3 Banana Snack Ideas

Bananas. Mother Earth's solution for your daily intake of potassium and fiber, all zipped up into a funny lookin' yellow suit. But what if you're tired of eating bananas the same way every day? You probably don't drink 100% banana juice or eat bananasauce, so what options are there to get creative with this funny fruit? Here are three ideas on how to make bananas a little more interesting:

#1 - Sticky Slices

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and peeling your banana. If you're doing it from the long stem (where it's attached to other bananas), take some advice from the monkeys: if you squeeze it from the opposite end, it's much easier to remove!

Slice your banana and place the slices on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle cinnamon over the slices and drizzle with honey.

Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes. When they come out, the honey will probably have gotten everywhere, just to warn you...

Don't expect these to be crunchy. They're mushy but very flavorful. Once cooled a bit, they'd be a great treat for a baby or toddler because they're great finger food!

#2 - Banana Bites

Speaking of finger food, if you prefer yours cold rather than hot, here's an option. Slice up your banana so the pieces are 1/2" thick.

Take some peanut butter and slather between two slices of banana. I found 1 banana = 16 slices or 8 banana bites.

And, if you really want to be devilish, dip it in some melted chocolate.

Place them in the freezer for 2 hours and stick 'em in a plastic bag for tasty treats later on!

#3 - Almond-Banana Smoothie

Lastly, if you don't like the texture of bananas, a smoothie might be your best bet. To make a delicious almond-banana smoothie, you'll need: 

2 sliced bananas

2 Cups of almond milk

2 Cups of ice

2 Tablespoons of packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Nutmeg (optional)

Start by blending the first five ingredients until smooth. This is enough for four 8oz. glasses, which you can then sprinkle some nutmeg on top, if you like. It's savory, it's sweet, and it's ridiculously good.

TOTAL COSTS: Varies per snack idea

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Varies

Anywhere from less than 5 minutes to 2 hours

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): All of these were 1 out of 5

I tried to find three creative but also easy banana ideas that any parent, college kid, babysitter, health nut, etc. could execute. My favorite? The smoothie!

No-Bake Gluten-Free Energy Balls

Today's post is a fast and easy one because you don't have to bake anything, it requires very few ingredients, and what you're about to devour isn't full of crazy preservatives so they're, dare I say, healthy! But be warned: they're very addicting. I won't tell you how many I ate in one day...

So here's what you'll need to make 8 energy balls:

* 1 cup of dry oats (which helps lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease)
* 1/2 cup of peanut butter (which has potassium, Vitamin E, and magnesium)
* 1/3 cup of honey (which is a natural source of carbohydrates which provide energy!)
* 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (which improves your vascular functions and improves insulin sensitivity, though I suppose you could use raisins instead if you don't want chocolate)
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla (which, according to WebMD, can help stop tooth decay!)

So first, get a big bowl and add all the ingredients together. I recommend wearing gloves because this is going to get messy.

Once the dough is formed, then you're ready to make your energy balls! I decided to put them on a piece of parchment paper and put them in the fridge to harden. If you don't put them in the fridge, they'll stay very chewy but also greasy and a bit messy.

Mine didn't last very long in the fridge... not because they went bad, but because I ate them too quickly! Seriously, they're addicting. I recommend leaving them in the fridge, though, as the peanut butter tends to melt a bit once it reaches room temperature (or as soon as it's in your hand). Still, they're easy to make, they're good for you, and you don't have to turn on the oven on a hot summer's day - doesn't get much better than that!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12
$1.99 for oats
$2.79 for peanut butter
$4.29 for honey
$2.50 for chocolate chips
I used my own recipe for the homemade vanilla

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 10 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
These would be a great treat to make with your kids - they're as easy as baking cookies, minus the baking part! Now if you're excuse me, I have to go make some more... omm nom nom...

Apple Nachos!

