Roasted Banana Muffins

So if you haven’t noticed by now, I totally have a thing for muffins. They are always my go to option for a quick but delicious breakfast. They can be made up the night before and warmed just a bit in the microwave in the morning if desired. Then slathered with some butter…or not. Don’t judge. And muffins are so versitile with endless possiblities. I could make a different muffin recipe each week for a whole year and be entirely satisfied.

These roasted banana muffins are no exception. The roasting of the bananas makes them so sweet and super banana-y. Another plus to these muffins? I always have ripe bananas in the freezer ready to become something delicious.

Roasted Banana Muffins
recipe from Edible Existence

2 very ripe, medium-large bananas
2 cups flourlour (all purpose or 1/2 all purpose 1/2 whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil (sub melted coconut oil or applesauce)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. oil

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the bananas (whole and unpeeled) on a baking sheet. Let the bananas cook until the skin is completely blackened and the fruit is very soft.

2. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda, and sea salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine all of the crumb topping ingredients and set aside.

3. When the bananas are done roasting, peel them and mash them thoroughly, then add them to the egg mixture. Gently stir in the flour mixture.

4. Evenly distribute the batter between the muffin cups. Top each muffin with a tablespoon of the crumb topping.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Cast Party Wednesday.

DIY Smoothie Packs

And it’s Pinterest for the save again. When I saw this wonderful DIY smoothie pack idea I knew I had to give it a try. Smoothies are so stinking expensive to buy but it’s just so much more convenient rather than having to prepare all the fruit each time. Well, now with just a little prep work in advance, you can have smoothies within seconds.

You can create whatever combinations you like for these delicious homemade smoothies. I purchased bananas, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. You can use either fresh or frozen. I bought some frozen because the fresh did not look great and found it even better than the fresh because I didn’t have to slice and freeze it before assembling the packs. The fresh does have to be prepped and frozen in a single layer so that it doesn’t stick together in the bags.
While your fresh fruit is freezing, scoop about 1 tablespoon of yogurt into either a mini muffin tin or ice cube trays. I used a mini muffin tin and made 24 yogurt cubes. Cover and freeze until solid.
Once everything is frozen, grab it all out of the freezer and measure out about a cup and a half of fruit (whatever variety you desire…the sky is the limit) per bag. After the yogurt has sat out for a few minutes, use a spoon to scoop them out and place three in each bag.

Here is the approximate amount of ingredients I used to make 8 smoothie packs:

1 lb. strawberries
3 bananas
2 cups blueberries
1 cup pineapple
8 oz. raspberries
20 oz. yogurt

All you have to do is dump the bag in your blender, add a splash or two of milk and blend it up! Yum!

Blueberry, Banana, Peanut Butter Smoothie

 

With the new year comes new resolutions and I of course have the “be healthier” resolution on my list like so many others. Joel and I joined a local gym and I have been Zumba-ing my butt off ever since (it’s amazing and so fun…do it!). In addition, healthy eating has been a priority too. I’m not a huge fruit eater but I love smoothies so we have been making an effort to try different recipes so that we have an arsenal of options on our hands.

This was the first smoothie we tried and it was promptly put on the make again list. I love the addition of wheat germ because of the many beneficial vitamins and minerals it contains. Adding peanut butter provides an interesting and unique variation to the typical fruit smoothie. Another huge benefit of this smoothie is that we always have all of these ingredients on hand making it very convenient to whip up for breakfast or an afternoon boost.

My blueberry loving little man went wild for it. I think he would have drunk the whole batch if we would have given it to him.

Blueberry, Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie
recipe from allrecipes.com
makes 2 servings

1 tablespoon wheat germ or flax seed meal, optional
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used blueberry Greek yogurt)
3/4 cup milk

1. Put ground flax seed meal or wheat germ into blender to grind and further breakdown. This will also eliminate any bitterness from the flax seed.

2. Place the banana, blueberries, peanut butter, honey, yogurt and milk into the blender. Cover and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.

Cream Cheese Streusel Banana Bread

All week I’ve been secretly hoping my husband wouldn’t eat the bananas.  I even considered hiding them.  I was craving banana bread and it is just not the same with fresh yellow bananas.

This amazing banana bread recipe from Southern Living is the best I have ever had.  It’s a simple, dense and decadent bread that is super moist.  And it’s so easy to throw together for a quick breakfast for guests.  Every time I make this the recipe is requested.

We prefer our banana bread a little “spicy” so I have altered the original recipe a bit to fit our taste.  The cinnamon, allspice and cloves in the batter are my additions so if you would like to try the original recipe simply leave those out.

The streusel makes this bread a dream come true…and the cream cheese.  I think it helps fancy up a normally humble bread.

See what I mean?

There is an insane amount of streusel on this bread and we like it that way! But if you don’t just cut the recipe in half (that’s what the original recipe called for anyway).

The aroma of this bread baking fills our house and is undeniable.  Sometimes I wish I could sit in front of the oven and watch it bake.

Cream Cheese Streusel Banana Bread
Recipe from Southern Living

6 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. cloves
1 cup banana (I use three bananas)
½ tsp. vanilla

Streusel Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, optional*
2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.
2. Gradually add sugar; add the egg.
3. Add dry ingredients until combined.
4. Mash bananas then stir into batter.  Add vanilla.
5. Spoon into greased and floured loaf pan.
6. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly then sprinkle over the bread.
7. Bake for about an hour.  You may want to place a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil below the bread as it sometimes overflows.
8. Enjoy a slice slathered with butter!

*Storing your nuts in the freezer will prevent the essential oils from spoiling too fast creating a longer shelf life