It turns out that I have gained the Freshman 15. No, I didn’t jump into my trusty DeLorean (Great Scott!) to re-experience the fall of 2000 and my freshman year of college (believe me, it wouldn’t be pretty).
Nope – apparently it’s common among food bloggers to gain weight in the first year, and I have been no exception. Between trying new restaurants, testing new recipes and entertaining, those pounds magically appeared.
As I’ve worked to shed those pesky pounds, I’ve really taken a keen eye to what I’m eating and have been trying to just eat better. For me – that means more fruits and veggies, fewer simple carbs (hello sugar and white flour) and more lean protein. Yes, that means that on occasion, my dinner might be tuna salad and steamed broccoli. And Yes, that doesn’t seem very blog worthy. Hence the lack of recipes lately.
Before you start to worry that I’m turning this blog into a health blog – I’m not, and I don’t want to. I firmly believe that just as eating a fancy dinner is an adventure with food, so is trying to make better every day choices. But in the same vein of making fancy food, yummy and delicious – I’m figuring out ways to apply the same rules to healthier options. It’s all about balance and moderation.
That’s why I had to share this “sorbet” with you all. Last night I had a SERIOUS sweet craving, and after reading several recipes on Pinterest (of course), I had to try this magical frozen banana “ice cream.” Thankfully a couple of weeks ago I threw some almost-turned bananas in the freezer, so last night I got them out to try this mythical recipe.
First of all – Someone might need to enlighten me on the art of peeling frozen bananas – cause I almost got frostbite. Maybe next time I’ll peel first, freeze second. After I managed to peel two bananas, I remembered I also had some frozen strawberries too, so I threw them together with a little bit of peanut butter in the food processor.
That is when the magic happened. After several minutes of pulsing, the texture went from big chucks to smaller ones to perfectly smooth. I had to scrape the sides several times, but after a couple of minutes it was ready.
I didn’t want to initially add the peanut butter (Simply JIF – all the way), but it did help smooth out the texture of the fruit a bit. Once I tasted the “sorbet,” I realized it tasted just like a PB & J with strawberry jam. So delicious.
I’ve seen several recipes for this – Banana, Peanut Butter and Cocoa is the most common – and I’m sure it’s amazing. The common ingredient is always frozen banana. Bananas don’t have high water concentration, so when they are frozen the texture doesn’t crystallize like many fruits. That means when you blend a frozen banana it just gets super smooth – not grainy.
Perfect for those moments when you’re dying for something sweet, but don’t want to sacrifice the extra calories. Added bonus? Extra serving of whole fruit. Take that food pyramid!
Ingredients
2 medium sized bananas, frozen, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 cup frozen whole strawberries
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
In a food processor, first add the fruit and pulse until small, pea-sized chunks. Then add the peanut butter. Continue pulsing and scraping the sides until the mixture is smooth.
Serves 2 if you’re generous.
