Banana Split Protein Popsicles

I got new popsicle molds! It was totally going to happen as I completely have a popsicle addiction, it was just a matter of time. And that time is now. I got little ring pop molds for the Bear too (perfect kid-sized popsicles on a ring, how awesome is that? Sooooo awesome), I just haven't had a chance to photograph them yet because she has popsicle radar and starts climbing up my leg the second I get them out.

Edit: Derp. Just take a picture of me wearing one.

And what better way to celebrate the maiden voyage of new pop molds but to fill them with banana splits! Everything you love about a banana split down to the chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple topping in one splendiferous popsicle. I know, right? Genius idea. These popsicles are so splendiferously delicious I dare you to try and only eat one. The only way these could possibly be any better is dipped in chocolate. Mmm magic shell, anyone? 

These are a new favorite in our household. 4ft can't get enough of them and Bear growls at hers as she eats it (I'm pretty sure that's a good thing) The banana haters of the house make gross faces but we ignore them because there's something wrong with them anyway. How can you not like banana? 

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bananas

I love frozen bananas. I mean who doesn't? Well, those who don't actually like bananas in general but they're just sick and twisted so I pretend they don't exist. Which makes being married to my husband and having a Grumpers hard because they loathe bananas. There is something just not right about that but atleast Bear and 4ft love bananas as much as I do, so I'm not alone in my love affair. But now that I think of it, I kind of wish I was because when I make this snack, I'd get to eat them all myself instead of having to share with my munchkins. It's a good thing they're cute and I love them.

These are a great snack on a hot day (who am I kidding? Any day). You get all the health benefits of a banana, protein from the peanut butter, crunch from the pretzel, and sweet from the dark chocolate -- which actually has health benefits. So, it's like dieting when you eat these. Okay, it's really not but don't you love how I justify some of the treats that I make.

And really they're so good at being filling and silencing the sweet cravings, it's not a problem to share a banana with the kids because I can only eat a couple anyway. And if you need another excuse, other than they're splendiferously delicious, to make these -- it's just fun! My kids love making these with me. They dip their banana slices in chocolate and then add sprinkles -- candy, pretzels, nuts, sea salt, granola, grape nuts, rice crispies, (the list is as long as your imagination).

Vanilla & Cinnamon Swirl Protein Popsicles

I have a new addiction. Popsicles. I even asked for a juicer for Mother's Day so that I could get more sneaky with the veggies and really make my popsicles pack an even healthier punch. I might need an intervention. Just saying.

However, before my family gets that organized, you've got to try these pops. They are seriously splendiferous. Two words. Vanilla, Cinnamon, Swirled. Okay that was three but still, do I really need to say more? 

4ft and I just ate two a piece and you know what? We did it guilt free. Although, 4ft might cop to the fact that they're healthy sooner as opposed to later because I never let him eat two ice cream cones or store bought popsicles ever. The look of surprise on his face was worth it when he jokingly asked for another one and I said sure as I got one for me too.

Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval: Two thumbs up (didn't last long enough to make them sticky) and a cinnamon swirled sticky smile (I've yet to see a kid who can eat a popsicle without getting it all over their face).

Banana/Key-Lime & Strawberry Cream Protein Popsicles

So 4ft talked me into getting popsicle molds. Okay, so he didn't have to talk too hard to get them, it is Sprummer (that's what I'm officially calling this Spring because it's too much like Summer, darn it) after all and nothing tastes so delicious as a popsicle after having walked home in the heat from school. I know this for a fact, as we just got done eating them and it was heaven in my hot, parched, just pushed nearly 100lbs of stroller in the hot hot heat (not to be confused with the band) mouth. 4ft, who only had to carry his backpack, said it was pretty amazing as well. (NooOoooOoo I'm not bitter)

Shhhh, don't tell him there were vegetables in the popsicle he was raving over, okay?

That's right. Vegetables. Kale to be exact. I got a Farm Fresh to You box today and along with all the other delicious goodies was a bunch of kale. So when I blended up the banana and key-lime Greek yogurt, I threw some in. What the heck, it was green already, right? How would he know? He wouldn't. Well, unless someone snitches on me. 

