Dear readers, we have been on a roll with both songs and bananas as of late. I’ll give you a break with the former this week, but we will stick with the latter for one more ride. Bananas are easy to get and relatively cheap as fruits go, they travel well, and contrary to rumors, don’t really hang out with monkeys all that much.
One thing they do hang out with is peanut butter, and they are the best of buds. Back in my larger life days, I would plop my big happy you know what on the couch with a banana, a jar of peanut butter, and a butter knife and smear a huge dollop of nut butter on each bite of banana. It was delicious. I shudder now to think of how many calories I was getting adding basically half a jar of peanut butter to one banana, not to mention all the oils and sugars as I did not understand or care about nutrition labels at that time. I would also use the same technique with microwave popcorn and peanut butter. Ah, the good old days, when food was fast, knowledge was minimal, and the top buttons of my pants were exploding across the room like a James Bond hidden weapon. But, I digress.
We have established so far that there is no song, bananas and monkeys aren’t really a thing, and peanut butter and bananas are as good together as Thelma and Louise driving a convertible off a canyon. But, there is a third best friend that goes great with both bananas and peanut butter. Chocolate. In our remake, the stars of our movie would have taken Brad Pitt along for the trip, and he (chocolate) would be riding in the back seat. Bad for him, good for us.
If you have some good quality dark chocolate of at least 70%, some all natural peanut butter, and one banana, you can crash them all together in a canyon, or a bowl if that’s more convenient, the most delicious and healthy truffles will come out the other side triumphant and not at all burned alive and dead. The ingredient list is minimal, the prep time is short, and the results are amazing. Besides the cast of our movie remake above, a dash of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of powdered monkfruit sugar if using super dark 88% is all you need. Here’s a list of ingredients for the leading store bought chocolate truffles, and it’s not near as pleasant to look at as Pitt is:
SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT, PALM KERNEL), COCOA BUTTER, CHOCOLATE, MILK, SKIM MILK, MILKFAT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), BARLEY MALT POWDER, CARAMEL PASTE [SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, CREAM, SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER)], NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, VANILLA SEEDS, SALT.
Compared to that ingredient list, you can see why it’s so much better to make your own. That’s like taking Brad Pitt and replacing him with Jon Lovitz. Sure, it’s a male actor playing the same part with the same lines, but come on. My version is just as soft and delicious, but also healthy and packed with nutrition, and you can eat a couple without feeling bad about driving your diet off the proverbial cliff. If you haven’t made any of the recipes I’ve put out, this would be a good one to start with, as it’s the easiest to make and tastes so good. Give it a try and see for yourself. If you don’t like them, check the mirror and make sure you aren’t Jon Lovitz, or possibly a monkey.
Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients:
- One banana – not too ripe, not too green, but just right
- 2 tbsp all natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
- 100 grams dark chocolate (min 70%, max 88%)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp powdered monkfruit if using 88% dark chocolate
Instructions:
Break up your chocolate bar into pieces and weigh out 100 grams. I find one bar is usually around 88 grams.
Place the chocolate in a glass bowl and set over a saucepan with an inch or two of water to act as a double boiler. Set over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Carefully remove the bowl off the pan to cool slightly:
Drop your banana in a bowl and mash with a hand blender. Add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and monk fruit sweetener if using. Blend with the hand mixer until smooth:
Add the melted chocolate to the bowl and hit it again with the blender until well mixed. Use a small disher to place a healthy dollop in cupcake papers:
Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours until completely chilled and solid. Keep stored in the fridge in an airtight container…if they last that long:
See the list of all Jason Murphy’s recipes at www.mysaline.com/jason-murphy.