Avocado Banana Bread

Made with coconut oil, avocado, bananas, and whole wheat flour, this Avocado Banana Bread is packed full of superfoods for a delicious clean eating snack!

Banana Bread Pancakes

These Banana Bread Pancakes look and taste indulgent, but a few healthier ingredients make them part of a nutritious breakfast.

Pan Fried Cinnamon Sugar Bananas

Magic happens when you fry these cinnamon sugar bananas.  The sugar caramelizes around the bananas, leaving you with a delicious treat!

It's a common problem: too many bananas in the house and not enough time (or people) to eat them!  Typically when I am found with too many bananas, I'll whip up a loaf or two of banana bread.  Lately, I've been pureeing the over ripe bananas and making food for Summer.  Girl loves her fruit!

Last week I had just one lonely banana that needed to be eaten.  I had recently seen a recipe that looked delicious, and so I decided to give it a whirl.  These pan fried bananas were amazing!  They're coated in a small amount of cinnamon and sugar.  When you fry them, the sugar caramelizes and turns the bananas into something amazing!

I ate my fried bananas on their own with my breakfast, but I think they would also taste amazing on top of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or even as an ice-cream topping!

Pan Fried Cinnamon Sugar Bananas

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Butter or olive oil flavored cooking spray

1.  Slice banana into 1/4" slices.

2.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  

3.  Coat a small frying pan with cooking spray.  Warm over medium heat.

4.  Add the banana slices and cook for 2 minutes.  Then sprinkle the bananas with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

5.  Flip bananas, sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar, and cook for 2 more minutes. 

Serve bananas warm.

Source:  The Best Blog Recipes

Banana Bread Pancakes

Nothing says breakfast like a stack of hot fresh pancakes.  These fluffy banana bread pancakes are sure to please!

I don't make a lot of recipes more than once.  It drives Mike crazy!  A few weeks ago, I asked him what kind of rolls he wanted me to make to go with our soup.  He said "my favorite ones."  Uh...I need a little more information than that!  He couldn't remember any details about the rolls, other than that they were his favorite.  He said it wouldn't be so hard to remember if I didn't make so many different types of rolls!  Oh the joys of being married to a food blogger...

Anyway, you know that I love breakfast, and I have shared a variety of pancake recipes.  I typically make a different recipe each time I make pancakes, but with this recipe I have hit the jackpot!  The last 3 times I have made pancakes, I have made these Banana Bread Pancakes.  They are thick and fluffy with just the right amount of banana flavor.  I also add in a few chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips) for a touch of sweetness.  These pancakes are so delicious, you won't need syrup!

Typically I will make a double batch of these pancakes.  Then I freeze what I don't eat.  When I want pancakes for breakfast, I'll grab a couple from the freezer and pop them into the toaster.   A few minutes later I have "fresh baked" pancakes!

Banana Bread Pancakes

Makes 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2-3 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, and mashed bananas.

3.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

4.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.

5.  Scoop batter in 1/4 cup scoops onto a hot griddle.  Cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Rolo Banana Bread

Chocolate and caramel in a banana bread?  Rolos have always been one of my favorite candies but until now, I had never thought to put them in a banana bread.  Thanks for sharing Chandra!



Hello! I am Chandra from The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen. I am guest posting for Melissa today while she spends some amazing time with her newborn baby!!! Today I am bringing you a really Yummy Banana Bread. Aldi had banana's for .10 a pound and I kinda went a little crazy! I wanted to make some fun and new twists on this classic bread. So I went ahead and threw in my Hubby's favorite candy, Rolos.
I love how easy banana bread is to whip up on the fly. I think that it is always a favorite for breakfast and brunch. Or if you are like me you get home from work and you are famished you can put away 3 slices in like no time at all!!! Really we all love traditional banana bread and sometimes we even put a few chocolate chips in the batter. So how do we take this tasty classic and give it a step up? We Chop Candy Bars Up and Bake Them in the Bread!!!! Hmmmmm Yum! All that melty chocolate and chewy Caramel........ This will certainly become a family favorite for you! I sent this home with my mother and she was quite pleased! I was a little worried when I first made it that the candy would pull the bread apart, but it worked perfectly! Sweet Dense Delicious Banana Bread! I think that I should bake up another loaf and send it to our New Mamma and her family. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to spend time with everyone today here at Melissa's Cuisine! I hope that you all continue to support Melissa and I would love to have you stop my blog sometimes too! This is a Plaid and Paisley Original Recipe

