Chris's Healthy Pumpkin "Ice Cream"

    Some of you might remember Matt's cousin Chris.  You know, the Chris of Baked General Tso's Chicken fame. Ok, that might not really be what she is famous for, though it would be reason enough!  She is actually famous for being the creative mind behind Madi Grace.

   A while back she shared a few of her family's favorite recipes with me.  This one required ripe bananas.  You would think that wouldn't be a problem, except somehow all of my ripe bananas have ended up in baked goods lately.  I haven't been able to help it.  They have just called out to be baked.  So I finally stumbled upon a group of ripe bananas that really wanted to be frozen.  That is all it took, magic was made!

   This "ice cream" comes together in  just a few minutes with just a few ingredients.  With all of the bananas, it really does fill you up and it has a great texture.  You feel like you are really giving yourself a treat and you are doing your body a favor!

Healthy Pumpkin "Ice Cream"

Ingredients:

4 large very ripe bananas, frozen

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1-2 tsp honey

optional additions: cinnamon, vanilla, PB2, chocolate chips (Chris said they really like it with PB2 or vanilla, I added cinnamon to ours)

1. In a food processor blend together the frozen bananas and pumpkin until smooth and creamy.  
2. Slowly add in honey and blend until you get the level of sweetness you would like.
3. Add any optional add-ins you'd like.  
4. You can of course eat it as it is, but if you want it to be scoopable you will need to freeze it for at least a couple of hours. Let sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften before scooping.

Here are some more healthy alternatives to family favorites:

Whole Grain Banana Yogurt Pancakes

Hot Cocoa Baked Oatmeal

Banana Oat Muffins