Tag: banana

Banana Baked Oats

It’s a new week and for many of us the last before our kids are on holiday for a couple weeks. This quote by John F. Kennedy is our motto for the week, “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” With a to do list a mile long, it’s important to take time out to plan and figure out what is actually moving you towards your goals. Once you’ve got down on paper, it will be a lot easier to spend your time on productive tasks. 

On the list of things we don’t want you to worry about is your breakfast! This simple and delicious recipe for banana baked oats is a great way to get you powered up for the day.  By baking the oats, you create a different texture than the one you may be used to, almost like a soft chewy cereal bar! By adding flax, chia and nuts, the nutritional value of this breakfast is also greatly increased. Lastly, add any fruits from the Fruitful Day box to make it both aesthetically pleasing and more flavorsome.  Add different fruits the next day for a whole new combo and you won’t get bored.  

Now go out there and smash this week healthy breakfast and all! 

Banana Baked Oats (makes one 23cm x 23cm baked tray)

1 hour

Ingredients for the baked oats

  • 2 cups of rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp ground flax
  • 3 tbsp chia
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • ½ tsp ginger powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 cups mashed banana from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey (this is optional as bananas are already sweet)
  • 2 cups coconut milk, almond milk or any milk of choice

Ingredients for toppings

  • 1 banana from the Fruitful Day Box
  • any other fruit of choice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • pecan nuts from the Fruitful Day Box

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax, chia, spices and salt. You can grind the flax yourself from whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder.

3. Add the wet ingredients; mashed banana, coconut oil, vanilla essence, maple syrup and coconut/nut milk.

4. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

5. Pour mixture into the baking tray (lined if necessary) and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until browned on top.

6. While oats are baking, take another baking tray out for the pecans.

7. Coat the pecans in honey and roast for 5 – 8 minutes or until browned. You can put them in alongside the oats.

8. While both the pecans and oats are baking, thinly slice bananas.

9. Place a pan on medium heat, add some butter to the pan and sauté the banana slices by cooking lightly on each side and sprinkling with cinnamon.

10. Once oats are browned, remove from the oven and serve with cream or yoghurt. Top with caramelised banana, caramelised pecans and sliced fruit.

Banana Bread

We can’t believe it’s 2019 already!  We’ll be continuing to share recipes this year, but what we’re even more excited about is that Michelle Harvey, a Nutritional Therapist, is going to guest blog throughout the year and help us to understand how some simple changes to our diet can have a huge impact on our well-being. Look out for her first blog article in the coming 10 days. We think you’re going to love her just as much as we do!

In the meantime, we wanted to share an easy banana bread recipe with you.  This banana bread is a little bit different as it has banana flour in it. You may never heard of banana flour, but it’s actually a great addition to your diet because it’s a prebiotic!  What is a prebiotic you ask?  A prebiotic sets the environment for probiotics to work so it’s important to consume them together. Prebiotics, which are a type of non-digestible fiber compound, can be found in foods like bananas, artichoke, onions, garlic, apple skin, chicory root, beans, and many others.  Although they haven’t gotten the press in recent years that probiotics have, they are actually just as important as they are the fuel that allows probiotics to work. It’s all part of keeping your gut healthy something Michelle will be talking a lot more about throughout the year.

We hope you’ll come back soon to learn more about simple ways to improve your health in 2019.

Banana Bread (makes two loaves 11cm x 22cm)

1 hour

Ingredients

  • 100g coconut sugar
  • 2 ripe bananas from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 170g banana flour (you can order on Amazon)
  • 50g oats
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100g milk or dairy free milk of choice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 free range eggs
  • 100g coconut oil
  • 80g dates

METHOD

  1. Blend dates, bananas and peanut butter
  2. Combine mixture with all remaining ingredients and stir until a consistent texture is achieved
  3. Prepare loaf tin by lining it with greaseproof paper and preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
  4. Pour banana bread mixture into tins and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  5. Allow to cool on a rack before removing from the tin to consume.

Smoothie Bowl

In Ramadan, we always try to do something special with our discovery boxes to celebrate the Holy Month. For those of you who are customers, we hope that you have been enjoying the extra nuts, seeds, and dried fruits! If you haven’t tried our discovery box yet, this is one of our favorite time of the year not only because of the extras, but also because stone fruit season has just started and that means lots of yummy fruits like cherries, plums, nectarines, and apricots.

Today’s smoothie bowl recipe is perfect for Suhoor or even if you’re not fasting something to keep you going for a little longer.  In particular, coconut and cashews are both packed with healthy fats that help you feel satiated for longer. From your Fruitful Day box you can use your cherries, bananas, and pretty much any nuts and seeds in the box to craft these beautiful bowls of goodness.

 

Until next time and Ramadan Kareem!

Smoothie Bowl

(makes 2 large smoothie bowls)

5 – 10 minutes                                                         

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 frozen bananas from the Fruitful Day Box (this requires you to peel, chop and freeze the bananas the night before)
  • 1 cup frozen sour cherries
  • ¼ cup fresh coconut
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder
  • 2 tbsp cashews
  • ¾ cup coconut milk  

* optional toppings of cacao nibs, granola, berries, bee pollen, edible flowers, coconut chips

From the Fruitful Day Box: dried banana chips, nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

METHOD

  1. Blend all ingredients and pour into a bowl.
  2. Add toppings

* To get the colour variant you see in the photo:

  1. Omit the cacao powder and blend. Pour a little out and set aside.
  2. Add the cacao powder and blend again.
  3. Pour dark smoothie mixture into a bowl and then use the pink smoothie mixture to create patterns on top.

 

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

Between Happiness Day, Mother’s Day, and end of term, it’s been another busy week here at Fruitful Day HQ! We’re looking forward to spending some extra time with the kids over the next couple of weeks and if we’re perfectly honest getting some extra hours of sleep too. These down periods are hugely important to building our immunity as we give our bodies a change to rest and recharge.

Our banana pancake recipe today is the perfect breakfast for after you’ve gotten your 7-8 hours of sleep!. It is simple, healthy and fun to make with the kids.

Generally speaking pancakes aren’t thought to be a ‘healthy’ breakfast, but by substituting a few key ingredients they are actually good for you without comprising on taste. In this recipe, both flour and milk have been substituted, which are inflammatory and the opposite of immune boosting. In addition, these pancakes include bananas, which are full of nutrients help to support the immune function like iron, zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and selenium.

Enjoy your holidays and remember PREVENTION is the key to not getting sick so rest up, eat well, stay hydrated and take time to do things that make you HAPPY.

Banana Pancakes (makes 15 palm sized pancakes)

45 – 50 minutes (If you have a larger pan and can cook several at once it will be faster)  

INGREDIENTS

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  • 3 bananas
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • ¾ cup oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon

 METHOD

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  1. Put two non stick pans on medium heat.
  2. Blend all ingredients into a batter.
  3. Add 1 tsp ghee into each pan and pour batter until it spreads out into a palm sized shape in the pan. Note – these pancakes will not hold together like regular flour pancakes so if you make them too big they will break up.
  4. Flip pancake once cooked and cook on the other side.
  5. Continue until all the batter is used.
  6. Serve with yoghurt, coconut cream, fruit, honey, maple, cacao nibs or any topping of choice.