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking POWDER
1/2 tsp baking SODA
1/4 tsp salt
2 over ripe mashed bananas
1/3 cup butter softened
4 tbs milk
2 eggs
1 cup Rolo Candies, chopped in half

Instructions:
preheat oven to 350
in a mixer combine dry ingredients
then add banana, butter, milk and eggs
mix until batter forms and all ingredients are incorporated
gently fold in candies
in a well greased loaf pan pour the batter in
smooth batter out
bake for 55 min
cool in baking dish for 30 min then remove and cool on a rack
Enjoy!!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

How is your summer looking?  Ours is off to a busy start!  June is always crazy because of graduation open houses, plus this year we have quite a few baby showers coming up.  All these parties mean that I am eating an excessive amount of junk food and sweets.  Yesterday, one of my good friends had an open house to celebrate her graduation.  She served all desserts--it was absolutely delicious and I was on sugar overload.  I could tell because my little one kept moving around so my belly was dancing all evening!

After all the sweets I'm indulging in, it's nice to have a healthier option around the house to eat.  I took my mom's recipe for banana bread, swapped out a few ingredients and added a few more to make it healthier, and then made them into muffins.  You may notice that the muffins are a little flat.  I think that's because I took a bread recipe and made it into muffins, the bread is a quick bread so it really doesn't rise in the pan, and that was evident in these muffins.  It didn't bother me though; these muffins are moist and dense, and a little healthier than their banana bread counterpart.

As I was getting my posts ready for this week, I noticed that all of my recipes include blueberries.  So, I'm following last week's Smoothie Week with Blueberry Week.  I hope you enjoy these recipes--blueberries will be in season here soon and I can't wait!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1-1/2 cup mashed bananas (3-4 bananas)
1/3 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup blueberries

1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the sugar, Greek yogurt, and eggs until fluffy.

2.  Mix in the bananas and water.

3.  Add in the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and mix until just combined.

4.  Fold in chia seeds and blueberries.

5.  Divide batter into greased muffin tins.

6.  Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie {In A Bag}

Do you ever wish you had more hours in your day?  Believe me, I sure do!  It seems life keeps going faster and faster, with no intentions of slowing down.  Oh, what I would give for just two more hours in my day!

But, since that doesn't seem to be a reality, I have learned to find things to simplify my life.  This week I've been sharing smoothie recipes with you, and today's recipe can be made two ways.  I'm sure you've seen the bags of smoothie ingredients in the freezer section at the grocery store.  This is my homemade version of those.

I bought a container of yogurt and filled mini muffin tins with a Tablespoon of the yogurt.  Then, I froze it to make little yogurt cubes.  I added those cubes to Ziploc bags along with strawberries and banana pieces.  Now, my freezer is stocked with smoothie bags and when I want a smoothie, I just need to put the contents of the bag and some milk in my blender and viola!  It's smoothie time!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie {In A Bag}

Makes 8 smoothie bags (8 smoothies)

Ingredients:
1 32 ounce container vanilla yogurt
8 cups strawberries
8 bananas, sliced
8 sandwich size ziploc bags
4 cups milk

1.  Scoop yogurt into the openings of a mini muffin tin, 1 Tablespoon of yogurt per opening.

2.  Freeze yogurt until solid, about 3 hours.

3.   Allow the yogurt bites to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until they can easily be removed from the tin.  (I flipped my tin upside down on the counter and then hit the bottom with my palm until the yogurt bites fell out.  It worked well for me!)

4.  Place 4 yogurt bites, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1 sliced banana in each ziploc bag and seal.

