banana

Chocolate, Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten Free, Snack

AFTER SCHOOL BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNKERS

Sara Forte ·

I always buy a bundle of bananas at the market, only 1 of 4 of us actually snacks on a banana, which leaves lots of moments of overripe bananas that are too ripe for snacking but perfect for baking. 4 of 4 like the baked goods with the bananas. You’re welcome for my elementary math equation proving it is in fact, worth buying the bananas.

These are my favorite sorts of treats to make for and with the kids. Everything mashes up in one bowl, they’re easy on the sugar, packs in a lunchbox and they are free of the glutens and dairy so any person that comes over with a dietary preference, has a snack. I know when we’ve made them a dozen times, they are worth sharing here, so hope you have bananas ready to go soon (extra extra brown! don’t bother if they are pretty and yellow!). xo

AFTER SCHOOL BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNKERS

Makes 12

Gluten free, dairy free and honestly, you can skip the egg if you need to and I believe they’ll still hold. I’ve been making these when I have dead bananas, but banana bread feels like too much. A tray of these will be gone before the end of the day and they hold up in a lunch box too.

Nut allergy folks, all-purpose flour is fine. Replace the almond and coconut flours with 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour. They will look different than what is pictured. The flax does help absorb some extra moisture, and you can pick that up and nearly any supermarket these days.

Recipe riffed from Joy the Baker

2 overripe, medium bananas (about 1 cup)
1 egg
4 Tbsp. coconut oil or warmed butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
big pinch of salt

1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
2 Tbsp. flax meal
3 Tbsp. coconut flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Into a mixing bowl, smash up the bananas super well, we don’t want big chunks left. Add in the egg, oil or butter, sugar, vanilla , cinnamon, salt and whisk everything together to mix. Add the almond flour, oats, flax, coconut flour, baking powder and stir again to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 360’ and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. I make ours free-formed, not perfect balls 1) because they are tough to get into a ball and 2) I like those craggle edges! We want about 2-3 Tbsp. sized lumps, arranged with 2” of space between (they don’t spread much). Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes until toasty on the edges, but still tender in the center. Remove to cool.

Keep the cookies in a covered container at room temperature for up for 3 days, and in the fridge any longer than that.

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Dessert, gluten free

ROASTED BANANA COCONUT ICE CREAM

Sara Forte ·

Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen

I've stalled halfway through Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly, a week after my book club already met about the book. It would have been helpful to finish it prior to the get together but I just didn't. I kept meaning to but such is life. I intend to finish the book eventually. Anyway, she tells this story about her daughter being in grade school and a girlfriend telling one of her secrets in class and how embarrassed and disappointed she was. The metaphor Brene uses to speak with her daughter is comparing friends to a marble jar; like the sort teachers keep in class that they add marbles to when the class is good or take marbles out of when kids misbehave - encouraging good behavior with a reward to be had if the marble jar becomes full. Friends can be people who we trust while some others say hurtful things at times, but they live on somewhat of an invisible marble system in our heads. You can think of the friends who have earned lots of marbles, the ones who listen and respect your secrets in this case, and those are the friends who it is most safe to be honest and vulnerable with. I just keep thinking about that image, of being a person who earns marbles for and from people I care deeply about, and I feel incredibly accountable for my actions and words in a good way. I understand that is not the big picture of the book but halfway through, I keep thinking about being a marble friend. 

I have been slowly paging through Anna's book, A Modern Way to Eat, because so much of her style is what I want to cook. She has just the right amount of Nigel Slater-ness where measurements and directions are sometimes left to the cook and I love that sort of responsibility. I know some folks think it is vague recipe writing but I enjoy it. I had great luck with one of her pancake recipes, am anxious to try the California Wraps and will absolutely make this ice cream again. It has no dairy, a very subtle, natural sweetness, and still feels like a treat. I've been having a thing with McConnell's Eureka Lemon and Marionberry Ice Cream (you guys, if you're a lemon person you MUST try) and this feels necessarily less decadent. My chocolate shavings addition here is because I couldn't imagine it otherwise but perhaps you're more virtuous than I. Her next book, A Modern Way to Cook, is out in the UK if you're that direction and I can't wait to see that beauty as well. 

