Banana S’mores Pudding Cups with Homemade Agave Marshmallows

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnackPackNaturals #CollectiveBias

I'm all about snacks that are a total throwback to my childhood, like pudding, but I like providing my son with a more natural option and better choices. These banana s'mores pudding cups are the perfect choice, and when topped with homemade marshmallows made with agave nectar, they're sure to please while still being a smarter choice for snacktime. #SnackPackNaturals [ad]

Summertime as a child meant a few things… plenty of time to play outside and roll in the mud, summer rainstorms, the choice to stay up later than usual, and of course… delicious snacks! One of my favorite choices as a child was a delicious chocolate pudding cup, and the best part of pudding cups was finding all kinds of things to mix in! That’s why when summer rolls around now, I make sure to have pudding cups on hand for my son to enjoy… and the mix-ins he needs to enjoy it! But as my family works to take a more naturally-based approach, it’s important for me to make smarter choices, which is why I’ve made the switch to natural pudding and tried my hand at making my own homemade marshmallows– both of which have NO corn syrup at all!

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4 Smoothie Bowls to Kick Afternoon Slump to the Curb!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. on behalf of its advertizer, ZonePerfect. All opinions are my own. #SnackandRally #CollectiveBias

Afternoon slumps are the worst. You're halfway through your day, and suddenly you hit that wall. Banish the urge to snooze and perk up with these mini smoothie bowls, which will kick your booty back into gear with tons of protein, while still tasting AMAZING! #SnackAndRally [ad]

Ugh. Afternoon slump. Come on, busy moms, you know what I’m talking about… that moment between lunch and dinner when you hit a wall. It’s the time when you think “If I have to stay awake for one more baseball/dance/soccer/cheer practice I’m going to cry.” It’s when you have that urge to say “forget everything… I’m taking a nap.” I get it. We’re all trying to be supermom. And afternoon slump? It’s not helping us get there, is it? A lot of times, I turn to snacks to get me out of that slump… after all, I can’t be dozing off if I’m eating, can I? And it’s during that time that I turn to old cravings like chocolate. But guess what, supermom? I’ve found a solution that banishes afternoon fatigue AND satisfies your munchy little cravings. I promise you’re going to love it… 4 great mini smoothie bowls for that time between lunch and dinner, when you want to snack, but don’t want a meal, and definitely want more energy to finish out your long, never-say-stop day.

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Strawberry Banana Dessert Egg Rolls

Want to use up extra strawberries? Just love a chocolate banana treat for dessert? This dessert twist on your favorite Chinese Takeout treat will definitely hit the spot! Strawberry Banana Dessert Egg rolls have just a hint of chocolate that make them perfect for dessert time!

In college, my friend Drew and I used to do this fun thing where we’d travel to a local town and spend the day exploring. We’d start off with appetizers at one restaurant, continue with lunch at another, and finish with dessert at yet another, strolling through antique stores, record shops, bookstores, and little foreign marketplaces. One restaurant had a dessert that definitely always hit the spot– a small Asian place that served banana egg rolls. They’d wrap bits of banana in fried pastry with nuts, and they’d drizzle caramel on top, serving it with ice cream. It was so mouthwatering! But honestly? I thought it was missing one thing… fresh strawberries!

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Grandma Sybil’s Banana Bread

Some recipes are worth a sore wrist from stirring. Some are worth doing the old-fashioned way. And I’ve found that, even though there are a million and one ways that you can be creative with food, it’s good to have some staples in your recipe collection that are tried-and-true. This banana bread meets all of those requirements.

I first encountered this recipe in the recipe boxes I inherited from my grandfather. A nondescript recipe handwritten on a stained and tattered card, it held a lot of promise, and I kept saying “I’ll make this sometime when I have bananas that need to be used before they turn.” However, when I finally got around to making the bread, I realized it was a recipe worth leaving on top of the stack. It’s a favorite in my home, and I’m certain it’ll be a favorite in yours.

Because this recipe has to cool overnight for easiest slicing, it’s a great bread to make, cool while you sleep, and slice for breakfast the next morning. And, it’s easy enough that you can make it any night of the week.

The recipe starts with sifting together 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt into one bowl.

In a small liquid measuring cup, you’ll want to put a tablespoon of vinegar, then fill it to 1/2 cup with milk. Set this aside for a few minutes. If you’d rather use buttermilk in place of the vinegar-milk mixture, you can– they’re essentially the same thing.

In a second bowl, cream 1/2 cup shortening, then slowly add 1 cup of sugar. To this, you’ll add two eggs, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy after each.

Before you even start the recipe, it helps to bring eggs to room temperature. See, chilled eggs didn’t used to be an issue. Farm fresh eggs are shelf-stable, and don’t need to be refrigerated. Many farm-fresh eggs are stored at room temperature from the time you get them. In the UK, even store-bought eggs are kept unrefrigerated, completely shelf-stable. The difference between the UK and the US is that in the UK, ALL hens are required to be vaccinated for salmonella. However, in the United States, vaccinating hens is a choice– not a requirement. That’s why store-bought eggs in the US are suggested to be refrigerated. Additionally, in the United States, we’re serious about egg washing– which means in addition to washing off the dirt and grime from the freshly laid eggs, we’re also removing that barrier that helps prevent yucky stuff from getting into the eggs. Unfortunately, sometimes in cleaning, we add more dirt. It happens. Bringing them up to room temperature before baking, however, is totally safe.

So, you have a light and fluffy shortening-egg-sugar mixture. You also have a flour mixture, and a milk mixture. Finally, you’re going to make one last addition in a separate measuring cup– 1 cup of mashed bananas. It took 3 very ripe bananas to make a cup.

In small amounts, and alternating between them, add the flour mixture, the milk mixture, and the banana mixture, whisking/stirring after each addition as it continues to thicken from the flour. While I’m positive you could use a Kitchen-Aid or hand mixer, if Grandma Sybil was mixing by hand, so was I. I wanted to try this recipe as authentically as possible– making it just as she did.

Turn the batter into a greased bread tin, and bake for 60-70 minutes. Mine was done after 65 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove the bread from the pan, cooling overnight, or at least for several hours, before slicing.

You can, of course, add chopped walnuts to your bread. I chose not to, since my family has enough nuts in it that adding more seemed counter-intuitive.

This bread is really good microwaved for another 10-20 seconds and spread with a little bit of fresh butter.

Once you try it, you’ll realize that it’s a staple recipe, worthy of a hand-written index card in your collection. Hopefully, over time, your copy will become as well-worn and loved as mine, covered in splatters and stains.

The recipe, as Sybil wrote it:

Banana Bread

2 cups sifted all purpose flour, 1 tsp soda, 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 tbl (tablespoon) vinegar plus milk to make 1/2 cup
Broken pecans or walnuts (optional)

Method:

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Cream shortening, blend in sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas and liquid, beating after each addition. Turn into greased bread tin and bake 60 minutes to 70 minutes or until done at 350. Remove from pan and cool several hours or overnight before slicing. Nuts can be added last.

 

Do you have a favorite old family recipe? Don’t forget, if you love this recipe, or hope to try it, you can pin it on Pinterest, or share it on Facebook to save it to your profile!