banana

Chunky Monkey Flavored Energy Bars
healthy living

A Reader Recipe: Chunky Monkey Super Omega-3 Energy Bars

FitSugar reader For the Love of Fiber offers vegan, gluten-free, and kid-friendly energy bars inspired by the Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream flavor.
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FitSugar reader For the Love of Fiber offers vegan, gluten-free, and kid-friendly energy bars inspired by the Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream flavor. She shared it with us in our Healthy Recipe group in the Fit Community.

Chunky Monkey Super Omega-3 Energy Bars

Chunky Monkey Super Omega-3 Energy Bars
Makes 12 bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 12 medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 cup raw walnuts
  • 1 cup quinoa flakes
  • ½ cup chia seeds
  • ¼ cup milled flaxseed
  • ¼ cup cacao nibs or dark chocolate chunks
  • 1 tbsp. virgin coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

See the full recipe after the break!

Healthy Chocolate Pudding Recipe With Peanuts, Chia, and Banana
Healthy Recipe

A Reader Recipe: Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding

Looking for a sweet but healthy treat?
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Looking for a sweet but healthy treat? This recipe for chocolate banana pudding that reader Gabriela Une Vie Saine posted in the Healthy Recipe community group may be just what you need.

This is an incredibly rich and delicious tasting pudding that's actually totally healthy. The texture is reminiscent of chocolate mousse, but it still manages to pack a ton of healthy fats and protein!

See the recipe when you read more

Recipe For Banana Cranberry Zucchini Muffins
Food

Healthy Dessert: Banana Cranberry Zucchini Muffins

Holy zucchinis! I wanted to plant two different kinds in my garden, and since the seedlings came in packs of four, my eight plants are bursting with gorgeous green veggies.
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Holy zucchinis! I wanted to plant two different kinds in my garden, and since the seedlings came in packs of four, my eight plants are bursting with gorgeous green veggies. I've grilled it, stuffed it with quinoa, made Creamy Zucchini Boats, and pan-fried Zucchini Latkes, but this weekend I was in the mood for something sweet. I thought, why not combine two of my favorite bread recipes — zucchini and banana. The combination is more amazing than I thought it would be.

Interested in seeing my recipe? Then keep reading.

Does the Morning Banana Diet Work?
Diet

Is the Morning Banana Diet Bananas?

A Japanese weight loss plan known as The Morning Banana Diet (also known as the Asa Banana Diet — asa means morning in Japanese) has been around for a while, which means many people are finding success with it.
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A Japanese weight loss plan known as The Morning Banana Diet (also known as the Asa Banana Diet — asa means morning in Japanese) has been around for a while, which means many people are finding success with it. Before discussing if it works, here are the guidelines for the diet:

  • For breakfast, eat one banana, or a few.
  • For lunch and dinner, eat what you want. There are no strict rules about what to eat or portion sizes. Eat until you are satisfied, but not stuffed. Don't eat after 8 p.m. (6 p.m. is better).
  • For all meals, sip room temperature water.
  • A sweet snack of chocolate, cookies, or the like is allowed at 3 p.m.
  • Allow at least four hours between your last meal and bedtime.
  • Work out only if you want to, but don't force yourself if it stresses you out.
  • Keep a food journal to document your daily food intake.

Wow. Basically you're encouraged to eat bananas for breakfast, and whatever else you want the rest of the day, as long as you stop eating four hours before you hit the hay? And exercise is optional? It amazes me that people have been losing weight this way, and what's with the bananas? To find out read more

Healthy Eating Tip: Freeze Bananas
Food

Healthy Eating Tip: Freeze Bananas

Warmer weather makes bunches of bananas turn brown quicker, so before you have to throw them away, freeze them to use for smoothies or banana bread.
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Warmer weather makes bunches of bananas turn brown quicker, so before you have to throw them away, freeze them to use for smoothies or banana bread. Just unpeel your nanner, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it in the freezer. You can add the frozen banana right to the blender for a fruit smoothie, and for banana bread or muffins, allow them to thaw first. It's a helpful time- and money-saver.

