The knock your socks off banana bowl!

THE RECIPE CARD

Yea, I know I tend to have moments where I am ultra dramatic and over the top.

This sounds like one of those times,

but it isn't.

This banana bowl surprised me.

I'm talking, first bite, literally was knocking my socks off their hinges.

I didn't expect something packed with so many healthy things to taste like a bad dessert.

I don't mean bad as in flavor wise, but as in "this has to be bad for me because it tastes way too delicious"

You know what I mean?

This isn't healthy pretending to be good, this isn't healthy pretending to be exciting,

and this isn't healthy that is over complicated to be good.

This was an accident actually.

Emerald, our 8 month old daughter is still nursing but she loves to eat off my plate.

Most mornings, especially during the week, I have a bowl of oatmeal. She is getting more and more into trying foods and she loves my oatmeal, but it is so chunky I have a hard time giving her actual bites. Plus, with her being so young I really didn't want her eating oats yet. They aren't bad, I just feel with her digestion developing that I should keep things smaller and easier on her.

So this morning I decided to mash up two bananas really well. Like baby food

I started off with the idea of mashed banana + cooked quinoa

but I always love being creative so I added a splash of vanilla, pinch of cinnamon, 1 TBS peanut butter, plus a pinch of sea salt, and heated the cooked quinoa because something warm sounded comforting.

Oh, I also added 1/2 tsp of cacao powder for a little depth and chocolate background.

Before I added the quinoa, I tasted the banana mash and in that moment

I knew this was going to become a real treat and not just a quick breakfast!

Once the quinoa was warm, I added that to the top and then sprinkled my favorite toppings that I usually always have on hand.

Let's talk about the healthy super-stars!

QUINOA

I usually always have a batch of plain cooked quinoa sitting in the fridge.

Quinoa is my go to for so many things. It has been a staple ingredient in my life for a super long time now.

It is a complete protein, which means it has all 9 essential amino acids! It is naturally gluten free which means it is easy to digest for the majority of people, it is actually a seed. It is insane how versatile it is, it can be used in endless ways from savory meals to quick little desserts and anything in between. It is one of my very top favorite ingredients.

PEPITAS AKA PUMPKIN SEEDS

I try to always have raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds on hand. They are fairly soft which I love and they have a lot of health benefits. I like them because they help give my breakfast a boost of iron, magnesium, and they even have that amino acid, tryptophan, the thing that causes everyone eating turkey on Thanksgiving to get super sleepy.

Tryptophan can't be produced by the body, it has to be gained through the diet. It is important because this is what helps us with our moods as well as our sleep/wake cycles, and a few other important things.

So having the little raw pumpkin seeds sprinkled in my morning breakfast gives me a great boost for the day.

CACAO NIBS & CACAO POWDER

This is different from cocoa, but also the same.

Okay, drastically different nutritionally. cocoa that everyone is familiar with for baking or in pretty much all chocolate products and our comforting hot cocoa in the winter is made from the Cacao bean. Cacao nibs are the raw bits of the bean while cocoa has been processed and most nutrients have been stripped in the process. I love having cacao nibs and cacao powder on hand for the minerals and benefits but also for the deep earthy chocolate background. If you use a little it isn't too over powering, it really gives a depth to things. Cacao is especially rich in magnesium which helps our body function and keep our moods from going bonkers.

RAW COCONUT FLAKES

Growing up I wasn't a fan of coconut. The coconut I was familiar with was usually sweetened and just tasted odd to me. As I got older and started researching foods I discovered the difference is the majority of coconut in stores or in the treats we buy is made with coconut that has been extremely processed and has an ingredient list that looks like a little science fair project. One ingredient most of them have is, propylene glycol it’s used to retain moisture in processed foods and also appears in a bunch of industrial products. Food-grade versions are approved for use, but a lot of people notice a weird artificial mouthfeel from it. To me it makes things taste waxy and weird. It has zero benefits for our body. When I switched to a real whole foods lifestyle I tried unsweetened dried coconut and fell in love! It has zero wonky after taste and actually gives a slight nutty flavor.

Healthy, but tasted like a dessert batter

I assembled the bowl, folded it all together, took a bite, and immediately started questioning myself!

How did this accident turn into a breakfast dessert combo thing that should be illegal in the health world?

I guess Bob Ross was right,

We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents

This bowl reminded me of something

Healthy food does not have to feel like punishment.

It can be warm, comforting, wildly nourishing, and still taste like something you would eat while saying,

“there is no way this is actually good for me.”

That is exactly why I created The Sigh of Relief Method: to help real food feel doable, comforting, and actually exciting without turning your whole life into a wellness research fiasco