PopperBanas

When we were in Mexico last month, I enjoyed the simplicity of preparing food for my family using only a few ingredients. I'm always a very "real foods" sort of cook, but without the luxury of my well stocked pantry, I was forced to take things a step simpler. That, and the fact that my kids don't eat refined sugar (for the most part), led to the creation of these frozen banana pops one hot afternoon. Raphael helped me make them, and referred to them as "Popper Banas". (I love this stage, where they talk pretty well, but still have those funny little ways of saying things!) So, Popper Banas were a hit in our family, and as I'm making them again today, I thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy!


Popper Banas
These are gluten, grain, and refined sugar free.
 They are vegan and also suitable for people on GAPS or SCD diet.


Ingredients:
Ripe Bananas
Popsicle Sticks
1/2 C Coconut Oil
1/2 C Peanut Butter
2-3 T Honey
1/2 t Vanilla 
A Pinch of Salt


Optional:
 3 T Cocoa plus 2 additional T. coconut oil
Coconut Flakes or Chopped Peanuts


Peel bananas and insert a popsicle stick a couple inches into one end. If the banana cracks a little, don't worry; it's going to freeze and won't be a problem. Lay the bananas on a tray lined with parchment or waxed paper, or a nonstick baking sheet. If you want to make your bananas go further, you can cut them in half and have shorter pops. Put this tray in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, until the bananas are very cold, if not frozen through.

When your bananas are very cold (or frozen), melt coconut oil in a small saucepan. Turn off heat and mix in peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and salt. If you want to make chocolate pops, then go ahead and stir in the cocoa powder.  It should be a fairly thin consistency. Once it's all mixed together, pour it into a tall glass. 

Get your frozen bananas, and carefully dip each one into the peanut butter mixture. Hold it over the glass for a minute to drip off. The cold from the banana will harden the coating. Put the tray back in the freezer fora couple minutes, and then do one more coat. 

If you want to add coconut or peanuts to the outside, you'll need to have a shallow dish ready with your "sprinkles". The coating will harden pretty quickly, so after the second coat, quickly roll the whole thing into the coconut or chopped peanuts.

Freeze until solid, about an hour if they weren't  thoroughly frozen already. If they were, they should be ready to eat within a few minutes.

Enjoy!

If you have a little peanut butter mixture left over, you can mix in the leftover coconut flakes and/or peanuts, scoop it onto a cookie sheet, and refrigerate until hardened. Voila... Coconut Haystacks!

This recipe is part of the Pennywise Platter carnival at the Nourishing Gourmet, 
and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.