Banana

"Nice"cream

8:30:00 AM


I will be the first to admit, finding foods to enjoy without any added sugars is really hard and sometimes I give in. Scrolling through my instagram feed, I kept seeing users post colorful photos of nicecream. Nicecream? My first thought was something like "it's run by someone who lives a vegan lifestyle so it must just mean it's dairy-free." I actually wanted some so bad. It looked so good! And who wouldn't want an ice-cream inspired dish for breakfast? 

 I thought I would never be able to have it because added sugars. That is, until I found out that nicecream just simply meant, frozen bananas blended up in a blender with soy or nut-based milk. SUPER easy. SUPER...nice. 

 Here are some of my favorite flavors that I've made with my mini blender (my $15 purchase is definitely getting great use.) 

 1. Peanut-Butter Banana

        -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
       -1 spoonful of peanut powder
       -soymilk
       -cinnamon

Banana Icecream
I totally combined the top recipe and the bottom, just with a bit less pb powder and cinnamon! 

2. Simple Berry Pick me up
  -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -berries of your choice (I used raspberries and blueberries)
  -soy/whatever nut milk you prefer

Link

3. Just Bananas

     -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
    -nut milk
   
Nicecream



 4. Banana Bread Nicecream

   -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -cinnamon
   -nutmeg
  -walnuts to top
  -choice of milks




5. Blueberry Banana 

    -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
   -handful of blueberries frozen, or thawed
  -nutmilk
 -some cacao



I like to add chia seeds sometimes to these if I think I want some more fiber. I love these so far and I can't wait to try some more! Honestly these are so simple, and so much more healthier for you than what's sold at the store, though you can still go out and get them. I like to freeze the bananas for about a day before making them, if I wait too long they'll go brown when I take them out of the freezer pretty quick. Because I live in a dorm, I like to be the courteous neighbor and make my breakfast nicecream the night before so that I'm not waking up anyone super early!

Have you ever made these before? I was so excited it worked that I nearly ran down the hall making everyone try it! You can mix and match flavors as well!
I hope you enjoy them, especially as it gets closer to summer!
x Kenzie

Almonds

Going Bananas for Bread

9:43:00 AM


I've written this time and time again. I love being home. I love being able to sleep in my own room not having to wait until my roommate leaves. I love the fact that I can just bake something homemade, with ingredients that I love. The last time I was home, I decided to whip up a batch of homemade whole wheat banana bread. I usually eat breakfast in my dorm room, gotta make use of that sleeping time you know. Banana bread is just something that is so easy to pop into the microwave to warm with some almond butter or regular butter
and eat before class! I thought I would share the recipe with you! 


Here's What You Need: 

1/2 banana
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons milled flax seeds and 6 tablespoons water
3 mashed bananas
1 and 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons alt
2/3 cup chopped pecans
Sliced Almonds
Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Here's What You'll Need to Do:


Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350*F or 176*C
Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray; though I used a bit of coconut oil all over the pan instead!
In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 banana, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and milk together until combined.
Whisk in flax seeds, water and bananas until combined, this should be a smooth mixture. 
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and pecans 
Pour wet ingredients into dry 
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes
Add the almonds and chocolate chips to the top at this point! 
After 30 minutes cover with aluminum foil and bake again for 30 more minutes. 
The bread is done when toothpick is inserted and comes out clean



I love baking, and I love this bread! You can enjoy it anytime for a healthy snack, just pair it with a little bit of butter or almond butter or even just eat it on its own! I hope you try this one out! Again, my parents are always the best taste testers (don't really think they mind it at all). I'm really loving their new oven! I cannot wait to see what I'll be baking for the holidays that are coming up! 
Do you love a certain kind of bread? Any recipes that I should try next? I'm always looking! 
Like always, thanks for reading! 
Make sure to comment below! 
xx
Kenzie



Baking

Spring Sweets

12:30:00 PM



I'm cutting back on eating so many sweets, I swear! While I've been away living at University, there are a few things that I've missed and that my sweet tooth misses as well. And that's homemade cookies. As soon as spring break rolled around, I knew I had to whip up a batch. 
Still trying to eat healthy while being home can be a challenge, finding a few alternatives to certain ingredients in a recipe can actually be quite easy!
I've made oatmeal cookies before (you can read that post right here), this was a bit different. 
These don't have flour or eggs! 
For this recipe you will need:
2/3 Cup (58 g) old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 banana
1 cup peanut butter 
6 Table spoons brown sugar
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

One thing that was special about this recipe that I tried, was that I actually made my own peanut butter using this recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction. It made it even healthier and it's very simple to make as well! Though it is a simple recipe, you certainly do not need to make these, and while Sally used honey roasted peanuts, I used just plain salted peanuts as I wanted to try it out for myself and did not have honey roasted in my cupboards!