5.  Store the smoothie bags in the freezer until you're ready to use them.

6.  To make your smoothie, place the smoothie bag ingredients along with 1/2 cup milk in a blender.  Blend until smooth.

If you just want to make a strawberry banana smoothie, not the smoothie bags, here's the recipe:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 banana (fresh or frozen), sliced
1/4 cup milk
4 ice cubes, optional (use only if you're using fresh fruit)

Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Power Smoothie

I don't talk about it a lot here, but one of my greatest passions is exercise and fitness.  It seems a little contradictory--a food blogger (and not a healthy one) who loves to run and work out!  But, it's the truth.

I didn't always love working out.  After Mike and I got engaged, I started working out every day to get in shape for our wedding.  I ate well and felt great.  When we got married, I was at what I believe to be my lowest weight as an adult.  Then we got married, and I started eating as much as Mike, and the pounds started packing on.  I wasn't exercising as much because I didn't have the motivation of my wedding!

A few months after we got married, I found some motivation and started the couch to 5k program.  I realized how much I still enjoyed working out, and discovered a new love--running. The summer after we got married, I purchased a trial gym membership for each of us.  I would get up in the mornings with Mike and when he would head to work, I would go to the gym.   After our trial membership ended, we purchased a "real" gym membership at another gym.  I loved going every morning and getting a good workout in before work.  I also fell in love with spinning and weight lifting.

After a hard workout, I'd often come home and make what I call a power smoothie.  It's called power because it has blueberries (high in antioxidants), kale (a superfood), and flax seed (a wonder food) in it.  It tastes great, and I found it to be a great recovery drink after a workout.  Sometimes I'd even add a scoop of protein powder to the mix for more staying power.

I made one of these for Mike after we worked out together.  I didn't tell him that it had kale in it until after he finished drinking (and enjoying) the smoothie.  Then I told him it was really a green smoothie and he wasn't too impressed!  He told me to never hide healthy stuff in his food again.  Ha!  That's one request I don't think I'll be following ;)

Power Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 small handful spinach or kale
1 frozen banana
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1/2 cup yogurt

Blend ingredients together in your blender until smooth.  Serve immediately.

S'mores Banana Bread Cake

Are you a camper?  Growing up, camping was something we looked forward to every summer.  My family would typically spend a week camping in either Canada or Kentucky.  We'd also spend a couple weekends at local campgrounds.  And, if we took a vacation, we usually camped out instead of staying in a hotel.  It was a big deal for us when we finally upgraded from a tent to a pop-up camper!

Mike's family also enjoyed camping.  However, their version of camping was quite a bit more upscale than what I was used to!  They had a large trailer and would typically just go to local campgrounds.  Regardless, camping is something that both Mike and I love to do.

Mike's cousins have started a tradition of camping at a family campground each summer.  Last year and the year before, we were able to borrow Mike's parents' trailer and spend the weekend with everyone.  We had such a good time and made so many memories.  Mike and I own a tent and would love to go camping with a group of friends, but that's going to have to wait until next year...

One of my favorite things about camping is making s'mores.  It's just not camping unless you build a big fire, roast marshmallows, and put together a s'more.  There's just something about the golden brown marshmallow melting a big piece of chocolate between two graham crackers that I just love!  While I like traditional campfire s'mores, I also enjoy making other treats into s'mores.  (Like S'mores Puppy Chow, Mess-less S'mores, S'mores Bark...oh, I love s'mores!)

This time I decided to put a s'mores twist on banana bread.  This bread recipe is from my mom and it's my absolute favorite banana bread recipe.  I added a good amount of chocolate chips to the batter.  Then, once the bread was done baking, I topped it with a generous amount of marshmallows and put it under the broiler to roast the marshmallows.  The result was out of this world!

S'mores Banana Bread Cake

Serves 16

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1-1/2 cup mashed bananas (3-4 bananas)
1/3 cup water
1-2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

1.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs.

2.  Mix in the bananas and water.

3.  Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

4.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

5.  Pour the batter into a greased 8x8" cake pan.

6.  Bake at 350 for 65-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

7.  Spread mini marshmallows on top of the cake immediately after it comes out of the oven.

8.  Place under the broiler for approximately 2 minutes, until the marshmallows are toasted.  Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn!

9.  Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing into it.

Cover and store at room temperature.

