#2,003: Fig Newton Smoothie

The town we live in has an insane amount of restaurants, that continues to expand.  However the one "food"-ish chain we cannot get to come here is a Trader Joe's!  The closest one to us is almost 2 hours away.  On a recent visit to my sister, I stopped to stock up on a bunch of things before heading home, and found a great deal on some sweet looking figs.  So I got a box hoping to get my kids to eat them.  No such luck...they didn't like the taste and/or texture of it.  I knew I wouldn't be able to eat them fast enough so I quartered them and popped them in the freezer.  I've been enjoying half of a fig in my smoothie every morning (time to road trip back to another TJ's!), and wanted to see if I could get my kids to like the figs in a fig newtwon-inspired smoothie!  Shockingly, one kid loved it (not the one I thought), but 2 were not big fans.  I thought it was good though, and will probably make a halved recipe for the kid who did like it.  This is a recipe that could easily be prepped the night before and then just blended in the morning to make morning breakfasts easier and faster.  

2-3 figs 

1/2 cup Almond Milk, or coconut milk

1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 cup Ice cubes

1/2 whole Banana

1 Tbsp Almond Butter

1/4 cup Grain-Free Granola (I used unsweetened shredded coconut instead)

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 Tbsp Granulated Honey

1 pinch ground Cinnamon

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds, optional (I omitted)

Blend ingredients and serve.

#2,002: One Bowl Banana Bread

I had 3 bananas sitting on my counter getting very ripe and I was going to throw them in the freezer for smoothies like I normally do, but I decided to make my kids some banana bread instead.  They LOVED this recipe and I've actually made it again tonight with more bananas from our freezer.  I love that everything is made in one bowl...less mess to clean up!!

I have a husband who loves green tipped bananas, but the second they get a brown speck on them he won't eat them.  So a lot of bananas go into the freezer (it's one fruit we don't ever seem to eat fast enough).  I personally don't love bananas on their own but throw them in some sort of baked good and I'll happily enjoy it.  This would be a great recipe to double to either have an extra loaf on hand (in the freezer of course) for breakfast, or to share with a friend, co-worker, or neighbor.  

3 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren't crumbly.)

#2,001: Yellow Squash Chocolate Chunk Bread

I received 2 huge yellow squash from a student of mine, so I have been on the hunt for different squash recipes to make for my kids.  I found this recipe which called for zucchini and suggested making it in muffin form, but I'm too lazy for that and wanted to make it into a bread/loaf instead.  So I subbed the zucchini for yellow squash and I baked it in an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan.  This bread was super moist, and my kids loved it.  They ate it for 2 days in a row for breakfast, and as soon as it was gone I made another batch.  Next time I should just double the recipe and freeze one for later in the week.  This was seriously fantastic!  I used dark chocolate chunks, but I think mini chocolate chips would be good too because it would be incorporated more.  Either way, this is a keeper recipe!  

 1 cup all purpose flour

 1/2 cup oatmeal

 1/3 cup brown sugar

 1/3 cup granulated sugar

 2 tsp baking powder

 1/4 tsp baking soda

 1/2 tsp salt

 1 tsp cinnamon

 1/4 cup chocolate chunks

 2 cups shredded zucchini, (I used yellow squash)

 2 eggs, lightly beaten

 1/3 cup canola oil

  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, brown and granulated sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in chocolate chunks. In a separate mixer bowl, incorporate zucchini, eggs, and oil until well blended. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients.

(I skipped this step and put into a greased loaf pan instead.  I baked mine at 350 degrees for 42 minutes).  Distribute into paper lined cupcake tray, place in oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.