Yes, the following is better than peanut butter.
I know, you’re all rolling your eyes right now, saying, “How can anything (besides chocolate) be better than peanut butter?” Hear me out; this spread has the one-up on regular pb because it:
- is easier to spread
- is lower in calories (more about this at the end of the post)
- tastes sweeter, without any added sugar, and has a serving of fruit
Above, spread on top of Banana Bread for One.
Another bonus: This recipe doesn’t make as much of a mess as trying to smush sliced banana into a sandwich. As usual, the recipe is so simple that I feel a little silly writing it down.
Banana Butter
- 1 medium banana
- 2 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, depending on how pb-y you like it (or almond, cashew, walnut butter, etc.)
- optional: I like to add a little cinnamon
My favorite ratio is 4 tablespoons peanut butter to 80 grams (without peel) banana (about 1/2 a large banana). And I often use a frozen banana, which makes this spread taste like peanut butter ice cream!
Procedure: Whir the two ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge. (If possible, it’s best to let the mixture sit for a few hours before enjoying, as the taste becomes more robust with time.)
Above, spread over a Breakfast Pizza Cake.
Other Ideas for Use:
This creation can be used anywhere you’d use regular peanut butter—warmed up and drizzled over oatmeal, as a sandwich spread, dip, or pudding, as a smooth-and-velvety topping for waffles or pancakes, on vegan ice cream, or simply eaten plain off a spoon (or out of the blender, depending on your level of self-restraint!).
As for calories… Ok, so I’m having a bit of a dilemma: Recently I’ve been getting quite a few requests from readers asking if I can add calorie counts to my recipes. I don’t count calories, but I know that a lot of you (readers and fellow bloggers) do count. So, since I really try hard to make my recipes—and my blog in general—suitable for everyone, and since it’s not hard for me to figure out the calorie counts anyway, I thought I’d ask: Do you want me to add calorie info to my recipes? Please vote; either way, I’m interested in hearing your opinion. And until I figure this dilemma out, here are the nutritional stats for the banana butter:
Banana Butter Calories:
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon (based on my favorite combination)
Calories per serving: about 40 calories
(As a reference, regular peanut butter has about 100 calories per tablespoon.)
Variations:
Yes, there is a chocolate version.
🙂
I have to agree with jessica – no to calories. I hate when other blogs post calorie counts because then it just leads to comparison. Also, the person should be able to figure it out on their own. Its an unhealthy obsession in my opinion. I love that none of your recipes have the calorie count. I love the feeling of just not knowing.
of course I am totally going to make this as soon as i get back from vacation!!
calories or no calories- doesn’t really matter to me, especially since i know you DON’T count them.
um…making that into ice cream sounds amazing 🙂 great idea!
Oh MAN banana butter sounds just lovely. I feel a comeback tour of the brownie batter pancakes coming on…topped with banana butter!
As for calorie counts, I vote no. If you yourself live a life without counting calories, that should reflect on your blog because the blog is in fact a reflection of YOU, not your readers! I think it’s wonderful and considerate of you to take reader concerns into account, but only insofar as it fits with your own philosophies. If they want recipes with calorie counts, they can go find an obsessive blog that does include them. Or just do the work to figure out yours!
xo
mmm
good, simple, quick–my favorite kind of recipes as a busy momma!
nope, no calorie counting for me
if you are eating healthfully i don’t think calories matter…i used to obsess when i was younger
i ate crappy stuff to keep them low–like 1000 or less a day
now i eat everything i want of the healthy foods and weigh less (after 3 kids)…i figured my calories for a couple weeks with a tracker and i’m getting in about 2500 a day at least!
i think if someone wants to know they can figure them out with a tracker…unless you are dying for more to do…then go ahead and include them
but…nutrients and fiber are more important to me
Katie that sounds SO GOOD! I am honestly making this today. I can’t wait.
I don’t think you should add calories; why should you, when you don’t count them? This blog is YOUR creation; it’s all about your love and devotion to good, healthy food…and if caloric counts aren’t something you typically think of, then why add them? It seems you have faithful, loyal readers, calorie counts or not.
OMG must try this like, NOW 🙂
Great Katie!!! This is one of those “why didnt I think of this first” recipes…. I LOVE banana and PB together but it never occurred to me to blend the two together. Brilliant!
I often smoosh a banana with some PB but I can totally see how the MB makes thigns easier! And wouldn’t that just be da bomb frozen???
Okay, that looks AMAZING. I love banana topped with peanut butter (…or vice versa, hehe) but blending them together is brilliant!