Want to make an easy, healthy-ish snack for you or your kiddos is less than 20 minutes? I say healthy-ish because there are chocolate chips but those could easily be removed (Harvard claims peanut butter to be healthy, FYI). Apple nachos + healthy-ish + short prep time = great summertime snack! Here's what you'll need:

* 3 apples, sliced (I used Red Delicious which I thought was fine but my husband said they tasted like sponges, so maybe go with something more tart)
* Lemon juice
* Almond slices
* Pecans (though I used walnuts instead)
* 3 Tablespoons of peanut butter
* Chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
* (optional) Unsweetened coconut

Start by preparing your apples - wash them, slice them thin, and put them on a plate (if you don't have one of these handy apple slicers, go get one right meow!)

Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples to keep them from getting brown.

Melt your peanut butter in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (I did it for 45 seconds and it was bubbling over and almost burnt so anything less than that is your best bet!) and using a spoon, sprinkle half the peanut butter over the apples.

Next, add your almond slices...

And your pecans (or walnuts, in this case)...

And don't forget the chocolate chips! If you choose to add your coconut, now would be the time.

Go back over the apples with the rest of the peanut butter.

And there you have it! Apple nachos for 2, please!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 (if you don't have any of the ingredients - prices from Vons)

$1.49/lb for apples
$2.29 for lemon juice
$3.99 for almond slices
$5.99 for pecans
$2.79 for peanut butter
$2.50 for chocolate chips

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 15-20 minutes

Depends on how much time you take slicing your apples

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5

This is such an easy snack to make, I don't know why I never made these before! And just as a heads-up, you might need a fork.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

With an exception of mint + chocolate, I think peanut butter + chocolate is close to being the best combination of flavors for any dessert. Whether it's pie or candy, ice cream or fudge, it always hits the spot for me. I saw this recipe on MoneySavingMom and thought it would be easy enough for anyone to tackle (especially because you don't have to bake anything). However, unless you have a freezer handy, this might not be the best treat to make... details below.

So go to your pantry and grab these five ingredients:

1. 1 Cup of natural peanut butter

2. 4 Tablespoons of coconut oil

3. 1 1/2 Tablespoons of maple syrup

4. 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

5. Dark chocolate chips

Start by lining an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil. I didn't have an 8x8 pan so I just roughly measured out how big that would be in my 9x11 pan.

Next, combine all of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) in a bowl until it's smooth and creamy.

Once it's ready, pour the mixture into your foil-lined pan.

Sprinkle your chocolate chips on top and stick in the freezer, not the refrigerator, for 2 hours.

Note: I didn't pre-cut any pieces so I'd recommend doing that maybe an hour into the cooling process. Otherwise, you might have a hard time cutting out the pieces (though the foil does help).

Ok, so here's my problem with them. I found that they melted quite quickly the second you remove them from the refrigerator (since coconut oil has a melting point of around 76 degrees) so keep them in the freezer in a plastic bag until you're ready to devour them. Seriously, I held one for less than 3 seconds and it was already melting onto my fingers. Quite messy but still delicious!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20
$2.79 for natural peanut butter from Vons (I recommend getting a brand new jar, since you'll be using most of it!)
$5.99 for coconut oil from Whole Foods
$8.49 for maple syrup from Vons (but it's 100% maple syrup, which is why it's pricey!)
$1.99 for sea salt from Vons
$2.50 for dark chocolate chips from Vons

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 2 hours, 15 minutes
15 minutes to combine ingredients and add foil to pan
2 hours to chill

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
It's easy, it's relatively fast, and with the foil, you don't have to worry about cleaning up the pan after everyone has eaten it! Just... make sure, they're very cold before serving or switch out the coconut oil for another ingredient that won't make it melt so fast!

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bars or "Why Didn't I Make These Sooner?!" Bars

I don't say this about many things, but I wish I had seen this recipe from MoneySavingMom years ago. It has absolutely everything a high school kid for a bake sale, a poor college kid, a mom, and ME could ever want: simplicity, no oven, and chocolate + peanut butter = the ultimate marriage of flavors. If you have a dinner party tomorrow night and want an easy dessert or maybe you just want to treat yourself, grab a pan, a measuring cup, and these ingredients and be prepared to have your mouth salivate in 3... 2... 1...

* 1 Cup of peanut butter (make sure you have an almost full jar, as you'll use almost 3/4 of the contents!)

