Banana Smoothies Galore!

Freeze Bananas for Future Use - But Peel First!!

Naturally, you would expect me to be biased about usage of bananas in smoothies, but I truly think they are a necessity to make smoothies delicious and filling.  While we follow two banana smoothie recipes on our food truck, we have also created many other banana filled smoothies that I find quite delicious.  Some banana smoothie ideas below, and while only two of them were required for the summer tour, the rest are Carmalt originals!

Please note - when making smoothies, we throw some ingredients in a blender, hit the on switch and assume our concoction will be tasty.  I can list ingredients for these smoothies, but for the most part I can't tell you how much of what went in where.  Did you get that?

1. Banana Pineapple Coconut Smoothies are required on the banana boat that has taken us across the nation.  You can read about it in a previous post here.

2. Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie - 

Think about some of the best food combinations of all time (see list below):

• banana + peanut butter  (sandwich)
• peanut butter + chocolate (reeses)
• chocolate + banana (frozen banana bites - read here)
• peanut butter + honey (sandwiches)
• banana + honey (baking / oatmeal)

So of course this smoothie combining all of these flavors is delicious!  This one is borderline milkshake and is also required for our sampling tour.  To be honest though, I think I will make this again well into the future.  If you want to pretend like you are having a frosty, simply use frozen bananas.  It gets so thick it is pretty much impossible to pour without making a mess.

In a blender combine the following, blend, pour and enjoy.

- 2 bananas, frozen or ripe (one frozen and one ripe is the best combination)
- 1 C chocolate almond milk
- One big dollop of peanut butter (1/4 C)
- One squeeze of honey (1 T)
- 1 C ice

Peanut butter cup banana yum yum!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies 

3. The straight up Banana Smoothie - 

This has been a lunch favorite throughout the summer.  It is easy because we have all the ingredients on the truck, and it saves us a trip to go get lunch if we aren't terribly hungry.  Plus, it is delicious and filling!

•  3 to 4 frozen bananas (If you don't use frozen, then throw in some ice cubes)
•  about 1 to 2 cups almond coconut milk
• -sometimes a little yogurt, but more often than not we just blended togethers banana and almond milk!
• The Kicker - Some fresh nutmeg sprinkled on top adds a nice touch.  We learned this little trick on our honey moon on the small island of Nevis in the Caribbean.  The banana smoothie I had on the beach in Nevis was possibly one of the best banana smoothies of all time.  I realize that is a bold claim, but it is true.  Fresher bananas maybe?

4. Banana and Fig Smoothie - 


This smoothie
is something I discovered on Pinterest and that I tried while we were in Arizona.  I don't totally remember what I put in the smoothie, but I remember it being satisfying (and healthy)!

• 1 to 2 Bananas
• 3 Figs, fresh or dried (if using dried, soak overnight so they rehydrate)
• Ice
• about 1 C Almond Coconut Milk
• Touch of Honey

5. The Patriotic Smoothie - 

We were working on the night of the 4th of July this summer, so we celebrated America with a festive smoothie for breakfast and a cookout for lunch.  The Red, White and Blue smoothie we made ended up being more of a Purple, Pink and White Smoothie - but it was the thought that counted.

Each layer included some ice, some yogurt, and almond milk.  The only difference in each layer was the fruit we used to make the different colors (strawberries, bananas, and blueberries from top to bottom).  The trick with the layering is to pour in the first layer, spoon in the second and third layer instead of pouring.   A big thanks to Mama Weston for being in charge of that tedious process.  It was a fun thought but I don't think I would ever do this again.  Worth one try though!

Happy Smoothie Eating!

....And Be Adventurous!  

Throw a few things into a blender and see how it goes!

Phoenix - It's Hot! Realllllll Hot! Were you born on the sun?!?

My blogging has gotten away from me lately!  I know you all have been itching to know how life with bananas has been lately (or not) and I apologize for the delay.  The reason I have not been writing is mostly due to one of the following:

1. Heat.  When it is hot outside, all you want to do is lay around in the a/c and not move.  Once movement occurs, so does sweat.

2. Family!  My parents braved the AZ weather and joined us during our adventures over the 4th of July.  Having them in Arizona was wonderful and I wanted to spend all of my time with them rather than blogging.

Poolside drinks with the rents!

3. Laziness.  We were fortunate enough to have access to some beautiful pools at a resort in Arizona, so when we were not working we were typically poolside, moseying around the lazy river or sitting in the shade napping (why shade?  See number 1).

