Monkey Bites- an Easy & Delicious Treat

Sometimes a really good food blogger will give you inspiration to come up with something completely innovative! Other times they will just leave you hungry. But sometimes, they will trigger a memory of something you haven’t made in a while. This was the case when I read @Gringalicious’s post yesterday. I grew up eating 'Nilla wafers and banana pudding, but with the allergies in our house, and the fact that my kids don't care much for the texture of pudding, well, it's been a few years since I've had that tasty treat.

Side note: I am so excited for an upcoming N. Idaho Steemit meetup and meeting this talented fellow foodie in person! Also looking forward to sampling one of her goodies as she's providing dessert! Yum!

But that doesn't mean I'm going to deprive us of treats. I just have to get creative!

I remembered a snack that is so ridiculously easy there isn’t even a recipe! In fact, most of us have all the necessary ingredients. It’s very versatile and as long as you’re not allergic to bananas it’s very allergy friendly.

Monkey Bites!!

When you have a kid with complicated allergies, reading labels can get so tedious! And you can never let down your guard, because that brand of popcicles that you’ve been buying for months (because it’s the only one your local market carries that doesn’t have soy in it) suddenly decides to start using cherry or purple carrot for coloring! (Carrot and cherry are both a no-no in this house.) Seriously? Coloring? And of course, I didn’t notice at the store, so frustrating! Anyway, this is life with allergies and honestly it often easier to just make your own than fuss with those variables.

When I first made these, I was trying to mimic Dreyer’s Dibs, so I would dunk the entire banana slice in chocolate, but that was messy and really heavy on the chocolate.

Then one day I was in a crazy hurry and decided to just top the slices and guess what? The kids didn’t even notice! They still loved them, so yay for quicker, easier and less sugar!

And if you’re allergic to chocolate, these are really yummy with a dollop of regular of dairy-free yogurt frozen on top! We like them topped with Celtic Sea Salt, but I’ve also used cookie crumbs and sprinkles. I used some crumbled freeze-dried raspberries today for a pop of color.

Here are the easy directions:

Ingredients:

• Bananas
• Your choice of chocolate (approx 1/4 c per banana)
• Coconut oil (approx 1 tsp)
• Sea salt (optional but not really. It REALLY brings out the sweetness nicely!)

1. Slice the banana(s). Spread on a parchment lined tray for easy cleanup. Freeze for 30 minutes.
2. Melt the chocolate. (We ditched our microwave years ago, so I made a double boiler out of a small pot and bowl.)
3. Add a spoon of coconut oil and a few dashes of salt and stir well.
4. Drizzle or spread the chocolate on to the frozen bananas.

If you’re going to sprinkle any toppings, do that as you go, otherwise the chocolate will harden and your toppings will not stick.

So easy, a monkey could do it. (I often call my kiddos my little monkeys affectionately.) It might get a bit messier, but they’re still just as tasty!

The monkeys approve!

**We actually made a little discovery while making these today. When the warm chocolate is spread on frozen bananas, the chocolate hardens immediately, like the old “Chocolate Shell”. So you can eat them immediately. Well, with the second batch we didn’t freeze the slices first, so the chocolate did not harden, but then we popped them in the freezer and the chocolate hardened within minutes.

So you have your pick. Freeze before or after the chocolate! Either way, they won't last long...

What do you think? Will you try this tasty treat? If so, let me know how they turn out!