Biscoff Banana Bread

I worked out today for the first time in a long time.  Between all the snow we've had lately making the roads absolutely horrible to drive on before 6 in the morning, and needing about 10 hours of sleep each night, it's been a while since I've worked out.  I'm finally starting to get my energy back and so I decided that this morning was the perfect day to resume my workout routine.

I decided to use our Wii Fit game this morning.  According to the game, it has been 417 days since I've last used it (thanks to our gym membership).  If you've ever played before, you may remember that the Fit Board "talks" to you.  This morning, when I stepped on it, it said "oof", like I'd gained a bunch of weight.  Well, being pregnant might do that to you, but so might eating an entire loaf of this Biscoff Banana Bread by yourself!

When I saw this bread on Dorothy's blog I knew I had to make it.  I've loved Biscoff spread ever since I've tried it.  In fact, I enjoyed my first jar of Biscoff spread straight from the jar, on a spoon.  It was just so good that I couldn't stop eating it!  I decided that my next jar might as well be used in some recipes, like this bread.  The Biscoff spread isn't overpowering in this bread, it's subtle but just enough to notice an extra special flavor in the banana bread.

Biscoff Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf of bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Biscoff spread
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
7 tablespoons sour milk (To make sour milk: add 1 teaspoon white vinegar to the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. You need a total of 7 tablespoons of liquid (milk + vinegar).)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sifted flour

1.  Cream the sugar, oil, Biscoff spread, and Greek yogurt in the bowl of your stand mixer.  (Mixing with a hand mixer is fine too.)

2.  Add the mashed bananas, eggs, and sour milk to the creamed mixture and mix until completely blended.

3.  Add the baking soda and flour to the batter and mix until just combined.

4.  Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out mostly clean.

Source: Crazy for Crust

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

When is the last time you pulled an all-nighter?  Our youth group had an all nighter this past Friday night to Saturday morning, and I was one of the few adults who "got" to stay up all night with the kids.  Honestly, it wasn't so bad.  We had a lot of activities, games, and awesome conversations to keep us awake.  The all-nighter ended on the best possible note--a pancake breakfast!

A family from our church (and good friends of mine) is moving to Haiti in 2013.  They have a ministry that they started down there a couple years ago and now they'll be taking the leap of faith and moving to Haiti to continue that ministry.  They are famous for making Haitian pancakes--Cinnamon and Haitian Vanilla flavored pancakes that are delicious! 

Speaking of pancakes...I made these beauties a couple weeks ago and posted a picture of my breakfast on my Facebook page.  I had planned to share them with you, and got a reader request to post the recipe please.  (Diane, this is for you!)  These pancakes are an upgraded version of a protein pancake that I make nearly every Friday morning for breakfast.  I had a few bananas that desperately needed eaten so I decided to add them to my pancakes.  While I was at it, I figured I might as well add in some peanut butter and chocolate chips.  It's one of my favorite flavor combinations--you simply can't go wrong!  The additions to my recipe resulted in the fluffiest pancakes I've ever had!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Makes 20 pancakes

Ingredients:

3 over-ripe bananas
3 (6 ounce) cups plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (18 ounces total)
3 eggs
1/4 cup peanut butter
1-3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1.  In a medium bowl, mash the 3 bananas.

2.  Stir in the Greek yogurt, eggs, and peanut butter until completely combined.

3.  Add in the flour and baking powder and gently mix until the flour is just combined.

4.  Fold in chocolate chips.

5.  Pour pancake batter onto a hot griddle using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

6.  Cook pancakes for about 2 minutes before flipping and cooking for 2 more minutes.

Serve hot, with desired toppings.  These pancakes also freeze well--just cool before storing in a freezer bag in the freezer.

“Come join #DairyBreakfastClub recipe party at TidyMom along with The California Milk Advisory Board and RealCaliforniaMilk.com ”

Banana Bread Donuts

Do you have baking moods?  I do!  Since I have Fridays off from work, I usually spend a portion of the day baking.  Sometimes I wake up knowing exactly what I'm going to bake that day and other days I have no idea what sounds fun.  On the days I don't know what to make, I'll often narrow down my choices by the ingredients I have in the house or how much time and effort I feel like putting into a recipe.

