Recipe: Tropical Quinoa Pudding

If you're trying to go non-dairy or low-carb, and you like the flavors of the tropics, try this amazingly flavorful substitute for rice pudding. With nutty high-protein quinoa, creamy coconut milk, bananas, nuts, and ginger, this healthy and delicious dessert will give plain old pudding a run for its money!

Tropical Quinoa Pudding

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 cups water
1 can coconut milk (13 ounces)
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup dried mango slices, cut in small chunks
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 bananas
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

Directions:

• Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then cover and simmer on medium-low heat until water is absorbed and quinoa is almost tender (it won't be fully done at this point).
• Add sugar, salt, and coconut milk to quinoa in pan and cook an additional five minutes.
• Add ginger and mango chunks and continue cooking until mixture has a pudding like consistency, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Slice 1/2 of one banana in 1/2 inch rounds and set aside. Mash remaining bananas and add to pudding, then stir in walnuts.
• Garnish with remaining banana rounds and add sugar to taste if desired.

Recipe: Kale Coconut Water Smoothie

We're wrapping up our month of smoothie recipes today with this powerhouse smoothie. This one contains the best of both worlds - sweet, fruity, and packed with nutrition, this one is definitely one to add to your smoothie recipe collection! Greens, fruit, flaxseed, and coconut water combine for a real nutritional punch, and with the addition of bananas and honey, how can you go wrong?

Kale Coconut Water Smoothie

Serve in a coconut for a tasty and lovely presentation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped kale
1 banana, chopped
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. flaxseed
1 1/2 cups coconut water
a couple ice cubes

Directions:

• Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until desired consistency is reached.

Recipe: Pina Colada Smoothie

Mmmm....this one tastes just like a favorite summer drink! With fresh pineapple, honey, and coconut, you'll feel like you're on the beach - even though you're just drinking a healthy breakfast smoothie....

Pina Colada Smoothie

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut water
1/4 cup yogurt, vanilla flavored
1/2 cup pineapple pieces (fresh if possible)
1/4 banana, frozen
1/2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. coconut extract (optional)
1/4 cup ice cubes

Directions:

• Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. 
• Optional: Garnish with a pineapple slice on the rim of your glass!

Recipe: Greek Yogurt Strawberry Smoothie

This is an absolutely great smoothie for anyone wanting to curb cravings and lose weight easily. The yogurt supports healthy digestion, while the avocado and whole milk help keep you full and reduce cravings for junk food. Healthy fats like avocado are great for boosting your metabolism and fat-burning capacity, while keeping you satisfied so you don't reach for that bag of cookies or chips!

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Greek Yogurt Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 banana
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1/4 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut up
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

Add the ingredients to blender in order listed, cover and pulse and blend until smooth.

Gluten-Free Recipe: Banana Nut Bread

Many people think that going gluten-free means giving up all their favorite breads and pastas, but that's just not true anymore. There are more and more gluten-free products becoming available all the time, and you can make your own tasty breads from scratch at home and make sure to avoid any hidden sources of gluten! A good example is this recipe for banana nut bread - full of whole, real foods like honey, eggs, nuts, and bananas, but without any gluten - it makes a great snack or breakfast for picky kids!

Banana Nut Bread - Gluten Free

Ingredients:

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups smashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
• Put flour, salt, and baking powder in a sifter and sift into a large bowl.
• Put the butter and honey in a mixing bowl, and With an electric mixer cream until smooth, then add the eggs and beat until well blended.
• Add the bananas and dry ingredients slowly into the creamed mixture, stirring as you add, until blended. Add the nuts and stir until combined, then scrape the batter into the loaf pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges and top springs back when touched.
• Remove and let cool slightly in loaf pan before turning out and slicing to serve.

Recipe: Chocolate Banana Campfire Bundles

Just as campfire cooking doesn't always have to mean beans & franks, campfire dessert doesn't always have to mean s'mores. (Although if you like s'mores, go for it!)  But this recipe will blow the pants off even the fanciest s'more - with marshmallows, chocolate, AND peanut butter, your kids will never want to go  back - except for more...of this! You'll like it too - it's simple and easy, and with minimal cleanup since the foil packets serve as the dish.

Chocolate Banana Campfire Bundles

Ingredients:

1 banana per serving
1/4 cup chocolate chips or chocolate bar, cut up
2 Tbsp peanut butter chips
1/4 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 Tbsp cold butter
heavy duty aluminum foil, one square per banana

Directions:

1. Peel the bananas, then slice each banana lengthwise.
2. Place a pat of butter (about 1/2 Tbsp) on a sheet of foil.
3. Lay banana halves on top of the butter and cover with the remaining ingredients.
4. Wrap tightly inside the foil and place on hot campfire coals for about 3 to 5 minutes. 
5. Use a heavy set of tongs to remove package from the fire.
6. Open carefully and eat with a spoon in the foil packet. Makes one per person.

