Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

 

I tested another recipe, with a few changes, and it is delicious. We had a few bananas turning brown on the counter, so choosing this recipe was easy. The chocolate chips helped sway my decision too!

Ingredients:

• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 light brown sugar or raw sugar (I used 1/4 c. honey)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 medium bananas, mashed
• 1/3 c. unsweetened crunchy peanut butter (I used creamy, natural peanut butter)
• 1/4 c. plain fat-free yogurt (I used plain whole yogurt)
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbs. canola oil (I used coconut oil)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (choose these carefully - dark chocolate is best)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat standard loaf pan with oil. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. (If you use honey, you'll of course add it to the wet ingredients).

2. Whisk together mashed bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, egg and oil. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan.

3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before unmolding. Cool completely then slice and serve. (It took less than 40 minutes to cook in my oven... and we of course tasted it before it cooled completely!)

This recipe came from an Optimum Wellness publication that I probably picked up at a grocery store in Colorado. 

Action Item: Try this recipe using my changes or make some of your own suited to your tastes and requirements!

For Further Reading: How to Choose the Healthier Oil: Coconut Oil vs. Olive Oil (good reminder that you need to choose what's best for your lifestyle and keep it varied)

Whole Foods

I actually mean whole foods (foods with only one ingredient) not the store.

If you are trying the mini-pledges listed here (Commit to a Healthier You), then today starts:

Week 5: Try two new whole foods –

Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.

This should be a fun week, because you're not trying to cut anything out of your diet. You're adding in the good stuff! If you haven't started the mini-pledges, take the week 1 plunge today and see if you can eliminate (or reduce) processed foods from your diet. Commit to a healthier you with foods that fuel your body!

I just took a break to eat my breakfast and it reminded me that natural peanut butter is a whole food! If you've never tried real peanut butter, then do that this week. You can buy it in jars (the ingredient list will say PEANUTS), you can make your own or check at your grocery store because some have a peanut or almond grinder in the store. You can even take your own jar (get it weighed first)!


Here's info from the 100 Days of Real Food blog, about whole foods:

Some examples that you’re hopefully familiar with are apples, potatoes, brown rice, whole-wheat flour and spinach. Some other whole foods that are a bit less common are as follows:

• Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”)
• Barley
• Parsnips
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Steel cut oats
• Papaya
• Brussels sprouts
• Black-eyed peas
• Chickpeas
• Bok choy
• Swiss chard
• Radicchio (pronounced “rah-DEE-kee-oh”)
• Spaghetti Squash
• Watercress
• Dates
• Kiwi
• Eggplant
• Pomegranate (and having the juice in a martini does not count!)
• Fava beans
• Lentils
• Spelt
• Pine nuts
• Star fruit

Action Item: On your next visit to the grocery store, pick out two new fruits, vegetables or grains to try. If you have no idea how to cook or eat or peel them, go online for recipes and how-to videos. Or call your Mom! No excuses.

For Further Reading: What Exactly Are Whole Foods? and The Benefits of Healthy Whole Foods

Frozen Banana Bites

I have been mentioning chocolate a lot lately it seems, but here's one more. I really need to share this! My Mom found the recipe on facebook and shared it with me. We commented on it back and forth, so I just got up from the computer, marched to the kitchen and made these. Easy. Super yummy. Kid-approved!

The recipe/photo came from Dr. Josh Axe's facebook page:

• 2 large bananas
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (use whatever chocolate chips you have... dark chocolate is best!)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (make sure it's natural, no added anything)
• Unsweetened coconut flakes (I actually left some of mine plain, topped some with chia seeds and others with hemp seeds. Nuts would be good too).

Method . . .

Set out a large plate or bowl with a piece of parchment or wax paper on it. Cut up the bananas into good-sized chunks. Each banana should give you around 5 to 6 pieces. Heat the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave on high for about a minute. Then stir until smooth.

This is what mine looked like going into the freezer.
A little rushed and messy, but still a thumbs up.

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 (for even more chocolate-y goodness).

And my son's enthusiastic thumbs up!

Then sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Transfer to the freezer for about an hour until hardened. You can enjoy them like this (but they really aren't frozen yet -- and when they're frozen, the banana tastes like vanilla ice cream). I suggest then covering with some plastic wrap (or really you can do all of this in some kind of Rubbermaid container) and let freeze overnight.

 

These are really delicious, easy to make, would be great for guests, for a kid's party or just as a snack for yourself. I am thinking I will try using a whole banana and putting it on a stick. Jaryn keeps seeing these at Sprouts and wants me to buy them; homemade would be better for so many reasons: natural, no preservatives, made with love, no packaging, less expensive. And here's my reminder to only eat a few. Chocolate and peanut butter both have lots of calories, plus that way you can save some for the next day!

 

 

Action Item: Yep, you guessed it. Try these healthier treats for you and your family.

 

For further reading: A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Peanut butter

Yum, I adore peanut butter. Do you? If you are not making your own or reading labels, your peanut butter may have many added ingredients including sugar. Yes, sugar is everywhere, and I will talk about it a lot!

Some grocery stores offer freshly ground peanut butter. So delicious. You actually grind it yourself and watch it pour into a container. It's fresh, it's natural and you're not wasting plastic or jars; you can re-use the containers.

The other option is to make your own! Yes, you heard me correctly. You do need a strong, heavy-duty blender. Making peanut butter took a toll on my blender and it's pretty powerful. So if you have a Vitamix or something similar, you can do this easily. Put a cup of roasted peanuts (lightly salted or unsalted) in a blender and turn it on. There you go! Delicious, creamy, yummy, good-for-you peanut butter. If your blender is struggling, you might have to turn it off, scrape down the sides and continue.

If you can't buy fresh peanut butter at the store or make your own, then please read the labels and buy some with only one ingredient -- peanuts! Even some with a few ingredients can be healthy too, such as salt (a little) and oil. You can try other spreads too - almond, cashew, etc. 

Action item: What's in your peanut butter? Check now.

For further reading: Health Benefits of Nuts