These banana bread donuts came about because I had quite a few over ripe bananas and I wanted something easy to bake.  My added incentive was using my Baby Cakes donut maker for the first time!  I also wondered how it would work to take a banana bread recipe and make it in donut form.  It turns out that it works out pretty well!  I made the batter for my Healthier Banana Bread and just poured it into the donut pans.  The taste and texture was different than the banana bread, which I found interesting!  I topped some of the mini donuts with cream cheese frosting, and it added the perfect amount of sweetness.

Healthier Banana Bread Donuts

Makes 12 donuts

You will need:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
cream cheese frosting

1. Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

3. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.

4.  Pour batter into greased donut pans.

5. Bake at 325 for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown and a donut springs back after being touched lightly.

6.  Cool donuts slightly before transferring to a wire rack and frosting.

Source: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Upside Down Banana Cake

I'm the person who gets excited when I see that the bananas on my counter are turning brown.  I know that brown bananas mean I get a chance to make something delicious with them.  Typically I turn to banana bread, which I love.  However, after seeing this recipe when I was searching for the perfect recipe for last month's SRC, I knew I had to make it!

This cake is made from a fantastic banana bread recipe but what really makes it special is the upside down topping.  Bananas are mixed with butter and sugar, resulting in a caramelized banana topping that is delicious! 

Upside Down Banana Cake

Serves 16

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 bananas, thinly sliced

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
2-1/2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk

1.  Cream the butter and brown sugar together until well blended.  Press into the bottom of a cake pan.  (I used a 9x13 and my cake was quite thin, I'd go smaller if possible).

2.  Place sliced bananas on top of the butter/sugar mixture.

3.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter.

4.  Add eggs and mix until fully incorporated.

5.  Mix in bananas and vanilla.

6.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

7.  Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternating between the dry ingredients and the milk until everything is mixed together.

8.  Pour batter over the banana slices.

9.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes (if using a 9x13" pan, longer if you pan is smaller).  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

10.  Place a flat plate or platter on top of the cake pan and flip it over.  Remove the cake pan and allow the caramel topping to drip down.  (Be sure to do this while the cake is still hot or your cake will absorb the caramel topping instead {like mine did!})

Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.  Cover any leftovers.

Slightly adapted from: NYCity Eats

Nutella Banana Bread

After a summer of unusually hot temperatures, the cooler temperatures we've had for the past couple days have been a welcome sign of fall!  I was up north this past weekend and spent most of the day in long pants and a sweatshirt...fall is coming!  I'm so ready for the colors of the leaves, fall decorations (I made a new fall wreath last night), hot apple cider and donuts, and apples.  Plus, the cooler temperatures mean I don't feel so bad about turning on the oven and spending a day baking!

I always have bananas in the house and the summer the temperatures were so warm that our bananas often turned black before we were able to eat them.  That means that I have a bag full of bananas in my freezer waiting to be baked into something delicious.  I enjoy making banana bread and I love the addition of the Nutella swirl in this bread.  It adds a delicious sweetness to the bread and has moved this bread to one of my favorite banana bread recipes.

Nutella Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf, about 16 slices

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup Nutella

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

2.  In a separate bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat until fluffy.

3.  Add eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4.  Add bananas, vanilla, and milk and mix well.

5.  Pour in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.

6.  Spoon the Nutella into a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds to soften it.

7.  Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella and mix well.

8.  Pour half the banana bread batter into a greased bread pan.  Pour Nutella mixture over batter and top with remaining banana bread batter.  Swirl batters together with a knife .

9.  Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Healthier Banana Bread

I've always loved banana bread.  It's one of my favorite recipes that my mom makes and I love her recipe.  I haven't posted her recipe yet, but I will someday.  It's too good not to share!  Right now though, I'm focusing on eating healthier, and while banana bread isn't necessarily a health food, this recipe does contain some very healthy ingredients. 

Mike and I both eat a banana daily, so they're something we always have in the house.  On the rare occasion that the bananas start to turn brown before we can eat them, I peel them and stick them in my "banana bag" in the freezer.  It's perfect for making smoothies or recipes that call for bananas.  I used my freezer bananas in this recipe and I love how it turned out!

