A few weeks ago my Sister tells me she has a new nighttime addiction. Frozen bananas. Hmmmm. She said in one of her magazines she read that if you peel a banana, slice it, freeze it and then throw the frozen banana chunks into the blender with a few blueberries or a squeeze of lime you have a pretty satisfying dessert. I am really not a banana fan (me personally, my family goes through about 6 a day), but thought it was worth a try.

So it took me a while to get this blended because the first night I went to try it the phone rang. When I came back the bananas had defrosted just enough that when I stuck one in my mouth and bit down I thought I had died and gone to heaven. What the heck? How did I not know that frozen bananas were so DEVINE! So I started just eating frozen banana slices. I put them on oatmeal, in with my greek yogurt, and just have been noshing on them plain. They take a while to eat, and leave you feeling like you had a little somethin’ somethin’.

Alas I made the concoction and she was right, really yummy, and the kids loved it!

One Banana…

Healthy Snack: Frozen Banana with Dry Roasted, Sliced Almonds

Directions

1. Puree ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve immediately.

Three Banana…

Magic Banana Ice Cream

Magic Banana Ice Cream

One ripe banana per person; the riper the banana is, the sweeter the “ice cream” will be.

1. Peel and slice the bananas, place on baking sheet and freeze

2. Remove from freezer and slightly thaw enough to remove from baking sheet

3. Place frozen bananas in a strong blender/food processor or juicer with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. It comes out creamy and delicious. Sprinkle to your liking with nutmeg or cinnamon and sliced berries.

This works equally well with frozen mangoes or frozen berries or a combination of fruit. Experiment to see what you like. If using a blender, it may be necessary to thaw the frozen bananas a little longer than in a juicer. This recipe is from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

My finished product!

Just banana's nothing else!

Four,

So this got me thinking. You know what I did love back in the day? Banana pudding, DELISH! The cook in our Sorority (yes I did a brief stint) made the most amazing banana pudding. I shudder to even think about how fattening that dish was, and how much of it I ate. I found this photo online and it looks about right!

I am not going to post THIS recipe because I am pretty sure it could be classified as “bodily harm”. But here are just a few of the ingredients: cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla pudding mix, whole milk, frozen whipped topping; vanilla wafers (oh ya, and 3 bananas). I gained weight just TYPING that out.

So the hunt was on, there had to be a healthier version! Sure enough it wasn’t even hard to find. Is it the same, no….thank Goodness. But pretty darn good and fun for the kids!

Banana Chocolate-Chip Delish!

(The website I found this on called it “Greek Yogurt Surprise” The word “Surprise” when Mommy cooks, no longer goes over well with my Children. S0 I have renamed the dish!)

Ingredients:

• 8 -4 oz cups Non-Fat Honey Greek Yogurt
• 2-Boxes Madagascar Vanilla Wafers
• 8-Large Bananas
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Open yogurt containers and mix yogurt in a bowl.
• Cut all bananas into small slices.
• Pour wafers into a bowl and smash them until crushed.
• Get a clear large bowl for the layering process. Start with the cookies on the bottom, then yogurt, then bananas, repeat three about three times. End with cookies on top. Then sprinkle chocolate chips on the very top!
• Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours.

Four Bananas make a bunch
and so do many more.
Over hill and highway
the banana buggies go.
Comin’ on to bring you
The Banana Splits Show

Makin’ up a mess of fun
Makin’ up a mess of fun
Lots of fun for everyone

Tra-La-La, La-La-La-La
Tra-La-La, La-La-La-La
Tra-La-La, La-La-La-La
Tra-La-La, La-La-La-La

Four banana, three banana
two banana, one.
All bananas playing
in the bright warm sun.