You’ve got to try my daughter Julia’s Banana Nachos for breakfast or as a healthy snack.  Just slice some bananas, drizzle with almond butter and honey, and sprinkle with some favorite toppings like mini chocolate chips, granola, coconut, and/or chia seeds.  This recipe is my daughter Julia’s creation!  She turned 18 this week, is a senior in high school, and planning to go to college in the fall to become a dietician.  It’s a tough time to be a senior…school has been cancelled for the rest of the year, so no graduation ceremony or parties, senior trips, prom, etc.  It’s rough.  But her class is a resilient group of kids!  They were the babies of 9/11 and graduate into a worldwide pandemic, but I think it’s safe to say they’re going to go on to do great things in the world!

Here’s how they’re made!

Banana Nachos

I have no idea how Julia came up with this idea but the first time she made it for me, I was hooked!

Start by slicing one ripe banana in a small bowl.  I think these nachos taste best when the bananas are still a little firm, before they start to blacken and turn into banana bread territory.  (But if it’s too late for your banaas, here’s a favorite Chocolate Banana Muffins recipe to try!)

Slice the banana into a small bowl.

Top with all of your favorite oatmeal or yogurt toppings….almond butter, honey, shredded coconut, cinnamon, mini chocolate chips, chia seeds, granola, a drizzle of almond milk….Let your imagination be your guide!

My tip for using almond butter is to briefly heat it in the microwave (about 10 seconds) to liquify it a little and make it easier to drizzle!

I really love these banana nachos.  In all honesty, they are never going to taste like a cookie but they’re a whole lot healthier for me – and I need a little of that in my life right now.  It’s one of my favorite breakfasts, and comes together fast!

18th Birthday – Quarantine Style

It’s tough to celebrate a birthday right now, especially a milestone bithday like your 18th birthday.  So many things she’s looked forward to for years have been taken away from her, but her friends brought a drive by party to her and it was probably the highlight of her month.  She loved being able to see all of their faces again after 6 weeks of being apart!  They decorated posters, their cars, even used plastic gloves to make a flower bouquet.  Their creativity blew me away!  See what I mean by how the future is in good hands!  Here are a few pictures from her driveby party…

Quarantined Birthday Dinner

I cook dinner every night, so we usually go out to celebrate birthdays.  But with all of the restaurants closed right now, we found a favorite restaurant that was offering family style meals for pick up on Julia’s birthday! We also really wanted to support Chef John Howie because of the great things he is doing right now to keep his business alive for his employees.  He was even bringing the meals curbside himself.  If you live in the Seattle area, I highly recommend his Family Dinners!  If you don’t live here, I bet there are similar restaurants in your area doing the same type.  We’re all in this together.

Here are pictures of our Creamy Sausage Bolognese Sauce with Caprese Chopped Salad meal kit.  It couldn’t have been easier to prepare and was definitely restaurant quality!

I hope you are all staying healthy and well and finding creative ways to find little bits of joy in this unusual situation we’re all finding ourselves in. And I hope you have all the ingredients at home right now to give Julia’s Banana Nachos a try!

Julia’s Banana Nachos

Sliced Bananas, sliced thin (ripe but not brown – save those for banana bread!)

Topping Ideas:
-Almond Butter (or other nut butter)
-Honey
-Granola
-Mini Chocolate Chips
-Shredded Coconut
-Cinnamon
-Chia Seeds
-Almond Milk
-Sea Salt
-Whatever else sounds good to you!

Directions:

Drizzle sliced bananas with almond butter and honey. Sprinkle with additional toppings, as desired.