Also! We are heading back to Seattle in October to host a photography workshop with the lovely Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille at her beautiful studio. It was such a nice group of people last visit and I felt like I came out of the weekend more inspired than I went in so we're excited to go back. There are more details on her site and a few more spots if you're interested. 

I hope your weekend involves ice cream in some capacity. xo

Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen

ROASTED BANANA COCONUT ICE CREAM // Makes 1 pint

Recipe adapted from A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones

  • 3 medium, ripe bananas
  • honey (I used about 3 Tbsp.)
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • juice of half a lemon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 ounces grated dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350'.

Slice the bananas into 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces and toss them with the honey on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through. Scrape the bananas and any syrup into a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt and vanilla and puree until smooth. 

Chill the mixture in the fridge until cool. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker, scraping down the sides as needed. In the last minutes, pour in the grated chocolate and give it one more churn to incorporate. Transfer it to a container and stir occasionally until frozen. If you like it softer, serve it after only an hour in the freezer, if you want it firmer, let it sit overnight. It will be scoopable after sitting at room temperature for a few minutes. 

Garnish the ice cream with some chopped pistachios, toasted coconut or more grate chocolate. 

Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream . Sprouted Kitchen
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Snack, Breakfast, Beverage, Gluten Free

SMOOTHIES: HIS AND HERS

Sara Forte ·

his & hers smoothies . sprouted kitchen
his & hers smoothies . sprouted kitchen

We're keeping things simple today. I have been testing for the book and had a few quick-turnaround freelance jobs. There has been so much food I'm passing out tupperwares to anyone who stops by. There were a few food-heavy weeks, followed by drought. I was burnt out and uninterested in cooking unless it could be easily stuffed in a brown rice tortilla or blended up and considered a meal. I left Hugh in charge where I typically have a plan, so we had a solid handful of breakfast burritos and taco meals. No complaints from either side. When thinking food, and writing food, and making food becomes your work, part of its charm is sometimes lost. But only part and only sometimes. I love what I do, but I am not much for excess. I keep a fairly minimal home and prefer to have around the items we actually use as opposed to cling to clutter. So when it's all food all the time, I have to step back for a few days to avoid going completely nuts. 

When needing hardly a meal, more of an in-between, tide-you-over, on the run mini-meal in a cup sort of deal, we make smoothies. Hugh makes his off a memory from his childhood. They'd shop at a health food store and the kids would get a shake at the juice bar on the way out. To his memory, it was a creamy combination of milk, peanut butter, banana, date and a little chocolate. It's delicious, but on the shake side of smoothie. Actually no, it's just a straight up shake. I am ever the fan of frozen mangos because they're creamy themselves and then stuck with the tropical theme. Hugh assured me everyone would like his better. My love, I even like yours better, but someone had to go the slightly lighter route here.  

Sometimes I find smoothie recipes insulting - isn't it all just thrown in a blender? Yes, yes it is. But this is what we're eating 'round here so take your combination however you wish. This looks tasty if you're on the pumpkin train right now, and this looks Fall-ish as well, or something completely unique with sesame milk, and while the fresh are gone, this blueberry basil one could be made with frozen blueberries. Browse through Sarah's tips on smoothie boosters too!

MONKEY FLIP // Makes 1

As told by Hugh Forte

  • 1/2 banana
  • 2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 date, pitted
  • 1 scoop chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt
  • 1 cup milk

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, adding more milk or ice for desired consistency.

TROPICAL COOLER // Makes 1

  • handful of crushed ice
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
  • 1/2 cup coconut yogurt or plain yogurt (or coconut sorbet)
  • flesh of half a seeded and peeled papaya
  • 1 cup coconut water
  • squeeze of honey
  • squeeze of fresh lime juice

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, adding more milk or ice for desired consistency.

his & hers smoothies . sprouted kitchen
his & hers smoothies . sprouted kitchen
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