Banana based snacks for school and after
It is said, “Mothers hold their children’s hands for a while, but their hearts forever”. I believe that the food we cook for our children holds a special place in their hearts and creates beautiful memories. One of the persistent challenges for working mums is finding ways to feed the kids something healthy and nutritious that still tastes yummy. It’s not always easy to tantalise those little taste buds, but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a happy baby with a full tummy and an alert mind.
This issue, the star is banana. A wholesome food bursting with the goodness of vitamins, minerals and fibre, banana is a power pack of energy and helps in bone development. Bananas are a great snack for school (beware the school-bag squash, though) and for after school, try one of the preparations presented here.
Whole wheat banana bread
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
~Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
~Chop walnuts and keep in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.
~In one bowl, mix dry ingredients – sugar, flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
~In another bowl, mix wet ingredients – eggs, mashed banana, butter and vanilla extract.
~Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients together. You just need to mix all ingredients together using a spoon, no beating required like with cakes.
~Add toasted walnuts to the mixture.
~Pour in a greased pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until you insert a tooth pick and it comes out clean.
~Serve warm or keep for your child’s lunchbox.
Tip: The key rule of using banana in cooking is to use ripe ones. The riper your banana, the sweeter your final product.
Whole wheat banana pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 banana mashed
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. ghee
½ cup milk
Method
~Mix all ingredients together to form a free flowing batter.
~Heat a pan and add 1 tsp ghee.
~Pour the batter to make a pancake and let it cook evenly on both sides.
~Repeat as necessary to make more pancakes.
Power smoothie
Ingredients
1 banana
½ cup milk/almond milk
1 tbsp. rolled oats
Cinnamon powder, pinch
Method
~Put all ingredients in the blender and blend together until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
~Serve Immediately.
Tip: In hot weather, you could add ice to make this a refreshingly cool drink.