all and tasted really good.

You press the crumbled mixture down into a springform pan to form the crust. Pardon my rippling fingerprints. You can make yours a little prettier I’m sure.

Next comes the nanners. This is really the only point in the entire cheesecake that bananas are involved. To be honest with you, I don’t really care for bananas being in there. I know, kinda weird huh? I have never liked real bananas being in my banana pudding. It’s a texture thing and it bothers me when the bananas get brown.

If you aren’t a banana person, I promise that this cheesecake would be just as amazing without them.

Then its time for the cream cheese mixture. It’s a little runny, even after reducing the amount of milk from the original recipe. But that doesn’t matter because it still bakes up correctly.

Here is it out of the oven! I could just dive right in with my fork right now. It could have cooked another 5-10 minutes I’m convinced, but it was practically done. I’ll add the additional time to the recipe for you.

I’m in love. With a cheesecake.

*cue the teasing “so why don’t you marry it”*

I will, thank you.

Banana Cream Cheesecake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Adapted from Kraft Foods’s Recipe
Ingredients
  • 1 White Cake Mix
  • 2 Egg Whites
  • 2 Whole Eggs
  • 3 Tbsp Oil
  • 2/3 c. Packed Splenda Brown Sugar, divided
  • 2 Bananas, Sliced
  • 1 Package (8 oz) Fat Free Cream Cheese
  • 1 Package (8 oz) 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 c. Skim Milk
  • 1 and 1/2 c. Thawed Whipped Topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Reserve a cup of cake mix. Mix the remaining cake mix with 1 egg, oil, and 1/3 Splenda brown sugar with a mixer. (will be crumbly) Press into a greased round springform pan or 9×13 baking dish to form the crust. Top with bananas.
  2. Beat cream cheeses and remaining sugar with mixer. Add the reserved cake mix, 2 egg whites, last whole egg, and lemon juice. Beat for about a minute, then add the cup of milk. Batter with be thin. Pour onto crust and smooth top.
  3. Bake 45-60 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool and then refrigerate at least 4 hours.
  4. Top with whipped topping and refrigerate leftovers.

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Peanut Butter Choco-Banana Ice Cream

July 16, 2012 by 1 Comment

I am an absolute ice cream fanatic. There, I said it. It’s in my top favorite sweets out there. I have issues practicing portion control when a tub is placed in front of me. So as you can imagine, I try not to get into that position very often.

A while back, I shared a recipe for 1-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream over at Saving with Amy. For ice cream lovers like myself, this is quite a discovery that makes eating ice cream a little less guilt-stricken. You see, all it takes to make a batch of creamy and smooth no-add sugar banana ice cream is to freeze a few sliced bananas and then pop them into a food processor!  I know, right?

I can just feel you saying SHUT UP!


But around here, where there’s banana you’ll almost always find peanut butter. They go together like milk and cookies or Lucy and Ethel……..

….or perhaps me and ice cream.

I have a history of pairing peanut butter and banana together.

Exhibit A:

If you’re a fan of the duo, those are some recipes you could try.

Not only did I add in some peanut butter, I also added in another fave of mine…chocolate! There is nothing better than the combination of those three in harmony taking a dip in my ice cream cone. So soft and creamy.

That’s the stuff! And I just love that this is available whenever I’m ready. The bananas can be frozen for weeks or sometimes even months in the freezer and then popped out to be made into ice cream when you have a craving. And of course, you probably have a little powdered cocoa in the pantry along with some peanut butter.

3- Ingredient Peanut Butter Choco-Banana Ice Cream
Recipe Type: Dessert, Ice Cream
Author: Pennywise Cook
The base of this natural ice cream is simply frozen bananas. Add in some yummy touches like peanut butter and cocoa for an extra treat!
Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Frozen Banana Slices
  • 1 Heaping Tbsp Peanut Butter (creamy)
  • 2 Tsp Cocoa Powder
Instructions
  1. Place the bananas in a food processor and pulse until the bananas start to break up. Add in the peanut butter and cocoa.
  2. Process until small beads are created then scoop into bowl and ice cream and serve!
Notes

I must admit that these are complete estimates for the peanut butter and cocoa. I did not measure exactly but I don’t see how you could really mess this one up. 🙂

 


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Strawberry Banana Smoothie Pops

May 8, 2012 by 3 Comments

Sometimes I wish that I had a dime for every time that my daughter came to me during the day saying “I’m huuuuuuuungry”. You don’t even have to have kids to know exactly what that statement sounds like. I can remember saying that to my mom when I was young. Even after my daughter has just eaten a complete meal, not 10 minutes later I hear those words come out of her mouth. So around here it’s imperative that we have healthy snacks available for these moments of huuuuuunger.

Some of the snacks of choice that I like to have on-hand are string cheese, peanut butter crackers, and fruit snacks. But we’re almost to summer and it’s time to cool off with some refreshing snacks on a hot day. My favorite store for produce, Aldi of course, had a great price on strawberries the other day and I stocked up! They also almost always have the best price on bananas in town. To me, nothing brings those two fruits together better than a smoothie! But if you don’t want to have to create a smoothie every time you would like one, the pops might just satisfy your strawberry banana smoothie craving!

I mixed a couple of bananas and several strawberries together with a little plain yogurt and a pinch of splenda and threw it all in several dixie cups. I popped popsicle sticks into each one and froze them to create these yummy smoothie pops.

It’s a snack that’s not only healthy but really satisfying and refreshing at the same time. And I love that making them in these cups make them fairly big. Maybe more than you would get from a store bought pop and way cheaper for sure!

Print
Strawberry Banana Smoothie Pops

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Pops

A natural and refreshing popsicle made from fresh strawberries and bananas.

Ingredients

  • 2 Large Bananas
  • 10 Medium-Large Strawberries, Cored
  • 1/4 Cup Plain Nonfat Yogurt
  • 1 Tsp Sugar Substitute (optional)
  • 8 Small Dixie Cups

Method

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.
  2. Pour into cups and freeze until solid (around 2-3 hours).

Notes

You don't have to use "Dixie" cups. Use whatever cups you might have. We used plastic bathroom cups. Depending on the size, you may have more or less popsicles.

The sugar substitute addition is not completely necessary. The strawberries and bananas give it plenty of natural sweetness, I just like mine extra sweet!

http://www.pennywisecook.com/strawberry-banana-smoothie-pops/


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