Cozy Banana Recipes to Warm You Right Up this Season
Fall has arrived and our bellies are about to get a whole lot happier – that’s right, it’s officially time for us to welcome back the season of baking.
As the days grow colder, what better way to warm up than with some delightful baked goods? I don’t know about you, but we’re ready to indulge in all the delicious comfort food that autumn brings and, in the spirit of the season, we’re sharing a few of our favorites with you.
We’ve gathered a bundle of recipes that pair well with your chilly mornings, family gatherings, and evenings around the fireplace. If you bake anything this season, make sure it’s every single one of these. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
1. Creamy Banana Bread
The crown jewel of all fall baked goods: banana bread. There’s a reason why this delicious treat never goes out of style – it’s sweet, light, and much easier to prepare than other types of bread. If you haven’t welcomed banana bread into your fall breakfast rotation, you may want to reconsider after checking out this recipe.
Over the years, we’ve become self-proclaimed banana bread experts and we know a good recipe when we see it. This one uses cream cheese as a special ingredient to make this treat melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
This banana bread is great on its own, but can be fully customized with your favorite add-ins: for more protein, add in chopped nuts, for more spice, throw in some nutmeg and cinnamon, for more sweetness, add half a cup of chocolate chips.
2. Fried Bananas
If you want to make any food taste even more amazing, throw it in a fryer and let the magic happen. When most people think about fried bananas, they immediately assume that plantains are the main ingredient. While this makes for a great savory snack, we’re all for indulging our sweet tooths this season.
Taking after a traditional Brazilian breakfast meal, this recipe instead calls for Cavendish bananas, the sweet ones you know and love. The fruit is peeled, sliced and fried in ooey-gooey butter. Once the banana slices are are golden brown, they are removed from the pan and coated in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
For a sweet end to the day, top off a scoop of vanilla ice cream with your warm, fried bananas. Talk about a match made in Heaven.
3. Marshmallow-Filled Banana Cupcakes
These sweet banana cupcakes offer a healthy alternative to the sugary confections you know and love. Modeled after a traditional banana bread recipe, this recipe is sure to steal the hearts of all who have the privilege of indulging. What really takes these cupcakes to the next level, though, is the addition of a marshmallow filling.
So, go ahead, steal a few marshmallows away from your camping stash and grab your spotty bananas because you don’t want to miss out on this recipe. This treat is quite a showstopper which makes it great for impressing at family gatherings and when you’re hosting guests.
Since these cupcakes take after banana bread, they have a balanced amount of sweetness, making them easy to love regardless of age or diet regimes.
4. Banana Nut Blondies with Maple Frosting
A fall take on a traditional blondie, this recipe is rich, chewy, and packed full of flavor. The brown sugar in the cookie bar base brings out the subtle but delicious flavors of the bananas. Not to mention, the extra ripe fruit makes these bars so incredibly moist.
Playing into classic autumnal flavors, the traditional cream cheese frosting is sweetened with maple syrup instead of plain sugar. Although distinct, the mapley goodness does not overpower the other ingredients; in fact, it enhances them and brings together the entire recipe.
If you’re looking to give a fall upgrade to one of your favorite desserts, make sure to add this recipe into your rotation.
5. Banana Pumpkin Cookies
Okay, we HAD to include one healthy recipe in this lineup. However, don’t get it in your head that healthy means boring – these cookies are anything but that. Would you believe us if we told you they have all the flavor of a traditional cookie but they are free of added sugar, vegan, and paleo-friendly?
We know what you’re thinking: how on Earth have they managed to do this? Well, due to the unique composition of the banana’s fruit, it serves as the prime ingredient binder in addition to being the main sweetener. To top it off, adding in the raw pumpkin introduces even more moisture as well as that familiar fall flavor.
These cookies are great for those who want to enjoy all of the yummy baked goods that autumn has to offer, without any of the ensuing guilt.
6. Banana Bread Pudding
Bread pudding has long been a delicious way to make use of our leftover bread scraps. Now don’t get us wrong, we don’t expect you to let your beloved banana bread go to waste, but this recipe is certainly still one to try out.
There’s nothing more comforting than the feeling of digging into a warm, golden brown bread pudding. The inclusion of bananas in this recipe brings out the custard flavors in the traditional recipe. Topped off with a smooth, vanilla sauce, you’ll be feeling cozy in no time.
This baked good is excellent if you are feeding a large group. If you don’t have any extra stale bread lying around, try out this tip. Pick up a bag of cheap white bread from the store and place the opened bag in the refrigerator overnight. The cool temperatures inside your fridge will draw out the moisture, leaving you with a surplus of bread to work with.
Are you feeling hungry yet because we surely are! We hoped these belly-warming recipes piqued some inspiration for your fall baking agenda.
As always, we want to see how you’re enjoying your Organics Unlimited bananas. If you try out any of these recipes for yourself, make sure to snap a photo and share it with us. We’d love to see what you come up with!
In the meantime, let us know which recipe you are most excited to try! With so many wonderful baked goods to try, we’re having trouble picking just one.
Four Healthy Banana Recipes for Kids
Back to school season is here which means busy mornings, packed lunches and afternoon snacks. In the midst of a hectic day, it can be easy to grab a sugary granola bar or send the kids to school with lunch money.
But, if you’re like us, you know just how valuable it is to feed your kids healthy, nutrient-packed food. After all, they’re growing more and more every day and they need all of their vitamins and minerals to keep them healthy and strong.
To help you out, we’ve found four recipes starring organic bananas as one of the main ingredients. Not only are they delicious, but they’re easy to make and perfect on the run. So, take a sip of your post-carpool morning coffee and check out these yummy, kid-friendly recipes.