Healthier Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf, approximately 12 servings

You will need:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

3.  Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.  Pour batter into a greased 8-1/2" by 4-1/2" loaf pan.

4.  Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5.  Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into the bread.

Source:  America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Chocolate Banana Bites

These delicious and healthy-ish treats just couldn't be easier! Did you know that when you freeze bananas they take on a creamy texture? It's quite similar to ice-cream...In fact, one treat I enjoy is to freeze a banana and then put it in my blender to make a tasty soft-serve style treat! These treats also have that creamy texture, but with a crunch coating of chocolate and peanuts on the outside. They are a delicious bite-sized snack that satisfies my chocolate cravings while eating some fruit!

Chocolate Banana Bites

Makes 8 bites (recipe can easily be multiplied to create more!)

You will need:
1 banana
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could also try dark chocolate for added health benefits)
1 Tablespoon peanuts, chopped

1.  Peel banana and cut into 8 pieces (more or less depending on the size of your banana).

2.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze until frozen through, about 1 hour.

3.  Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in your microwave.  It took me about 1-1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

4.  Dip banana pieces into melted chocolate.  Place on wax paper.

5.  Sprinkle chocolate coated bites with chopped peanuts.

6.  Return to freezer until chocolate is set.  Store in an airtight container. 

Banana Egg Rolls

I had plenty of egg roll wrappers left over from my baked chicken egg rolls and I knew that I wanted something sweet to end the meal with.  Lately I've really been into the peanut butter, Nutella, and banana combination so I decided to go with that.  I made separate egg rolls with peanut butter and Nutella for each of us but I think it would be delicious to put them both in the same dessert too!  I loved this dessert and I know I'll be making it again because I still have left over egg roll wrappers.

You will need:

4 egg roll wrappers

1 banana

Peanut butter

Nutella

1.  Cut the banana into quarters.

2. Place an egg roll wrapper on the counter with a corner facing you.  Spread peanut butter on the wrapper near the bottom corner facing you. Place 1/4 of the banana on top of the peanut butter.

3. Lift the bottom corner of the wrapper up and begin rolling until the wrapper is halfway up.

4. Fold the left side over the center of the wrapper, and then the right. It will kind of look like an envelope at this point.

5. Now continue rolling the wrapper up. Dip your fingers into water and brush on the top corner to seal the wrapper.

6. Place finished egg roll on a greased cookie sheet.  Fill one more egg roll with peanut butter and two more with Nutella, or put both peanut butter and Nutella in each...it's up to you!

7. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the wrappers are browned.

*If your egg roll wrapper package has rolling directions, feel free to follow those instead. Or, I found a good visual here.

Banana Muffins

One fruit we always have in the house is bananas.  Mike and I both eat at least one a day, his is in his lunch and I eat mine before working out each morning.  We have one of those nifty green containers that prolongs the life of produce, and I really think it works!  My bananas stay spot-less much longer in the container than on the counter.  However, I have found that the hotter and more humid it is, the faster my bananas go bad.  That's not always a bad thing though, because it gives me the perfect excuse to bake banana foods!

I made this recipe as part of the Secret Recipe Club that is put together each month by Amanda from Amanda's Cooking.  Each month participants are assigned to another blog and we choose a recipe to make and feature on our blog.  It's all a secret until the day of the posting--today! This is my first time participating and I was assigned to Foodness Gracious.  There are so many fantastic recipes on this blog, but due to my overabundance of bananas, I settled on making his recipe for banana muffins, which he aptly named Bananadrama.  I thought these were delicious, and I loved the added flavor and crunch from the almonds.  I'll definitely be making these again!

You will need:

1-3/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/3 cup ground almonds (I used whole almonds and ground them in my food processor)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2-3 large ripe bananas (I used 3)
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp honey/agave (I used honey)

1.  Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl.

2.  Stir in nutmeg, sugar and almonds.

3.  Mash bananas in another bowl and add eggs, oil, milk, and honey.

4.  Add to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

5.  Spoon into muffin trays and bake in a 375 oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle.

Be sure to check out the other participant's recipes!