Everyday Fitness

Sometimes I find myself with too many bananas than I can eat before they turn over-ripe. Recently, I came across the idea of freezing them to make banana ice cream! You freeze the bananas and put them through a food processor or blender, after peeling them of course. Simple as that. With a few minutes blending, the bananas turn into a creamy treat you can eat right then and there, or put back into a container in the freezer to scoop out later. You can get creative and throw in some additions before refreezing. Try blending in peanut butter, hand mixing chopped peanuts, mixing in other chopped fruit like strawberries, adding swirls of chocolate sauce, mixing in chocolate chunks, or even instant coffee if you'd like; anything goes!

I actually pulled this recipe from one of the ads on my site. I love cooking with Carnation evapourated milk! It's great for replacing cream in savoury sauces or sweet desserts. The calories I'm quoting are using Fat Free evapourated milk and yogurt. Most of the carbs in this dessert come from berries and dairy, which are some of the highest quality carbs out there!

Per Serving:
Calories: 125
Fat: 0.2 g
Carbs: 27 g                                                       
Protein: 6 g     
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 2 hours chilling time
Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg [1 tbsp/15 mL] Powdered unflavoured gelatin
¼ cup [50 mL] Cold water
1½ cups [375 mL] Regular, 2% or Fat Free (Carnation®) Evaporated Milk
¾ cup [175 mL] (Smucker’®) No Sugar Added Apricot Fruit Spread
½ cup [125 mL] Plain yogurt
1 tsp [5 mL] Vanilla

Sauce
2 cups [500 mL] (Europe's Best®) Frozen 4-Field Berry Mix
½ cup [125 mL] (Smucker’s®) No Sugar Added Apricot Fruit Spread
2 tbsp [30 mL] Water

PREPARATION
Combine gelatin and water in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
Place evaporated milk and fruit spread in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in reserved gelatin. Mix until well combined. Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine.

Pour ½ cup (125 mL) mixture into 6 small dessert bowls. Refrigerate until set; about 2-4 hours. To serve, run a knife around the sides and turn upside down onto serving dish.

Sauce:
Place berries, fruit spread and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Refrigerate until cool or ready to serve over panna cotta.

Tips:
• Try using (Smucker’s®) No Sugar Added Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, or Wildberry Fruit Spread or Orange Marmalade for something different.
• For a fun entertaining idea, let the panna cotta mixture set in different shaped glasses or ceramic bowls.

Makes 6 servings.

Baking Substitutions:

• 1 Cup whole milk = 1 Cup skim milk
  
• 1 Cup buttermilk = 1 Tbsp lemon juice + 15 Tbsp skim milk
  
• 1 Cup heavy cream = 1 Cup evaporated skim milk, or 1/2 Cup low-fat yogurt + 1/2 Cup low-fat cottage cheese
  
• 1 Cup sour cream = 1 Cup fat-free plain yogurt, or 1 Cup chilled evaporated skim milk whipped with 1 Tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 Cup cream cheese = 4 Tbsp margarine + 1 Cup dry low-fat cottage cheese
  
• 1 Cup butter or oil = 3/4 Cup applesauce, or 1 Cup mashed banana
  
• 1 Egg = 2 Egg whites
  
• 1 Oz Chocolate = 3 Tbsp margarine + 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  

Miscellaneous Tips:

• Use chicken broth to stir-fry instead of oil.
  
• In place of butter, use non-fat cooking spray to brown.
  
• Replace bacon with turkey bacon.
  
• Use extra lean ground beef, or ground turkey.
  
• No sugar added fruit spreads taste more fruity than jam, and are plenty sweet.
  
• Canned fruits should be packed in fruit juice instead of heavy syrup.
  
• Use low calorie or skim versions of dairy products.
  
• Try milk and sweetener instead of cream and sugar in your coffee.