To start making these, take a medium bowl and add in the oats, cinnamon, and baking soda. In a seperate bowl, mix in your peanut butter, banana, and brown sugar. It's okay if it's not creamy, as I didn't use an egg. While I was doing this I got quite nervous but it turns out well!

After mixing, add in the butterscotch and white chocolate chips!
Now chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes in your refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit! (176 Celsius).
You'll now need two baking sheets, and if you don't like cleaning them after I would suggest using parchment paper. It comes in quite handy. And after your cookie dough is done chilling, you can scoop small balls onto the sheet, pressing down lightly to make sure they flatten. 

After this, my cookie dough balls were kind of greasy/oily looking and I blotted them with a napkin to take it off. I placed about 9 cookies on one try and 5 on the other. You can certainly spread these out more evenly than I did! 
Bake for about 9 to 10 minutes. I think mine were in for about 9. 

After baking, take them out and let them cool.
These cookies are delicious and I was pleasantly happy with the fact that I couldn't really tell I had even put banana into it. Thinking about it now, I don't think I can at all. 
 I think these are actually going quite fast at my house, which is always a good sign and I will probably make more! Especially if I can take them to my dorm room for a little snack at some point! 
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I love baking and the fact that I can when I'm home, is great! 
Are you making any goodies lately? I feel like spring has brought the little baker inside of me! 
Hope you all have had great weeks! 
Thanks for reading! 
xx
Kenzie


Banana

Easy Healthy Omelette!

1:00:00 PM


I haven't posted a recipe blog in awhile now, I'm sorry! This one is a two-for-one! 

Let’s just get straight to the point here. Eating healthy is difficult! The entire Summer, I’ve decided to tr my best at staying healthy and eating less sugar. Though it’s always a good thing to allow yourself to have a “cheat” day once in a while. Mine have usually happened during family events and other gatherings, I mean..you really can’t expect me to pass up that chocolate covered dessert can you?
 Recently, I had been left home alone. Meaning I would have to fend for myself and make my own dinner so I wanted to share what I made with you! I learned this recipe from my mom who actually made the omelets first, and ever since then I have fallen in love with them!
Being home alone, also meant I had to come up with something that would satisfy just one person! 


 You will Need: 
-2 eggs
-About a cup of diced peppers ( you can pick and choose which ones you like and dislike in the mix) 
-about a cup of diced onion
-Salt
-Pepper
-Bacon bits (only if you want!) 

First, get out the peppers and onions and dice them, unless they're already diced. You probably won't use all of them if you're using a whole one, again it depends on how many you're making! I used frozen red and yellow peppers and frozen onions just because they had already been chopped up nicely into little squares for me! The green pepper as sliced so I cut a few into squares as well!
Put the pan on the stove top, first spray it with PAM or wipe it with margarine, it'll be easier to clean at the end. 
Add in the peppers and onions
Once they start sizzling, add in the eggs ( you can choose whether or not you want the yolk or not, it's good either way!) 
Then add in the bacon bits
A little salt, and as much pepper as you see fit. 
You can also add cheese! Which I did and it was great! 
I know it doesn't look like much, but it was really filling for me! 


I was actually pretty proud of myself for making this by myself. I hate cracking eggs open but I did it anyway! 
I hope you give it a try! 

But wait! There's more! 
I also had dessert! I have been loving making myself some smoothies this Summer, so I decided to listen to my sweet tooth and try something new! 
I used a banana, three scoops of Caramel Ice cream, and a handful of strawberries. 

It was delicious and perfect for the hot day outside! 


Do you have a favorite healthy recipe? What's your favorite thing to bake? Do you have a favorite smoothie? 
I'm thinking of doing a separate smoothie-recipe/idea blog post, leave a comment if you like that idea!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!
xx
Kenzie


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