Healthy Banana Pumpkin Ice Cream

I had eight very ripe, with tons of those little brown spots, bananas sitting on my counter.  It was only a matter of time before the pesky fruit flies appeared.  I hate those things, they seem to hide and one always pops up days later.  I wasn't in the mood for baked goods but had been craving pumpkin ice cream.  So we experimented and loved the result.  A healthy ice cream that the girls could have for breakfast if they wanted to!  I've seen many variations (nutella, peanut butter, maple walnut) of banana ice cream, and plan on trying some others next time I have an overripe bunch.

Ingredients

4-8 bananas, whatever you have that is nice and very ripe
1/2 - 1 1/4 cup of pureed pumpkin
cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to taste

Recipe

1. Slice your very ripe bananas into coins, lay out on a cookie sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper and freeze them for 1-2 hours.  Some people squeeze fresh lemon on them before freezing to preserve the color.  
2. If you froze for longer than 2 hours you will want to allow the slices to warm up for 15 minutes.   Put 1/2 cup of pumpkin in blender then add half of your bananas.  Blend.  You will will have to stop and stir and mash a bit until the mixture gets moving.  Add more bananas as mixture gets going.  Do you not add liquid if you plan to freeze later, it will cause ice crystals.  Blend until smooth once all the bananas are added.
3. Taste the ice-cream.  Do you want more pumpkin flavor?  Add more pumpkin.  Add your spices a little at a time now too.  Keep tasting until you get the flavor your family prefers.  The bananas will taste different depending on how ripe they are so you will likely make a different recipe each time.  Tasting is fun anyways!
4. You can serve the ice cream soft serve now, we love it this way!  Or put into a freezer container with a lid and freeze for 2 or more hours.  Then you can pull out and scoop.  It scoops best if you let it warm up for 10-20 minutes first.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Whole Wheat Pancakes

Here in Ohio fall is in full force.  The trees are creating an absolutely stunning landscape and the color is peaking.  We have had 70's and 60's and 50's for weather.  Sunshine and rain.  The girls are off school this morning and have been asking for pancakes.  In a tribute to these beautiful fall season we decided to create a new healthy pumpkin pancake recipe.  I used our oatmeal banana pancakes as a start and added a touch of fall and voila!  I have to say this is one of my new favorite pancake recipes.  I made a double batch and will be very happy to pull some out of the freezer next weekend.  Now if I get brave I may just tackle that apple maple bacon pancake I keep dreaming about.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat white flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

2.5 cups milk/almond milk/rice milk/coconut milk *plus extra if needed

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 of a 15 oz can of pumpkin or 1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 cup real maple syrup

Recipe

1. Blend the oatmeal in a blender until it resembles course flour.  Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (from oatmeal to nutmeg)
2. Now that the blender is empty add remaining ingredients (egg through maple syrup) and blend until well combined.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  If the batter seems too thick add more milk a little at a time.  It should be thicker, not runny
4. Heat large griddle to medium heat.  Drop pancakes in desired size.  We use around a heaping quarter cup for each pancake.  Flip when bubbles just begin to form on top top to brown the other side.  I noticed that the bubbles are harder to see with these
5. Serve warm with fruit or syrup if desired.  Enjoy!