Banana Bread Muffins
We’re starting off with a classic banana recipe, converted into a lunchbox-friendly version. Muffins have long been a staple in our children’s diets. After all, they’re yummy, packaging-free (most of the time), and easy to eat on the go.
This recipe takes two of our great loves, banana bread and muffins, and combines them into one perfect lovechild. The best part? These muffins are only made with the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. So, at the end of the day, you’re a happy mom and your kids are none the wiser. Heck, you’ll probably want to make a few extra for your own secret stash.
Start by breaking out those spotty bananas that have been sitting in the fruit bowl for just a little too long. Add three of them to a bowl and mash into a pulp with a fork.
In a large bowl, combine ⅓ cup of vanilla Greek yogurt, 4 tablespoons of butter, and 1 cup of sugar. Mix well and incorporate the mashed banana, 2 eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
Over your mixing bowl, sift and mix all of your dry ingredients: 1.5 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
When spooning the batter into the muffin tin or cupcake liners, make sure to only fill them up about ⅔ of the way. You’ll want to cook them at 350 degrees until they turn golden brown (about 15 minutes).
Get the full recipe and ingredients list here.
Tip: To make this recipe healthier and reduce your refined sugar intake, replace 1 cup sugar for 1/2 cup honey. Add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda and reduce your baking temperature by 25 degrees and you’re set!
Breakfast Banana Split
Summer may be coming to a close but this ice cream inspired recipe isn’t going anywhere. And no, there isn’t any ice cream in this recipe. While we all want to be the cool mom, we know that feeding kids dessert in the morning is a no-go.
Nonetheless, we think this is a fun breakfast treat for the weekends and we love how creative this confection is. Although it’s mostly composed of fruit, the mere presentation will give your kids the satisfaction of having indulged in an actual banana split. Don’t be surprised if word gets back to you that the kids on the playground are jealous that your kids get to eat “ice cream” for breakfast 😉
Start by taking a peeled banana, butterflying it open, and placing the flat sides up. Start by scooping your ice cre- err, vanilla yogurt across the bananas. While the amount is up to you, we recommend sticking with a traditional serving size.
Next, the fun begins! Round up your littles and place a bunch of topping options in front of them. Some examples are nuts, fresh berries, granola, etc. If you’re feeling extra special, include a few treats in the mix like chocolate chips or rainbow sprinkles.
Let your kids deck out their “sundaes” and enjoy the five minutes of silence that follow. As fun as this recipe is, we also love how interactive it is. It encourages your kids to think about the healthy food choices they’re making and allows them to discover what they actually like. Sounds like one sweet deal to us.
Check out all the details here.
Strawberry Banana Smoothies
Some mornings are more hectic than others and sometimes there isn’t merely enough time to eat a proper meal before school. The saying goes that breakfast is the most important meal of the day so we’re here with a solution to those crazy mornings.
Smoothies are one of our go-to’s in the morning. On some days, you have to optimize your routine by drinking your breakfast instead of eating, we get it. But, something tells us that our kids aren’t going to exactly be excited over one of those vegetable-packed green smoothies that are all over Pinterest.
So, we found a kid-friendly version that’s simple to make in a hurry and will give your littles enough energy to power through recess.
Take a couple of handfuls of frozen strawberries and a fresh, peeled banana and drop into a blender. Add a splash of liquid (milk, water, juice, or whatever you have on hand) and a bit of honey for sweetness. Blend well until there are no lumps.
We recommend taking the responsibility of taste tester to make sure the smoothie is up to your kids’ standards. If it seems like it’s too thick, water it down with some more of the liquid component. If it’s a little too runny, chuck in a few more frozen strawberries or ice cubes.
And just like that, another morning survived. Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it.
For full recipe details, follow this link.
Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars
We love the convenience of granola bars and our kids love the flavor of them. The only issue? Many of them contain a ton of sugar and, in some cases, you might as well be giving your kids a candy bar. Because of this, we much rather prefer to make our own so we know exactly what ingredients are going into them.
The best part about this recipe? It’s only 5 ingredients. All of which are fully up to super mom standards. These oat bars are the perfect after-school snack for your kids since they’re packed full of protein, slow-digesting carbs, and healthy fats. They’ll be fully prepared to power through a homework marathon without spoiling their appetite before dinner.
Hopefully you have a few more ripe bananas around because you’re going to need them. Begin by mashing 3 bananas with a fork in a bowl. Using a mixer, combine 1 cup of peanut butter (can be subbed out for any type of nut butter), a quarter cup of honey, and spices of your choosing. This recipe used a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon.
Once that is nicely incorporated, introduce your dry ingredients, 2 cups of oats and 1 cup of nuts or seeds of your choosing, into the mixture.
Pour the mixture into a square baking pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, cut them into even rectangles and store in an airtight container.
Follow this link for the full recipe.
We hope you enjoyed these recipes we’ve shared. If you try any of them out, make sure to let us know how they went! If you have any other ideas for awesome kid-friendly banana recipes, make sure to drop them in the comments so we can check them out, too!
It’s Time to Liven Up Lunchboxes
Image courtesy of OC Mom BlogSchool has been in session for a few months and your customers with kiddos may be running out of ideas for healthy lunchbox items. By creating appealing and nutritious packable dishes, parents can help their children get the fuel they need throughout the day. And, the more fun the items, the more fun kids will have eating them.
Retailers can promote more Organics Unlimited banana sales and help busy moms with meal planning by creating recipe cards for customers to take home with them. Recipes can also be shared in weekly mailers or newsletters. (more…)
