Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats | Grilled Recipe #ConquerTheMess

Summer means sticky. There is just no way to avoid the heinous heat and humidity that comes with August in my part of Texas. Sticky, sticky, sticky, it can make a mother grouchy if she lets it! I keep my parental cool when summer temps and the kids’ tempers flare with a toolbox of tactics to chill out.  Yup, let’s stay in our bathing suits all day long, crank up the songs of summer, eat easy clean up desserts and, by all means, stay out of the kitchen (I’d hate to heat up the house)!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana boats are an easy, foil-packet recipe that kids love for taste and moms love for easy clean up (and extra fruit as dessert)!My boys have been clamoring for chocolate chip cookies, but no way I’m turning on the oven!  Despite the heat, they want a summer treat that is warm and gooey – Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats are the solution.

jennifer fisher - grilled bananas - main photo option1The kids learned a version of this simple foil-packet dessert at Boy Scout camp in years past and we’ve created many versions at home, including this Raspberry Chocolate Banana Boat. So much for a mom to love about these easy desserts – it’s made on the grill, kids can make them on their own with parental supervision,  you’re sneaking in extra fruit to the diet, and there are no dishes to clean up as these treats roast in their own skins.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats and Wet Naps  go hand in hand!

The only clean up after diving face first into this ooey-gooey foil-packet dessert are messy mouths and sticky fingers. Yay,  Wet-Nap® Hands, Face, & Body Cleansing Wipes.  These wipes are one of the most multi-purposed, genius products of summer living. I started using Wet-Nap®  when the kids were toddlers, but now they’re teens – and just as messy! Safe on the face, body and hands, these wipes are awesome after stick recipes like the banana boats, but also a great way to refresh after running, working out and sitting in the fan stands watching the kids’ sports in sweltering heat. I keep a container in the car, my gym bag and purse!

Kids, Messy Desserts and Wet Naps

 

Wet-Nap® help tidy messes that life throws at us every day – this includes easy clean up desserts and easy clean up recipes and easy clean up crafts (just imaging the convenience for toddlers who like to finger paint). Also, as a food blogger, using Wet-Nap® products is a great way to keep my camera from getting too gunked up — snapping photos while food styling ALWAY make for messy buttons (don’t use on the lens, though)!Wet Naps are a must for a food blogger's camera!

I never forget to toss a pack of Wet-Nap® wipes into my cart on Walmart shopping trips. Visit Walmart for all your Wet-Nap® needs: 110-Count Hands, Face, & Body Cleansing Wipes, 24-Count Packettes Antibacterial Hand Wipes and 40-Count Canister Antibacterial Hand Wipes.

Shopping for Wet Naps at Walmart

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats ingredients

Oh, hello delicious ingredients in Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats!

Have you ever grilled a dessert?! What has your biggest mess been this summer? Please share in the comments below. XOXO – Jennifer

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Wet-Nap®, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #ConquerTheMess http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Boats
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
This grilled dessert is ooey-gooey delicious -- kids love the taste, moms love the easy clean up of this foil packet recipe (plus, sneaking extra fruit in for dessert)!
Course: Dessert, Fruit
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 medium bananas medium-firm, not too ripe
  • 1/2 cuo]p mini marshmallows
  • 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup strawberry glaze or syrup
  • 1/3 cup chopped raw almonds
Instructions
  1. Heat gas or charcoal grill to approximately 400°F or use a wire rack over campfire.
  2. Cut 4 (1-foot) sheets of heavy-duty foil, set aside.
  3. Using a sharp knife, make a deep incision lengthwise along the top curve of each banana; take care not to cut through the bottom peel. Gently push both banana ends toward each other to create a pocket. Place banana on the center diagonal of tin foil.
  4. Stuff each banana with approximately 2 tablespoons each of marshmallows, chopped strawberries and chocolate chips.
  5. Pull up corners of tin foil to create a tent over the top of banana, leaving a few inches of headroom so marshmallows won’t melt all over the foil.
  6. Place banana packets on heat source, close lid and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until marshmallows are softened.
  7. Carefully remove banana packets and open foil. Banana skins may have turned brown; however, this does not affect taste. Drizzle each banana with warmed strawberry glaze and sprinkle with almonds. Eat warm.

Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

sugar free banana chocolate muffins

Fall baking season is upon us! While I strive to eat nutritiously, I can still enjoy a little lovin’ from the oven thanks to a few healthy recipe swaps.  My recipe for Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins will satisfy any sweet tooth but without nearly as much sugar as bakery shop treats. Because these healthy muffins are sweetened with just a bit of Stevia and the natural sugars found in bananas, the only real naughtiness is in the chocolate chips. But then, who ever said chocolate is bad for you? Quite the contrary with the company I keep.  Also, to keep these muffins light, I omitted oil for Greek yogurt (extra protein) and unsweetened applesauce.

Tips, I like to use “mini” chocolate chips because they spread out better in the batter and also allow fewer to be used with still the same indulgent effect.  Also, you’ll want your bananas to be as ripe as possible – I’m talking so ripe that the banana peel is black. When the bananas on my counter get to this state of super sweetness, I just peel them and toss them in the freezer for future baking and smoothie recipes. Another tip, if you’re using paper liners, set the liner in the muffin tins and then spray the paper with a mist of baking spray – the muffins will fall out effortlessly when ready to eat.

close up banana chocolate chip muffin

Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

  • 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (6-oz carton)
  • ¼ cup milk of choice
  • 10 packets Stevia (or 1 tsp. liquid Stevia)
  •  1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips*

*Save extra chocolate chips in bag to sprinkle on top before baking, if desired.

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
  2. In large bowl, mash together bananas. Mix in applesauce, Greek yogurt, milk, stevia vanilla and egg whites until combined.
  3. In separate bowl, stir together salt, baking soda, baking powder, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour.
  4. Beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients a little at a time.  Once combined, pour in chocolate chips and stir in by hand.
  5. Spay muffin tins with baking spray or use paper liners. Fill muffin cups 2/3s the way up and sprinkle top of batter with a few extra mini chocolate chips, if desired.
  6. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until tops are turning lightly golden brown and center is set with prodded with a toothpick. If using mini muffin pans, reduce baking time 5 – 7 minutes.
  7. Makes 2 dozen.

banana bread chocolate chip - photo by 'Taste of Home' If this recipe appeals to you, you’ll probably like my “Better For You” Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, a delicious take on everyone’s favorite quick bread.  I had this one published a while back in Country Woman magazine.

‘Better-For-You’ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Looking for a quick banana bread recipe that is not too fat-laden yet moist and tasty enough to go ape over? Several years ago, I gave a makeover to my favorite banana bread recipe by replacing some of the fat with applesauce and a fat-free sour cream substitution. The success of the swap was as clear as the crumbs left in the pan – it was a winner with my family for a breakfast treat and afterschool snack. Plus, I’ve even been known to sneak a piece on occasion– hey, it might be a cheat on the Paleo, Zone and other low-carb diets, but you have to live a little people! Recipe written by yours truly, Jennifer Fisher, and originally published in Country Woman February/March 2010, p34.  Enjoy!

 

‘Better-For-You’ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
  • 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Add eggs; mix well. Beat in the bananas, sour cream, applesauce and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture just until moistened. Fold in chips. Transfer to two 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Nutritional Facts: 1 slice equals 155 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 148 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.