As far as the calorie-countin’ goes, I’m voting no, for basically all the reasons people have already said.
you had me at “better than peanut butter”. you are so right, nothing is better than bananas + peanut butter, can’t wait to try this. and my vote is for no calorie count–if its made with real, whole foods and tastes great then it shouldnt matter! have a great day 🙂
This looks awesome! Especially because pb & banana = amazing combo always.
I am sooo doing this!
Don’t start with the calories, there is no reason to count them when you’re enjoying your food while beeing healthy as you are now 🙂
No calories, it’s too time-consuming.
Add some cocoa and you get banana nut butter bliss:)
I say no to the calorie counts, especially since you don’t count them.. like someone already said people can find them out for themselves if they want to, I’d rather not read about the calories personally since i try very hard not to count them!
Ughgh NO calorie counting.
Oh, we used to make this (or something very similar) when I was a kid! Thanks for reminding me about nutty-nana goo (as we called it). It is fantastic over waffles with some chocolate chips sprinkled on top. Just sayin’. I think I will have to make a nutty-nana sandwich for supper tonight! The comment about making this into ice cream sounds divine. 🙂
As for calories, please DO NOT add them. You don’t count calories so why go through the bother of calculating them? If anyone really wants to know, they can head over to one of the many calorie counter websites, enter the ingredients, and get a count for themselves. I won’t get into my whole numbers-obsessed-society rant here… you’re beyond that.
After all, it is your blog – do with it as you wish. Don’t let other people tell you how to run your blog. Once you start caving to requests that don’t follow your jive, the blog will no longer be fun. I love your blog (and all your wonderful e-mails). Don’t change it!
1) I don’t think you should post nutritional information on your blog. At all. This is your lifestyle you’re blogging. If someone cares enough about nutritional information, they can take the time to do the calculations. It’s quite easy, actually, with the wealth of information available today. http://www.caloriecount.about.com and http://www.calorieking.com are just two examples of sites where you type in a food and get an approximation of the complete nutritional profile, plus I think they both have toolbars that you can download to make it even simpler! I DO sometimes count calories, but I absolutely think that you should not have to.
2) A response to the post-before-last, about you posting “too much.” Puh-lease. I enjoy the fact that if I’m away from the computer for a day or so, or don’t have time to check the blogs I love, I can come here and see a string of posts with delicious food porn photography and quirky thoughts and life stories! Post three times a day, once a week, whatever! And both “parts of you” are correct – you should have fun with this, on the one hand. And at the same time, those of us who adore your blog DO recognize the work that goes into these posts, and do not take you for granted.
And really, how is it possible to “miss out” on a post? Ya just scroll down….
Oh, P.S. – You mentioned the fact that you try to link back to previous posts whenever you reference things about which you’ve already blogged. I love this – it reminds me of those old Goosebumps scary children’s books – the “Choose Your Own Adventure” ones. Have you heard of/did you ever read those? I always used to keep nine of my fingers stuck inside the book, “bookmarking” where you had to make a decision and leaving just one finger free to turn the pages. With those books and your blog, you never know where you’ll end up!
(Whew, this comment turned out to be a novel!)
I second what others have said: no to calorie counts unless it’s something you personally believe in/want to do. In my opinion they reduce the enjoyment of multiple flavours, textures, aromas and colours to one number that is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and remove the love and pleasure from cooking/eating. I don’t think anyone *enjoys* calorie counting and it’s usually a manifestation of self-loathing or perceived inadequacy related to weight…I hope the commenter isn’t too obsessed by the issue and I truly sympathise with them if they are.
On a lighter note: amazing recipe! How long do you think leftovers would last in the fridge (shelf-life wise…although I doubt there would be any leftovers with me in the first place)
xoxoxo
I love this! I recently discovered the wonders of raw banana soft serve (made from frozen bananas in the food processor), but I bet banana PB soft serve would be even better. I could even make it with raw almond butter for a crazy raw awesome treat!
Bananas are magic!
As for calories, I’ve recently started counting for fun…cause I got the iPhone calorie-counting app. But part of the fun is figuring out calories from a recipes raw ingredients. I don’t think you should worry about it for your blog. Folks who really want to know can figure it out.
I hope that you don’t start including calorie counts. I follow a few different blogs, and one thing I love is that each blog is a genuine and unique representation of that blogger’s philosopy towards nutrition/exercise/lifestyle. By including calorie counts, you are making your site less authentically ‘you’, and I think by doing so your blog would become less enjoyable for you and not as meaningful to your readers. Just my two cents! Thanks!