Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Toasted Almonds

Growing up my mom would always make a ‘special Easter breakfast’ that usually consisted of strawberries & cream. It was super simple but rich & memorable & we loved it. Now that Easter is almost here I think these pancakes with bananas, chocolate chips & toasted almonds would make for a memorable tradition or you can make them on any weekend morning that you want to make special.

What do you make on Easter morning? Is it something traditional or something new each year?

Dairy-Free Fudgesicles

I always buy a big bunch of bananas with the anticipation that we will eat them before they turn completely brown. Lately, they’ve been turning brown on me more often than not. So we cut up the sugary sweet & pretty mushy bananas, put them in a zip top bag & freeze them. I use them in smoothies instead of ice & to make dairy-free chocolate ice cream. 

I mixed things up a tiny bit & made a different rendition of my go-to dairy-free chocolate ice cream & made homemade fudgesicles. The best part is - they only require 3 ingredients (4 if you count water) & they take just minutes to mix up. There's no dairy or sugar involved. You can make them in the morning, pop them in the freezer & they’ll be ready for an after (or before) dinner treat.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Happy Monday & to those of you who have the day off - enjoy it! To those of you reading this from your office desk - I feel you, so am I :)

I thought I’d start the week off with being real. Sometimes you just want to eat dessert first - so if you need it justified tell everyone I told you to do it. Sometimes real is dessert first & sometimes it isn't pretty. I wasn’t going to post these deliciously simple bites because well they’re just not that pretty [insert whiny frowny face & voice here] - but as Chris replied to my mini tantrum “they taste pretty” which translates to they taste good, put them on the blog - so I am. Here they are.

The other night as we indulged in season 2 of a House of Cards binge (OMG!!! that first episode) I felt we needed some dessert but I didn’t feel like baking & all of the brownies were gone already. I looked around to see what we had. Bananas, check. Peanut butter, check. Chocolate, check.  So I decided to make mini peanut butter & banana sandwiches covered in chocolate. Luckily, peanut butter & banana make a complete protein & dark chocolate has lots of happy antioxidants in it so I felt good about eating these sweet little bites & you should too.

A Green Vegan Smoothie

Watch out green eggs and ham there's a new player in town. His name is kale.

A couple of weekends ago Jennifer (my twin), Kara (one of my besties since elementary school) and I had an unnaturally long conversation about our love for kale. (Yes the green leafy "it" veggie du jour.)  Sauteed with garlic, crisped in the oven, tossed with fresh veggies in a salad - kale is just good no matter how you slice/dice/cook it.

I will eat kale in a box
I will eat kale with a fox.
And I will eat kale in a house.
And I will eat kale with a mouse.
And I will eat kale here and there.
Say! I will eat kale ANYWHERE!

If you've never tried it, you must - look what happened to Sam I am. If you don't cook, give this green vegan smoothie a whirl!

Ingredients:
1 handful of kale
1/2 a ripe mango (cubed)
1 frozen banana
1 cup coconut milk

Make it:
Blend it all together until smooth! Stick a straw in it and enjoy!

Tip#1: Frozen bananas are your smoothie's BFF. Just before your bananas turn completely brown (or even if they already are and fruit flies could be there any minute) peel them, cut them up, zip them up in a plastic bag and stick them in the freezer.  You'll never need to add ice or sugar to your smoothies again!

Tip #2: If it's still not sweet enough for you, add some agave or honey.

Tip #3: I may or may not have found out the hard way (and some stitches later) that you should ALWAYS UNPLUG your immersion blender before cleaning the blade.