Elvis' Fried Banana Sandwich

One of Tink's many, many birthday food requests was a fried banana sandwich.  She calls them Elvis sandwiches and she absolutely loves them.  We all do!  Of course, I add my own little touches and healthy it up as much as possible. :) These sandwiches are also a great alternative to banana bread when I need to use up the overripe bananas we seem to constantly have.  In this heat, bananas last two days at most on our counter.  I usually stick them in the fridge, which keeps them from ripening for almost two weeks, but the kids still won't eat them because the skins turn black.  I have come to enjoy my bananas cold better than room temperature!

You will need (for one sandwich):

1 overripe banana
peanut butter
2 slices of whole wheat bread
Smart Balance spread (or butter)
cinnamon sugar
honey
frying pan

Preheat your frying pan to medium heat.  Grease with pan spray or butter.

Spread peanut butter onto both slices of bread.  I like Smart Balance's natural peanut butter.

Drizzle honey on one side of peanut butter laced bread.  Slice the banana and place the slices on the other peanut butter slathered bread.

Put the two slices together, banana and honey meeting in the middle.  Spread the Smart Balance spread onto the outside of the sandwich.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Heat in the frying pan until a beautiful golden brown.

Tink likes to have her sandwich cut in half.  (It's all I can do to not write "sanch" because that's what the girls have always called sandwiches. Sanches! Goose started it.  Her favorite lunch as a toddler was a "cheesh sanch.")

So delicious!!  My mouth is watering and I glanced over at the bananas on the counter.  The stinkin' things are under ripe for once.  Of course!  :)

We've been on a cold sanch kick this week for dinner because the heat index has been in the 100's.  The weatherman said that this is the hottest weather in recorded history here in Florida.  I didn't even want to turn on the burner to boil the eggs for egg salad sanches last night!  But I would turn on the burner for these fried banana sanches!!  I think I've decided on tomorrow night's dinner!

All great flavors!  Bananas, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon.  Absolutely wonderful!  Add the touch of sugar and the nutty whole wheat and you come pretty close to the perfect sanch.  At least according to Elvis and Tink!

Enjoy!!

Whole Wheat Banana Cake

This recipe for banana cake isn't low on sugar, but it is whole wheat and a great treat for the kids. I like to make it an hour before the monkeys get home from school so that it is still warm. On a cold day (which to us is anything less than 70 degrees) a nice big slice of warm banana cake and a cup of hot cocoa puts huge smiles on my girls' faces. It is also a great way to use up browning bananas instead of making banana bread or muffins.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted (Smart Balance stick)
1/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

I use my KitchenAid with the whisk attachment to mash the three bananas.



In a separate large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together.





Back in the KitchenAid...switch to the paddle attachment and add the egg, melted butter (make sure it has cooled so that you don't cook the egg), and the milk. (I used half and half, but any type of milk is just fine. I usually use skim, but had a bunch of half and half that I needed to use up before the expiration date.) Then add half the dry ingredients.



Mix a little, but not completely and then add the rest of the dry. As always, be careful not to overmix.



Gently stir in the chocolate chips.



Spread the batter into your greased pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.





This cake needs no icing, no butter, no addition of anything. It's super yummy right out of the oven, but also delicious the next day. Just cover it with plastic wrap to keep out the air overnight. We never have leftovers past the second day, but I bet it would keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, wrapped tightly. I put a nice big slice in the kids' lunch the next day. With the whole wheat, I also feel comfortable giving the girls a small slice in the morning with their breakfast (as long as it's paired with an egg for protein).



So moist and tender. If you are a raisin person you can absolutely substitute raisins or even walnuts for the chocolate chips. Tink's braces make chocolate chips the safer choice for her. Not that anyone complains about the addition of chocolate. :)



Enjoy!!

my recipe card:

After School Snack

My girls love this after school snack. It's quick, easy, incredibly tasty, relatively healthy, and doesn't ruin their appetites for supper. (We eat supper at 4:30 and the kids get home at 3, so I only make one of these and split it between the Goose and Tink.)

You will need:

2 100% whole wheat tortillas
1 banana
1 T butter
chocolate chips
cinnamon sugar

Melt the butter in a frying pan.



While it's melting, cut up the banana and place the pieces on top of one tortilla.




Smash each piece with a fork.



Place the banana-covered tortilla in the pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. As many as you like! I used mini semi-sweet, but regular size would be great, too. You could also try butterscotch, white chocolate, or peanut butter chips.



Top with the second tortilla and cook until the bottom tortilla is crunchy and light brown. About 2 mins.



Flip over. I know it seems like this would be a hard step, but I just use a wide spatula and it flips over with ease. Just be quick.



Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the newly flipped side.



When the second side is crispy, remove to a plate and let cool for one minute.



I use a pizza cutter to cut the tortilla sandwich into fourths, two for each monkey.



Gooey, warm, delicious!! This recipe is reminiscent of Elvis' favorite sandwich, the fried peanut butter and banana. Actually, spreading PB on the tortillas would be fantastic.



Enjoy!

Workout Shake

I hate working out. Really, really hate it, but I love it when I am finished. My preferred workout time is the morning, before breakfast. I can't eat and then work out. Big yuck, but I always need something (cold) when I'm done torturing myself. This shake cools me down, fills me up, and gives me energy to get through the rest of the day. It's my reward for sweating and crying my way through another workout.

You will need:

1/4 cup frozen blueberries (or fresh)
1 scoop soy protein powder
a banana
8 oz water
4 (or more) cubes of ice
blender
1/2 T flaxseed oil (optional)



You can find soy protein powder at any store--I get mine at Wally Mart. It's not at all expensive and lasts a long time, but you do get less than what the canister implies.



That's a new can. Really! It's like opening a bag of chips and more than half the bag is air. I suppose the protein powder "settled?" Hmm. Still, it's cheap and will last you for months.

Add all of your ingredients to the blender in no particular order. (I find that this shake is plenty sweet, but if you want it even sweeter you can add a teaspoon or so of honey.)



Blend.



This shake supposedly makes two servings, but I've found that it really makes about one and a half. I suppose if you weren't replacing your breakfast with the shake it would be two servings. I can usually find a monkey who want to the finish the shake for me or I put the remainder in the fridge and have it for a snack later on in the afternoon. It makes a great 3 o'clock pick-me-up!



The shake comes out a beautiful purple color. My pictures don't do it justice...it's hard to photograph glass.



Enjoy!

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these muffins this morning for the girls before school. I did not take step-by-step pictures because a.) my camera was under the impression that its batteries were low and b.) it was 5am. I did not feel like fooling with a camera that would take one picture and then shut off. We're out of batteries and it was too early for me to think of stealing the batteries from a remote. I did that this afternoon. I can't tell you how much my husband loves to pick up a remote and find that it has no batteries in it. :)

Banana Oat Muffins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (or 1/3 cup honey)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Did I mention that these are healthy muffins? As healthy as a muffin can be, anyway. The whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of oil makes me feel less guilty about adding the chocolate chips.

Combine the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl (or mixer) lightly beat the egg and then stir in the milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the bananas and mix thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir until just combined. Pour batter into a 12-cup paper lined muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.








These muffins were so tender and moist. Really the only way you could tell that they had whole wheat instead of all white flour was by the way they stuck with you until lunch. Big hit with the munchkins and hubby.




I also liked that they were quick and easy enough to have ready by breakfast time, without having to get up earlier than usual.