Berry Banana "Ice Cream" and Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Squares

My kids requested this morning for breakfast, ICE CREAM. They have been requesting that for some time now and my answer is usually, "What? No it's 7am, you can not have ice cream." So why the change of heart? Am I weak? Did I just throw my hands up and give up? No, I tricked my kids into thinking that I fed them ice cream and oatmeal cookies for breakfast.

What I served them was a frozen berry and banana treat that has the texture of soft serve ice cream and oatmeal cookies that are made with whole grains, flax seeds, protein powder, applesauce, and bind with coconut oil (although, it did have chocolate chips in it.) I was able to fill my kids request without feeling like a bad mom. Win win.

Berry Banana "Ice Cream"

The frozen banana in this dessert is what gives the ice cream texture. The bananas are also sweet so I do not add any additional sugar even for the kids, but you can add some honey or maple syrup if the berries are too tart for you. I find this a really easy recipe to whip up when you have a sweet craving, but do not want the extra calories. Plus bananas are full of potassium and berries are a great superfood filled with antioxidants. I just buy a bag of the berry mix from Trader Joe's which has blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. My kids are fans of strawberries too, so I will add a few of those in too.

Ingredients:

2  bananas
1 c. frozen berries

1/4 c. almond milk (optional)
1 Tbs. maple syrup (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel the bananas and break them into 4-5 small pieces. Place in a container and freeze overnight.
2. Place the bananas in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Note: I have a vitamix so I blend the banana in there. If you do not have a high speed blender, a food processor may be easier to use. You can also add some almond milk to give the mixture some liquid to work it for easier blending.
3. Add the frozen berries and maple syrup and continue blending.
4. Serve immediately or place in the freezer to harden up before serving.
Note: The blending will thaw your bananas so you may want to put in my in the freezer for a few minutes to harden it back up. You can not make this ahead of time and freeze however because the mixture will harden up completely and you will have to re-thaw.

Mint Chocolate Oatmeal Square

Another request from my kids. They love love chocolate chip cookies and yes I do make the old fashion style oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for them. However, when I can, I convince them that this is a better version because it has added protein, omega-3 and fiber from the flaxseeds and almond meal. It is my version of a healthy energy bar for the kids. The flavor was inspired by the Cool Mint Chip bars from Cliff Bars that my kids loved until I notice that they were caffeinated. Why are they caffeinated? The squares are not like cliff bar with the chewy texture, but rather has a flaky cookie texture.

Ingreients:
2 c. uncooked quick-cooking oats

1/2 c. flaxseed meal

1/2 c. almond meal

1/4 c. almond milk
3 Tbs. chia seeds
1/2 c. date paste

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted

2 tsp mint extract

3/4 c. chocolate chips

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. If you do not have date paste, use a food processor and process pitted whole dates until it is smooth.
3. In a small bowl, mix chia seeds and almond milk. Let sit for 10 minutes for it to become a gel.
4. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients; quick-cooking oats, flaxseed meal,and almond meal
5. Add the date paste, melted coconut oil, and mint extract to the dry ingredients. Mix well to evenly incorporate the date and coconut oil.
5. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined.
7. Place the mixture into a 10x10 or 9x13 pan depending on how thick you want your squares. Press the mixture down firmly to compact the bars.
8. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cut the bars into smaller squares. Enjoy!