I could some up our time in Arizona in two words: hot and delightful.  This sounds a bit contradictory, but let me 'splain - no, too much, let me sum up (name that movie)!

Our stay in Arizona was delightful for three main reasons.

1. We were in a house, so we felt like we were leading a somewhat normal life (with the exception of boxes and dishes taking over the hallway).  We were able to cook, make decent coffee, relax on a couch, and go shopping for groceries in a normal fashion.  Not to mention my god parents house is GORGEOUS, it just made us feel at home.  We also just happened to have a pool in the backyard which proved to be quite enjoyable when coming home from a long day in the heat. Much thanks to the Bockraths!!
2. My parents came!  My mom spent five days with us and joined us at some of our banana events, and was super helpful in 1001 ways.  It was fun spending time with someone other than Lucas (I kid. I kid.) and who doesn't love having their Mom around?  We introduced her to life on the banana mobile and also spent some quality time together.  My Dad joined us for our last weekend in Arizona, which happened to be over one of our days off.  He was great per usual and convinced us to see Lone Ranger and then watch old Lone Ranger episodes on YouTube to compare and contrast the old show with the movie.  We also spent a day at the pool with my parents and ended their stay with a dinner celebrating their birthdays which we unfortunately will have to miss while we are on the road.  I would say their visit was the highlight of AZ and we are very fortunate that they were willing to fly into uncomfortable conditions to spend time with us!
3.  The Marriott.  My Godfather let us use his membership card to go to the Marriott down the street from the house.  Complete with 4 pools and a fitness center, this is all we needed to make the stay complete!  Being able to workout and then sit in the lazy river made it almost feel like we were crazy vacationers that chose to be in Arizona in July!  This was the cherry on top of a great place to stay!

Why Arizona was hot:
     Well, just look at the weather forecasts and then consider we were also there when they were breaking records.  Our days ranged from 109 - 119 and at one point the thermometer in our truck registered a little over 120 degrees.  Yikes!  At least it is a dry heat...

It truly was fun to be in Phoenix and we enjoyed experimenting with smoothie flavors at home, cooking meals rather than eating out, having a house to stay in and most importantly seeing my family!  With that said, I think this clip describes Phoenix better than anything else:

Peeling the Heat!

We Can't Escape Them!! - Bananas Everywhere

It is true.  The bananas follow us everywhere we go.

I was in need of some thank you cards, so I was browsing through the greeting cards at the grocery store.  I didn't find anything that was fantastic and was debating between a few mediocre options.  Just as I was about to leave, I glanced down and spotted this card:

Card - Front

Card - Inside

Decision made.  I bought two copies and checked out.

...and I have plans to go back and buy out the store.

I swear, bananas are following us everywhere we go!

Dole Banana Pineapple Coconut Smoothies

     As mentioned previously, over the course of the summer I will shed some light on the six recipes we make from our truck regularly.  We rotate recipes depending on the ingredients we have on the truck, how long our event may be, and the time of day we will be serving food.

     Let me introduce you to the Dole Banana Pineapple Coconut Smoothie.  This gem is not only refreshing, but it is easy to make and requires limited kitchen utensils, which means a faster clean up (something we value highly nowadays).  Our appreciation for dishwashers has sky rocketed since joining this tour, and we LOVE when we find a kitchen that allows us to use their industrial washing machines.  Talk about a time saver.

Making Smoothies in the Hotel

     Although we have been making the Dole Banana Pineapple Coconut smoothie recipe every week since we began the tour, I can honestly say we have now perfected the recipe to make a cold, refreshing, and all around satisfying smoothie.  With a few slight adjustments, without changing any ingredients or ratios, we have figured out the best way to make this smoothie thick, cold, creamy and absolutely delicious every time.  This was important for us to perfect now, especially since the temps are only going to shoot up from this point forward.  We enjoy this so much, we also make it when we are off the clock - and have tried some variations as well!  Nope, not sick of smoothies or bananas yet!

     If you need some motivation to try this one at home, I can tell you that our consumers appreciate this smoothie and express their satisfaction with comments such as, “This is so refreshing!” or “I love the tropical flavors!” or “I just love that it is cold!”  So give it a try and you will be pleasantly impressed with the magic that can happen with four simple ingredients.

Ingredients:

Just blend with ice!

