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.
🙂
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!
WOW what a great idea! I love bananas and pb together, so making a spread out of them is such a fantastic idea! Loves it! Great cals too, so I can eat the whole jar right? LOL
-muffy
mmm I wonder how long it stays good for in the fridge…I guess the length a refridgerated banana would stay good for lol!. Katie I wonder what would happen if you caramelized the banana first like the brulee method and then blended…probably be super sweet.
I vote no to cals…too numerical. It would take away from the veganny goodness.
I’d say no to calorie counting. If other people want to know the calorie content, they can work it out for themselves, there are lots of websites to help them out with it too. Plus, it’s not really relevant. A lot of people get obsessed with numbers, but your blog is about enjoying food, you can’t enjoy food and worry about numbers at the same time!
Great recipe! 🙂 I love making up new varieties of nut butter and nut milk.
I’m happy to see so many of your readers saying no to calorie counting. I like the fact that you don’t focus on calories– it saddens me to see people obsessing over numbers and feeling guilty or virtuous according to what they eat! I know that many people find it useful to count calories, but I think that it draws attention away from eating a healthy and varied diet and leads people to choose foods because they are low in calories/fat/carbs rather than because they truly enjoy them. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t eat avocado and coconut like I do because they are so “fattening”, or that they won’t eat a potato or a slice of whole grain bread because they are full of carbohydrates, yet they pour aspartame into their coffee and eat 100-calorie packages of cookies and chips.
I’ve become disillusioned with a lot of other food blogs over time, but yours is always a joy to read. I like your philosophy that food is meant to be enjoyed and I like that you post about other aspects of your life, as well, such as travel, your family, and your volunteer work– by the way, I’d love to hear more about the charity projects you’ve mentioned!
Genius looks at the ordinary and finds an extra-ordinary take on it, – so, what can I say? pure genius, Katie, PURE genius.
And, – the kids will LOVE you !!!! (at least the oldest J, peanut butter lover par excellence that he is 😉 )
Elvis butter, – oh yeah, that rocks !!!!!
I’m just curious, but as someone who is as thin as you are and who has said before that they would like to gain weight – I have to ask:
Why do you keep replacing high-calorie foods with things that are lower in calories? I mean, zucchini pasta? Banana butter? Truly. For someone who runs several miles, is already very thin – that is not a good idea. You need the fuel found in REAL foods that are calorically dense in order to keep yourself going. I’m not trying to bash you, but it is kind of a cause for concern. There is nothing wrong with eating real PB or real pasta – in fact I eat about 1/4 cup of PB and a plate of pasta on a daily basis. Because, like you, I am a runner and am naturally thin to begin with. And we NEED the calories and energy provided by whole grains and fats. I’ve read your blog for awhile now, and while I know you say you eat 2600 calories a day, and I believe that – it does concern me that every recipe you post now seems to be getting lower and lower and calories. What happened to the good, calorie-dense, brain and body feeding foods?
Ohhh I now know what I’m gonna do with those nannas on my countertop! Banana butter, awesome idea. Thank you!
Girlfriend, putting calorie counts on recipes is alot of work. If you care to add to the stress/workload of running your blog, awesome. If you don’t, don’t. You will never be able to please everyone, either. To include or not to include calorie counts. Just please yourself 🙂
xoxo
I am for sur trying out that one. Thanks girl!!
I say no to calories.
I imagine this blog already takes a lot of your time, so there’s no need for you to spend more time counting them.
Since you usually give recipes, people who do count calories can do so themselves, that’s my opinion.
I also vote no to adding calorie scores! Personally, I think anyone should be able to figure out if something is worth eating without consulting a calorie count. For exampe, this recipe is bananas, with a few tablespoons of nut butter. What’s not to like? Food is about balance, not numbers! I just got hooked on banana ‘soft serve’ myself – adding a spoonful of nut butter sounds a-ma-zing! -Eve
Like most people, I don’t think you should post calories. You don’t count calories, so if people want to know, they can do the maths themselves.
By the way, I’m going to have to make this one day soon now!
To Anonymous:
Thank you for leaving such a well-thought-out comment that wasn’t derogatory or accusatory as many anonymous comments can be. To answer your questions:
I DO DO DO eat regular pasta. I love the stuff. Please read through my blog before you assume I don’t eat it, as I have quite a few pasta-centered posts (including Betty Spaghetti, Lo Mein, and Soba). In fact, I’ve actually written a not-yet-published post centering around the goodness of pasta. Look out for it in the future! 😉
Why are my recipes so “light”? As I said in this post, I try to make my recipes suitable for everyone. And I know that many people who read my blog are trying to watch their diets. Therefore, I always include variations such as “sauteeing liquid of choice” instead of saying “oil” etc. That way, people can make the recipes as high-cal or as low-cal as they want.
And I don’t eat this peanut butter spread in place of peanut butter. I do still eat regular nut butters on an almost-daily basis. But I like this one (my mom actually made it up when I was in high school) because it’s easier to spread, less messy, and I think the pb and banana flavors really stand out more when they’re mashed together. Plus, I eat bigger quantities of this stuff than I would regular pb (i.e. I spread more on a sandwich than I would if it were plain pb), so I make up for the extra calories that way.
If you are really interested in my diet/life/philosophy, I’d be happy to talk more through email if you want to de-lurk.
Thanks for reading!