Welcoming the Weekend with Pumpkin Pie Smoothies and Chocolate Banana Bread

I FOUND PUMPKIN! Enter - wacky happy dance! I was so pumped to satisfy my pumpkin cravings and the resulting smoothie was definitely worth the wait. BUT! Can you believe I almost forgot to add my pumpkin butter?! Temporary insanity must have set in...but at least it was temporary, I remembered that that sweet stuff was waiting in my fridge, popped open the lid and took a little taste. OH MAN. So good. Anyway, here's what I put in my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie:

1/2 C. pureed pumpkin
1/4 C. fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk
some cinnamon
some nutmeg
some allspice
a chunk of fresh ginger
2 Tbl. old fashioned oats
1/2 a frozen banana
1 Tbl. maple pumpkin butter


and the result? SUPER thick, creamy, slurpable PIE.







AND THEN there's my famous Chocolate Banana Bread. It really is famous. At least in my family. Despite the stick of butter that's in it, I'd say that you could get away with calling it "healthy." I mean, instead of oil, it has super ripe bananas and fat free sour cream. Potassium and calcium right? Yes.

Here she is. Just out of the oven. Oh, there's a crack in the top? It gives her character. 

How could you say "no" to a slice of that in the morning? Or the afternoon. Or  12 AM ...

Chocolate Banana Bread

1 stick butter, softened to room temp.

1/2 C. sugar

1 egg

2 large super ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 teeny pinch of salt

2-3 Tbl. cocoa powder (depending on your taste bud's chocolate needs)

1/2 C. fat free sour cream

1 C. chocolate chips (or, I suggest trying peanut butter chips too. I haven't done it, but I can't see how it would be a bad thing)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, cream your butter and sugar. Add your mashed banana, egg, extract, and sour cream and beat with your beaters until combined. Don't freak if it looks curdled. It's all good. In a separate bowl, mix your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Using a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until combined. Fold in your chocolate chips. Try not to dunk your face in the bowl. Pour your mixture into the pan and bake for 50 minutes- 1 hour. 

**Just so you know, I made some changes here to the original recipe. I added the baking powder and salt, the original recipe didn't call for either. I also increased the cocoa powder. I probably add more chocolate chips than one cup. The original recipe also says to beat your wet and dry ingredients together very well. I found that this made the bread not rise as well, so I think folding the dry into the wet is a better plan. 

BAM! Pumpkin and chocolate for any meal of the day.