* 1/2 Cup of honey

* 1/2 Cup of coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer)

* 2 Cups of old fashion oats

* 1 Cup of shredded coconut

* 1/2 Cup of chopped nuts (I used walnuts), raisins, or dried cranberries

* 1 1/4 Cups of chocolate chips (photo shows mini but I used semi-sweet regular chocolate chips)

* 1 teaspoon of vanilla

In a medium saucepan, melt the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil (or butter). Make sure it doesn't burn by stirring frequently (took mine about 4 minutes to melt completely).

Once it has melted, take the pan off the heat and add the oats, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, nuts/raisins, and vanilla. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and set in your fridge to harden.

How long you ask? Good question. I found after two hours it wasn't quite hard enough, 5 hours was better, but overnight would be ideal. If you do leave them to harden overnight, be prepared to get a workout - these suckers were so thick they were difficult to cut out but so worth it!

There are so many different variations you could do - you could replace or add gluten free oats, flax seed, almond butter, salt, etc. Someone in the original post's comments said this makes 24 bars at 240 calories/piece, but really, who's counting? Just cut them up and enjoy. Life's too short to skip dessert.

TOTAL COSTS: About $30 if you don't have any of the ingredients

$2.69 for peanut butter

$4.29 for honey

$5.99 for coconut oil at Whole Foods (though really, you could use $1 butter from the store)

$1.99 for oats

$2.50 for shredded coconut

$5.99 for chopped nuts

$2.50 for chocolate chips

$4.99 for vanilla

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 20 minutes + at least 2 hours to cool

I still recommend you let these harden overnight but if you can't wait, I completely understand!

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5

The "hard" part might be making sure the peanut butter mixture doesn't burn but that's just a matter of keeping your eye on the pan and stirring. Really, it's not hard at all and I encourage everyone to make these!

My First Blog Requests - Keep 'Em Comin'!

If there is ever something you're curious how long it took to do or how much it might be, shoot them on over and I'll break it down for you Mythbuster-style! Today's spoooooky recommendations came from my former neighbor, Mrs. Martin -

#1 - Glow in the dark eyes

Perhaps you've seen the pictures going around Pinterest or Facebook. Glow lights + paper towel/toilet paper rolls = creepy eyes in the bushes. Does it work?

Well, yes and no. A few things to keep in mind:


     a.) You need to cut the eyes fairly large so you can see the light but not so big that you can see the glow stick
   b.) Depending on how long the glow sticks are, you might have to curl them inside the rolls. For these that were 8" long, I had to fold them so they were 4" long so that the stick wouldn't go outside of the roll. If you hide them in bushes, perhaps the bushes can hide the sticks if they go outside of the rolls, but it might be better to get 4" glow sticks.
     c.) Certain colors work better than others. As you see below, the green shows up the best, then pink, then blue
     d.) Remember to draw your design before cutting. Having a template for the eyes will make it so much easier!

TOTAL COSTS: $3.50 (glow sticks from Vons)
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 15 minutes (to make 3)
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 1 out of 5. A great activity for kids, super easy, and an excuse to be creative!


#2 - "Spooky Teeth"
Here's another that has been making the rounds on Facebook and Pinterest but was also on Cosmopolitan's website. Pretty straight forward - apples, marshmallows, peanut butter. Are they any good?

Yes. Yes yes yes. I don't know why I've never seen marshmallows and peanut butter together but man is it addicting. A recipe I saw called for "1 medium apple, 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 25 mini marshmallows" but I did 2 small apples and chunky peanut butter and they tasted ah-may-zing. If you want to make them more like teeth, you can clean them up a bit but I promise you, they won't be on the plate long enough for anyone to care. Great Halloween snack!

TOTAL COSTS: About $9
$2.00 for mini marshmallows, $3.00 for peanut butter, and $4 for 3 lbs. of apples
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 15 minutes
...though some of that time may have been spent eating ingredients...ahem...
EASY-PEASY SCALE: 1 out of 5
If you don't already have an apple slicer/corer like this, I highly recommend you get one. Saves you a lot of time and energy!