Chocolate Frozen Yoghurt with Caramelised Bananas (Secret Recipe Club)

Secret Recipe Club time! I really wasn't sure whether to participate this month or not as our baby's due date was 30th October. Luckily though I made a great call figuring he would be early and I was right! Our third gorgeous little boy arrived on Monday 21st October.

Noah Patrick, 3.85kg and 53cm long

I will be taking next month off so we can settle in without any pressure on me to cook but I will back with SRC in December/January. Meanwhile my hubby has really stepped up and made us some delicious meals including macaroni and cheese and a slow-roasted pork belly. Yum!

It feels like a lifetime ago when I made my pick for this month's SRC. I was assigned the Bewitching Kitchen by Sally and once again I was really spoilt for choice when it came to choosing a recipe. Sally is Brazilian and it was fascinating to read her story, explore her traditional Brazilian recipes and also read about her background in science (my husband is a microbiologist).

When it came to actually choosing a recipe though I couldn't go past ice cream, which has been my major vice this pregnancy. Interestingly enough as I write this after his birth my sweet tooth has virtually gone and I'm wanting smoked salmon, sushi and brie!

So for this month I chose Sally's Chocolate Frozen Yoghurt with Caramelized Bananas. This recipe is worth making just for sheer deliciousness but make sure you check out her post for a beautiful photo and story of her mother, the world's expert on caramelised bananas!

Oh and please excuse the terrible photo. It wasn't quite firm enough to scoop properly and it didn't last long enough for me to take another one!

Chocolate Frozen Yoghurt with Caramelised Bananas
Recipe very slightly adapted from Bewitching Kitchen

40g butter
3 large ripe bananas, cut into thick slices
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
125ml plus 60mls full cream milk (divided)
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 ts vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups Greek yogurt
60g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the sliced bananas in a single layer and sprinkle over the brown sugar. Cook, turning once, until caramelised. This will take 5-8 minutes. Add the lemon juice and swirl the pan to completely dissolve the sugar.

Remove the pan from the heat. Scrape three-quarters of the bananas into a food processor, add the 60 mls of milk and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until completely chilled. Chop the remaining bananas and freeze until chilled.

In the same food processor bowl beat together the cocoa, sugar, salt, vanilla and the remaining 125 mls of milk. Add in the yogurt and then the banana puree and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and churn until nearly frozen. Mix in the chopped bananas and pieces of chocolate. Scrape the frozen yogurt into an airtight container, cover and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

It's a boy!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our third beautiful boy!

Introducing Noah Patrick, born 7.33pm on Monday 21st October, 3.85kg and 53cm long...

Date and Cashew Power Balls

It's baby month! Hard to believe but we are on the home stretch now with bub due in just a matter of weeks. So I thought I would dedicate this month to some recipes I've found that are perfect for pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding.

To kick things off, have you heard that eating dates during the last month or so of pregnancy can assist with labour? It's all come from a study in Jordan which you can find here but there seems to be lots of anecdotal evidence online as well.

Now since quitting (most) sugar, dates have been on my avoid list as they are incredibly high in fructose, the highest of any fruit in fact. According to the study you need to eat 6 dates per day to reap the rewards.That's a lot of dates and a LOT of sugar!

So I guess I am hedging my bets on this one. I can't commit to eating that many dates, and in fact if you have gestational diabetes I would steer clear of this completely, but I thought an occasional energy and protein packed snack wouldn't do any harm. I've been grabbing one from the freezer mid-afternoon to stave off the munchies and I'm sure they will be a great energy boost for labour and breastfeeding as well.

Date and Cashew Power Balls
Makes approx 30

2 cups raw cashews
2 cups dried dates
2 tbs raw cacao powder
2 tbs chocolate protein powder
1 ts vanilla extract
1/4 ts salt
2 tbs coconut oil

Place all ingredients except the coconut oil in the food processor and blitz until well combined and rubbly. Add the coconut oil one tablespoon at a time and process until the mixture comes together and clumps. You may find you need more or less coconut oil. Form dessertspoonfuls of mix into balls. Store in the fridge or freezer.

* This post is for your information only and does not represent medical advice!