Recipe - Strawberry Banana Yogurt Pops

Beat the heat this summer with this tasty frozen treat the kids will love! Sweet bananas and strawberries mixed with yogurt offers a healthy alternative to ice cream and sugary ice pops - it'll keep them from getting hungry but without hyping them up on sugar.

These are great to take in the cooler for short trips or picnics as well. Just pack ice around them to keep them frozen until ready to eat.

 (Photo credit: Growing a Green Family)

Banana Strawberry Yogurt Pops
(Yields 6 pops.)

Ingredients:

2 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
1 banana
1 cup vanilla yogurt
½ cup milk (whole milk has more nutrients, is easier to digest, and will keep them full longer)
1 tbsp honey

Instructions:

• Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until firm.

Recipe - Grilled Pineapple Banana Kabobs with Lemon Glaze

If you're looking to dress up a holiday picnic, or just add something a little special to a family dinner around the grill, here's a new one to try. Desserts from the grill can include more than just S'Mores. This one combines the sweetness of bananas and summery pineapple with the tangy zest of lemon for a tropical grilled treat!

Grilled Pineapple Banana Kabobs with Sweet Lemon Glaze

bananas (Photo credit: Fernando Stankuns)

Ingredients:

8 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
4 ripe bananas, unpeeled, ends cut off, cut into 2-inch chunks, with 1 lengthwise slice in each peel
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
1/2 lemon zested and juiced

Directions:

1. Put the fruit on the skewers, alternating between the banana and pineapple chunks, and set aside.
2. Put the sugar in a small heavy-bottomed sauce pan and place over medium-high heat; cook stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar turns into liquid, about 3 to 4 minutes. Continue stirring and add the lemon zest and juice. Set aside.
3. Set your grill to medium-high heat.
4. Brush the skewered banana and pineapple with the glaze and put skewers on grill.
5. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, roll and cook 2 to 3 minutes, repeating until fruit is lightly browned on all sides.
6. Remove from grill and when cooled enough to handle, remove banana peels, then brush again with remaining glaze and serve.

More Great Grilling Recipes: 
   

Recipe - Summer Berry Breakfast Smoothie

For nearly the past 10 years, throughout the summer, I have smoothies for breakfast almost every day. I got into the habit when I lived in Texas, and the bounty of fresh fruit was nearly continual (I often had smoothies year-round there). After I moved to Ohio, fruit was less plentiful, but still abundant in the summer, so this became my summer routine. As are most of my "recipes" that I have come up with myself, measurements are merely figurative, and ingredients can vary widely.

Image via WikipediaBelow is a basic idea of my "typical" summer breakfast, but feel free to make your own additions, subtractions, and substitutions, and adjust quantities as desired. I use different types of berries on a regular basis, or sometimes combine several. Before peach season, I leave out the peach and add more berries. Depending on the size and amount of the fruit used, this can make anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 cups, but usually runs right about 20 fl oz, or just under 3 cups. You can also use frozen fruit (I often use a combination of fresh and frozen - e.g. fresh banana and peach with frozen berries.) - I will often stock up on berries when they are on sale, and wash and freeze them in ziplock bags so I can easily pop them in smoothies later.

For those who want more bulk to their breakfast, you might try adding flax or chia seeds, protein powder, or more coconut oil. I am not big on breakfast anyway, and sometimes it is all I can do just to drink the whole thing, so this is plenty for me, and I don't get hungry until right around lunchtime.

Summer Berry Breakfast Smoothie (serves 1 -- or 2 small eaters)

Banana, peach, and strawberry.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 ripe peach
5-6 large ripe strawberries
1-2 handfuls blueberries or blackberries (optional)
6 oz plain yogurt (I use my own home-made, from fresh, non-homogenized milk I get in my CSA share)
1-2 TB honey or agave sweetener
1 TB organic extra-virgin coconut oil (or more, as desired)
1 TB chia seeds (optional)
6 oz fruit juice (I have used everything from orange to grape, but my favorite is orange-pineapple combo)

Directions:

• Peel banana, break into sections, and place in bottom of blender or food processor.
• Wash peach well, cut into segments, and place on top of banana.
• Wash berries well, remove stems/hulls (if applicable), and add to container.
• Add yogurt, honey, coconut oil, chia seeds (if using), and juice. Add more juice if desired. I like to add juice just until it fills up all the air holes in the container, but doesn't cover the fruit entirely.
• Blend/process until smooth (I use a nifty contraption called a Ninja - which I LOVE! It is much faster, neater, and easier to clean than a blender. Plus it's not as noisy, and does a better job - you don't have chunks left over like some blenders leave behind in the bottom.)
• Pour into a glass and drink immediately. (These don't seem to taste very good after refrigeration - you need to prepare right before drinking. I haven't tried freezing them, but might be tasty.)

Let me know what you think, and feel free to suggest your own additions below!