Chocolate Covered Bananas

 

Okay, these have got to be one of the easiest things in the world to make, especially with kids, and such a fun result.  All you need are bananas, melted dark chocolate (the darker the better), and chopped nuts of your choice.

 

 

Line a baking sheet or tray with wax paper and cut up the bananas into slices - as thick as you want.  I even let the kids to this with a plastic knife.  Dip them in the melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with nuts.  My kids like cashews and almonds the best, but any kind of nut would taste great. (I usually melt my chocolate by cutting it into small pieces and microwaving it at 30 second intervals while stirring in between until fully smooth - don't go too long or it will burn)

 

Place the finished tray in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.  Then you are ready to pop these in your mouth for a snack or quick dessert.  So fast and so satisfying.  My kids go nuts over these and they are so quick and easy to make that I basically can say "yes" whenever they want to make them.  And truth be told, I've even started to just spoon chocolate over the tops and not even worry about picking them up to get the bottoms covered.  It's even faster and tastes just the same!

Clean Caramel Sauce

 

I once thought that eating processed free meant some foods would just be off limits - like caramel sauce.  It's basically melted sugar, right?  But, here is where swapping in a smart and healthy way can allow you to eat almost anything.  Let me just tell you how great this caramel sauce is.  It's smooth, rich, and tastes just as good or better than a traditional caramel.  The recipe is also fast and easy too! 

 

1 cup coconut sugar or sucanat

1/2 cup half and half

4 Tbsp. butter

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

 

Pour the coconut sugar/sucanat, half and half, butter and salt into a saucepan and heat on medium low.  Whisk for about 5 to 7 minutes until everything is combined and starts to thicken - it will be bubbly. 

Add the vanilla and cook one more minute.  Take the pan off the heat and let it cool a little.  You can use it warm or store it in an air tight container and store it in the refrigerator. 

This tastes great even cold - promise!  Now you can have caramel on anything you want.  I like it on a clean ice cream (here's mine) or one of my new favorites, salted caramel brownies.  Just make some clean brownies (here's mine), drizzle the top with the caramel sauce, and sprinkle course sea salt on top - amazing!!