The kid slurped up that popsicle like a man on fire doing the "yummy tummy" dance as he got it all over his face and hands.

Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval: Yummy Tummy dance with a sticky two thumbs up and drippy sloppy faces. 

Protein Parfaits

You had to have seen this coming, right? I'm on a total strawberry kick and what better way to cool down on a summer day (it's supposedly spring but you couldn't tell by the 90 degree temps we're having). This is the Hulk of Strawberry Shortcake (like it took steroids). Perfect for breakfast or an after workout snack. Oh heck, I'd replace this for any meal in a heartbeat. For reals.

You could totally make it a little less filling and a little more healthy by omitting the almond protein shortcake crumble in the center and it, but what's the fun in that? Am I right? Of course I am.

Protein Parfaits are our favorite after school snack right now. I love the mouth feel of them the best. You have smooth yogurt, sweet fruit, chewy almond shortcake, and crunchy granola -- it's a mouth-gasm waiting to happen. And how could you ever get bored by parfaits? Switch up the yogurt, switch up the fruit, and it's a whole different snack. I love it!

Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval: 2 thumbs up, way up... and a cartwheel.  

Almond Protein Shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcake has to be my most favoritest dessert on the planet. Galaxy even. I pretty much don't say no to any dessert really (life is about moderation after all so yeah, I still eat dessert on occasion, just instead of a portion the size of my head, I eat only a couple bites) but shortcake is my absolute favorite. Come on now, drool with me. Doesn't this look so splendiferous? I promise it tastes BETTER than it looks. No really, it does! And even better you can throw any fruit filling that you want if strawberries aren't your thing (if they aren't, I'm totally giving you a "you're so weird" look but pretend you don't see it). Peach, lemon curd, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cinnamon apple, cinnamon pears, only your imagination is the limit.

Growing up, my family ate Strawberry Shortcake with the berries smashed to a bloody pulp and mixed with equal (my Papa was a diabetic) poured onto the store bought shortcake cups, drowned in Half & Half, and topped with whipped cream. I'm pretty sure we drowned the cakes in Half & Half to make them less rubbery and really we put so much berry pulp and whipped cream on them you could have held the cake and we probably wouldn't have noticed. They looked disgusting as it was a melty smooshy hot mess but it was splendiferously wonderful and I was always heartbroken when my bowl was empty -- which was too soon because I horked it down so fast.

However, since my surgery, if I'm eating baked goods it's going to be goods I've baked. That way I can control the amounts of fat, protein, sugar, and healthiness of them. Because while I believe life is moderation and there is room for dessert, why not try and make it somewhat good for you too if you can do so without sacrificing on the flavor? Exactly. There's no reason not too.

I've pretty much given up all-purpose flour when I bake. Not because I'm allergic to gluten or have an intolerance or that I don't like it but because the healthy aspect of almond, coconut, and oat flours is so high and with higher grams of protein why wouldn't I switch? I like to mix them up for different textures, light versus dense, and of course I always add in at least one scoop of protein powder. When you can only have a handful of bites you need all the protein punch you can get.

And do they get the Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval. Yes they do! Two thumbs and a big toe up. Way up. Neither the husband nor 4ft (Grumpers and Bear want nothing to do with this dessert. Strawberries, bleh -- they really are sick and twisted kids) had any idea how healthy these were for them and both of them loved them. They're requested again and again... and that's just fine by me because if I could, I'd eat them all in one sitting. They're that good.

Roasted Strawberry Protein Ice Cream

I was bouncing around on the net, looking at food porn (I love looking at well pictured food and then try to make my own), when I came across a "Better Than Twizzlers" idea. Basically, if you roast strawberries at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours, it dries them out and makes them like candy. Yeah... that so did not happen. They turned brown and soft and soggy. Not only did they look unappealing there was nothing Twizzlers about them. 

However the strawberry flavor was intense and I'd done about a cup and half of them -- I hate to waste food. What could I do with strawberries that looked gross, had a gross texture, but tasted amazing? Say it with me, "Ice Cream!" This ice cream is the best I've made to date. If I'd had strawberry protein powder it'd probably had been more amazing -- I ordered some by the way, so I'll let you know.

