Chunky Monkey Banana Bread

This bread started off really healthy. I mean whole wheat flour, applesauce, bananas. A diet friendly sort of thing.

Then these guys crashed the party.



I couldn't turn them away. Look at those faces. I had to make them feel included and wanted. It was the right thing to do.

From then on, things got even crazier when I remembered the peanut butter chips in the pantry.

Oh well, maybe the healthy ingredients will cancel out all the naughty calories from the party crashers.

Regardless, this is an awesome bread. It will make banana bread haters change their way of thinking. It is wholesomely rich without being too sweet. And not too banana-y.

Here's the recipe:

Chunky Monkey Banana Bread
adapted from Cookies and Cups

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. bag of mini Reeses PB cups
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Whisk together all dry ingredients. Throw in the mashed banana, applesauce and egg and stir to combine.
Stir in the peanut butter, Reeses and PB chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.



Make this bread. If anyone at the office asks what you had for breakfast all you need to say is whole wheat banana bread. It's not a lie. You are just omitting a few details.

No biggie.

By the way, you probably want to let your bread cool before slicing, or this could happen to you:



Oh, yeah.
Happy Halloween, ya'll!

me and my pumpkin

This Ice Cream Is Bananas

I buy bananas every week. However, I don’t always eat bananas every week so many are banished to the freezer until I feel like making some banana muffins or something. This recipe is a great use for those frozen bananas. By the way, I try to freeze them without the peel, because it is super hard to remove once frozen. So a few days ago I put my ever ripening 1 ½ bananas in a Ziploc and popped them in the freezer. So today, my friends—I am making ice cream.
This is the easiest, healthiest and tastiest homemade faux ice cream you will ever have. Truth. It has a soft-serve consistency, but you can always pop it back in the freezer to get a little firmer if you like.

Banana Mocha Coconut “Ice Cream”
Makes 1 big serving or 2 small servings

Here’s your ingredients:


1-2 bananas (I used 1 ½ medium bananas)
¼ c shredded coconut (I also keep this in the freezer)
Chocolate syrup to taste (I used sugar free)
Pecans or other nutty topping (not pictured)

Blend the 1st 3 ingredients in mini food processor. Top with pecans. Eat it up!



This recipe is great if you are dieting, if you are out of ice cream or if you are lactose intolerant or vegan. You can make any flavor combination that you like. I’ve tried this with peanut butter and bananas, and it is awesome. Also, if you really plan ahead, caramelize some bananas, freeze them and then add them to your “ice cream” for a new depth of flavor.