It's Hot! Cool off with a Banana Popsicle

Summer is in full swing and it's HOT outside! Here is a tasty treat to cool you off. It's fun to make and fun to eat!

Banana Popsicles

What you'll need: 

4-5 medium size firm bananas

8oz semi sweet chocolate, melted

1tsp canola oil

colored sprinkles 

4 Popsicle sticks

To Make: 

Cut each of your bananas in half. Insert Popsicle stick into each banana half and freeze on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. When the bananas are frozen, melt the chocolate in a coffee mug, microwave for about 2mins at 1/2 power. Stir in 1tsp oil. Dip frozen bananas in the melted chocolate and place back on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Return to the freezer until you are ready to eat. Eat cold and enjoy! 

After playing outside in the sprinklers, we came in and enjoyed our Popsicle! My boys LOVED them, as you can tell by their chocolate covered faces! And yes, those are cupcake liners, to "catch" the drippings! :-) 

Granola Energy Balls

These tastey little treats are sure to give you the afternoon pick me up you need, without undoing your whole day. 

Granola Energy Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups coconut flakes
• 1 cup peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)
• 2/3 cup honey 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

To Make:

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
2. Roll into bite-size balls.  The size you roll them will determine how many the recipe yields. I rolled mine a little bigger and the recipe made about 2 dozen balls. You could also flatten the mixture out onto a 9x13 pan and cut up as granola bars, if you prefer. 
3. Store in fridge.

You could easily cut this recipe in half, but they stay good in the fridge for about a week, so stock up and snack away! I popped 2 at a time as my afternoon snack last week. 

Nutella Brownies

These two words together explain everything, not much more details needed. This would have to be my second favorite brownie recipe! My first would be the dark chocolate peanut butter brownies, I will make those for you all soon and post up the recipe. These brownies were perfect, to me. They had the perfect chocolate flavor and were so deliciously fudgy, just the way a brownie should be.

Nutella Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup Nutella
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

To Make: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9x13 (for thin brownies) or a 8x8 square pan (for thicker brownies) or a Perfect Brownie Pan (if you have one, which I do and I love mine!). Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and Nutella. Fold in the flour and the chocolate chips; combine all the ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan and then slice and serve.

Red Velvet Pancakes with a Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

Oh goodness! Just typing in the title of this blog post is making me drool and want to indulge in some more of these yummy pancakes! My best friend's favorite dessert is red velvet anything - red velvet cake, red velvet brownies, red velvet cheesecake, etc. I found this recipe on Pinterest awhile back and have been waiting to have breakfast with her just so I could make these for her, and oh goodness it was heaven in our mouths. It was very hard to limit myself to just two pancakes, but somehow I managed! I just ate really slow and savored every bite.

Red Velvet Pancakes 

with a Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

Pancake Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons red food coloring

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

To Make: 

Mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) together in a small bowl until smooth, fold in chocolate chips. Pour about 1/3 cup onto medium/high griddle and lightly brown on both sides.

Syrup Ingredients: 

4oz cream cheese

1/4c maple syrup

2tblsp heavy cream

Melt the cream cheese in a microwaveable bowl for about 30-40 seconds, stir until smooth. Stir in the maple syrup and heavy cream. Pour generously over pancakes! 

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

These little muffins are every bit delicious and nutritious. They are a perfect morning treat, especially after an intense workout. They are sure to get your morning off to a great, healthy start. 

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Adapted from: Dashing Dish

Ingredients:

• 1-2 small ripe bananas, ripe, mashed
• 3/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup plain low fat greek yogurt (I like Danon OIKOS vanilla)
• 1 cup whole grain old fashioned oats (use gluten free if sensitive to gluten)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I use JIF natural creamy, you could also use almond butter)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or line with silicone or foil liners, (spray liners if using). I used regular paper muffins and my muffins didn't stick too bad, but make sure to use the foil liners and spray them with cooking or flour spray so they won't stick. 

2. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until mixture is smooth. 

3. Divide mixture evenly between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy, one or more! With just about 75 calories in each muffin, you can have more than one at a time, without any guilt! 

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries, Banana and Chocolate Chips

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice or cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

Method

1.    Preheat oven to 375°F and generously spray the inside of a 10-1/2 by 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.

2.    In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, Chinese five spice, salt, half the walnuts, half the strawberries and half the chocolate. (Save the other half of strawberries, walnuts and chocolate for the top of the oatmeal).

3.    In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract.

4.    Add the oat mixture to prepared baking dish. Arrange the remaining strawberries, walnuts and chocolate on top. Add the banana slices to the top then pour the milk mixture over everything. Gently shimmy/shake the baking dish to help the milk mixture go throughout the oats.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar on top then place back in the oven under the broiler and broil for 20-30 seconds. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup.

Happy New Year! Don't forget to eat your Black-eyed Peas!

It's a new year, full of hope and possibilities! Make it count! Make sure to eat some black-eyed peas today for good luck all year round! My husband doesn't like black-eyed peas so I disguised them in a bean dip! Shhh, don't tell him.

Black-eyed Pea Dip

What you'll need:

1 can black eyed peas

1/2 onion, chopped

1tbls choped jalepenos

1/4c hot sauce

1/4c sour cream

1/2c shredded cheddar cheese, divided

To Make:

Preheat oven to 400. Mash beans in a quart sized dish. Mix in all remaining ingredients, using 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20mins, until hot and bubbly.



Ejoy with some of your favorite tortilla chips. I wrapped heaping tablespoons up in some warm corn tortillas for a healthy lunch to start off the new year right.