3 hours is effort for ice cream, I know. You could always just tell yourself you're making "Better Than Twizzlers" and then when it doesn't work for you can go for the ice cream save (however if it does work for you, tell me what you did because I was majorly let down).

French Toast Sticks

4ft requested french toast and who am I to break his little 9-year-old little heart and tell him no he had to have a waffle instead? (Serious hardship to be this kid, right?) So I decided if I was going to eat white bread (with the possibility of it making me sick), I was going to really make the white bread worth my while. So he got nom-a-licious filled French Toast Sticks instead. 

I really like these because they don't have a lot of extra sugar in them AND you don't need syrup. They are delicious plain. The banana gets creamy from being baked and melts into the chocolate peanut butter so it's kind of crepe-like. I also like these because you can pick them up and eat them with your fingers -- who needs a fork? Less dishes for the win! And the best thing yet is you can fill them with whatever. The skies the limit. A berries and cream one (using fruit and cream cheese), peanut butter and jelly ones, cinnamon apple, Nutella -- you name it. For an added treat you could always roll them in cinnamon/sugar after they come out of the oven and call them dessert instead -- like a yummy filled churro.

4ft loved them, in case you were wondering, and was not upset that he didn't have just standard toast drowning in syrup. He ate his and then finished mine -- he thought they were that splendiferous. (Oh, and they didn't hurt my stomach -- not sure why because bread normally does. Weird.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Ice Cream

This stuff is the coolest stuff ever. It's peanut butter powder (the right one has chocolate. can you say mmm mmm good?) and the only thing in it is peanuts, salt, and sugar (and cocoa powder for the chocolate one, obviously). That's it -- no ingredients you can't pronounce or have no idea what they are. How cool is that? You just add water and you have creamy peanut butter that tastes splendiferous (yep, new word). Better yet, it has less calories, less fat, less carbs, less sugar, for the same serving size. I could eat it by the spoonful and I did, kinda.

Hello heaven in a dish. This was decadent good. Thank Bob that its so filling because otherwise I would've probably eaten the ENTIRE batch. Are you licking the screen yet? You should be. It's that good. 

Protein Ice Cream isn't quite like traditional ice cream, I mean it could be if I used whole milk and cream, but soy milk doesn't have as high a fat content which changes the texture a little bit (mostly you just have to let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes or so before you try to scoop it because it freezes so hard). However, it's a trade I'm willing to make to enjoy decadent treats that actually fulfill a nutritional need and don't make me feel guilty or worry about my waistline, you know? I have a scoop (or two because that's the portion) every night and the pounds continue to melt off. That could, of course, still be because I'm only eating about 800 - 900 calories a day but if you incorporate it into a healthy eating lifestyle, it should do the same for you.

Caramel Apple Crisp

I was perusing Facebook the other day and a friend of mine posted a picture of some individual apple pies that she'd baked -- they looked seriously delicious. Added to that, I got a produce box with a bunch of apples in it so I decided to try my hand at coming up with an apple crisp recipe. I like apple crisp better than pie. Several tries later: this stuff turned out awesome. It was great by itself but would seriously be good topped with protein ice cream or as the topping of a protein waffle.

To healthy it up a little, I used unsweetened applesauce with some butter extract instead of butter. It gave the caramel the buttery flavor I was looking for as well as giving the sauce a thicker consistency without having to use flour. I also used Kashi Protein Go Lean Crisp cereal as the topping to add some protein into the dish without messing up the consistency of the apple deliciousness underneath. Any granola or cereal topping of your choice would work but the nutritional info listed is for the one I used.

Waffle Sundae (w/ Protein Ice Cream Recipe)

Waffle Sundae w/ Fried Bananas and English Toffee Protein Ice Cream

Are you drooling yet? You should be. I had this for breakfast. Yeah, it rocks to be me. 

The best thing: I gave this to 4ft for breakfast and he looked at me in disbelief and said, "Mom, this is ice cream! I can have ice cream for breakfast? Wait! Forget I asked."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to change your mind!" And he immediately started shoveling it in. 

After his plate was clean, he declared me the best mom ever (hey, I'll take it) and the best "baker" (it's never cook it's always baker -- apparently my kid thinks everything comes out of the oven?).