This Shizz Is Bananas
banana

This Shizz Is Bananas

This morning, Team Bella was sittin' around eating banana-filled breakfasts.
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This morning, Team Bella was sittin' around eating banana-filled breakfasts. (No, we're not on that wacky diet.) As delicious as we find them, they're equally delightful in beauty products. Check out a few items, from toothpaste to body scrub, that incorporate this fruit. Grab 'em while you can.

Source

Monkey Banana #7 Toothpaste by Breath Palette Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Creme Green by Nature Banana Shea Body Butter Ulta 3-in-1 Shower Smoothies Banana Moon
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What's the Deal With the Morning Banana Diet?
Weight Loss

What's the Deal With the Morning Banana Diet?

I've been hearing a lot about this new Morning Banana Diet that is taking Japan by storm, so I decided to do a little investigating on whether or not it's worth all the hype.
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I've been hearing a lot about this new Morning Banana Diet that is taking Japan by storm, so I decided to do a little investigating on whether or not it's worth all the hype.

Basically, the rules behind the Morning Banana Diet (MBD) are relatively simple. Eat at least one banana for breakfast and anything you like for lunch and dinner, as long as you don't eat after 8 p.m. An afternoon snack is OK (even if it's unhealthy), but no desserts after meals and you're encouraged to drink only room temperature water. You'll need to go to bed by midnight and keep a food journal. Exercise is not necessary, and you shouldn't force yourself to do it if it stresses you out (WTF?).

If you remember the general rules of for spotting an unhealthy diet, you probably also remember that all diets should promote healthy eating and exercise. Clearly, the MBD does not, and therefore does not get a thumbs-up in my book — not to mention the fact that it's really not something you could do for the rest of your life (I don't care how much you love bananas). Yes, bananas are good for you, but so is exercise, as well as a lot of other fruits and veggies that you could incorporate into your breakfast.

When you read about a new diet and it seems too good to be true, chances are it is — a silver bullet does not yet exist, and we'll know if and when it does. Until then, the real key to keeping yourself healthy is to maintain healthy eating and keep moving.

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Cool Idea: Recycled Chiquita Banana Box Chandelier
banana

Cool Idea: Recycled Chiquita Banana Box Chandelier

During her time at the Utrecht School of the Arts in the Netherlands, artist Anneke Jakobs salvaged Chiquita Banana boxes and cut out their cheerful banana shapes and iconic logos.
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During her time at the Utrecht School of the Arts in the Netherlands, artist Anneke Jakobs salvaged Chiquita Banana boxes and cut out their cheerful banana shapes and iconic logos. She then cleverly arranged them into chandelier form, fastening the cardboard together with cotter pins. Motivated makers can email her for PDF directions to make their own (and interested buyers can also email for pricing). "At the end," she says, "it's everyone's choice to spend their time or their money on something."

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Opossum Eating a Banana
cute

Cute Alert: Opossum With Banana Munchies

Opossums aren't "cute" by conventional standards, but I dare you to look into these big, black, buggy eyes and deny this opossum his claim to cute.
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Opossums aren't "cute" by conventional standards, but I dare you to look into these big, black, buggy eyes and deny this opossum his claim to cute. Watch him snack smack on a bit of banana and try to resist the urge to reprimand his bad eating etiquette. When one is this cute, one can get away with making all sorts of om nom nom nom noises.

Chiquita Banana Granny
Humor

Remember Miss Chiquita Banana?

She's a little older, but still straight up bonkers about bananas.
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She's a little older, but still straight up bonkers about bananas. You'd think the lady's fruit fetish would have let up by now, but it's only gotten worse. Not only does she sing the praises of her fave fruit, she adds big, beady eyes to its freckled exterior and creates a chorus of mouthless, banana backup singers. I suppose this is why they say life only gets better after age 60. Looks like a good time to me . . .