•  2 ripe Dole Bananas, (peeled and frozen prior to using in smoothie – ripe bananas work well too, but the frozen bananas enhance the flavor and provide extra creaminess!
•  2 C Dole Pineapple, drained (you could use fresh pineapple, or buy a can of pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice, drain the pineapple juice and use the canned pineapple in the smoothie (we like to drink the pineapple juice drained from the can over some ice…mmmm mmmmm).
• 1 C Vanilla Almond Coconut Almond Breeze (if you can’t find the Vanilla Almond Coconut, look for the Almond Coconut, or use Vanilla or Original AND if you stop by the Peel the Love truck we can give you a coupon for $1.50 off)!
• 1 C ice
• If you like coconut, add some toasted coconut, but it is tasty without it!

 Directions (this is the best part)

1. Place all ingredients in a blender.  Blend.  Serve cold.

     How we perfected the recipe:

1.     Draining the canned pineapple makes a world of difference.  It makes a thicker, creamier smoothie and brings out the banana flavor rather than tending to be more pineapple flavored.

2.     Peel and freeze bananas ahead of time – but do not freeze with the peel on!  The frozen bananas not only make the smoothie colder, but it also makes it thicker as well!

3.     If you make too much, you can place the blender in the freezer, then give it another quick blend before your second serving.  This keeps it cold and fresh!

One other note:

Since we use the Almond Breeze almond milk in the recipe, this delicious and healthy treat is dairy free, soy free, lactose free, gluten free, vegan, peanut free and very nutritious!  Using unsweetened almond milk will also reduce the calorie count (which isn’t terribly high to begin with)!  

Happy Smoothie Making and Peel the Love!

Grilled Banana S'Mores - A Featured Recipe on the Tour

Grilled Banana?       Whaaaaat?       How does that work?      What is the secret?
These are the many questions we get when we tell people we are sampling our Grilled Banana S'Mores.

Although there may be doubt at first, the typical reaction is:
"DELICIOUSNESS" and "YUM" and "HOLY SMOKERAMA GIVE ME MORE!!."  I guess nobody has technically said, "Holy Smokerama Give Me More" out loud, but I know that this is the deep down, whole-hearted personal reaction to these tasty treats.

There are many reasons why you must try these at home whether you are or are not a stop along the Peel the Love tour.

1. Ooey, Gooey Goodness.  When the banana comes off of the grill, the inside is a sweet and custardy flavor and is also very soft.  The natural sugars from the banana become the star of the S'more and are a much better compliment to the graham cracker and chocolate square than a roasted marshmallow.

2. Healthier!! I don't know about you all, but I am not a big fan of marshmallows to begin with, but I LOVE me some bananas!!  So much so, that I still am eating them every morning for breakfast despite the fact that I am surrounded by bananas (and their smell) all day every day.  Bananas are so healthy compared to marshmallows and they are something you are more likely to have around the house!  I always say, "If it doesn't go bad, it isn't good for you."  Can someone remind me how long it takes a marshmallow to go bad?  Foreverrrrrrrrrr.  Bananas?  About 5-7 days.  Anyway, the point is, the Grilled Banana S'more tastes better and is better for you!

3. At Home OR At the Campfire:  I typically don't eat S'mores unless I am camping, because that is the only time I buy or use marshmallows, yet I love s'mores.  Using the banana instead of the marshmallow makes them more accessible as a dessert at home, even if you don't have a campfire roaring in your back yard. At the same time, it is just as easy to pack a banana for a camping trip as it is to pack a bag of marshmallows that you probably won't finish.

All in all - it is a win win situation with the Grilled Banana S'more.  Plus, it is easy!  The recipe is below, so give it a try - or visit us on the tour somewhere - and I promise you will fall in love.

Grilled Banana S'mores
Ingredients & Supplies:
- 6 bananas, still in the peel
  (Ripe bananas are best - "cheetah" bananas if you will.  Bananas without brown flecks are okay too).
- Graham Crackers, each sheet split in half
- Chocolate Squares 
- A grill, a bowl, a small spoon

Directions:
1. Place unpeeled bananas right on the grill rack on medium/high heat. Grill each side for 10 minutes or until the bananas are black and very very soft (the peel may split and some sugars may ooze from the peel).
2.  With tongs, take the grilled bananas off the grill - those suckers get super hot!
3. Peel, Ooze, Squish the bananas into a bowl.  This is super easy because the grilled bananas slip right out of the peel.
4. Stir with a spoon so they are easily spreadable.
5. Spread on a graham cracker, top with a chocolate square and sandwich with another graham cracker.
6. Eat before the chocolate melts all over our fingers!!


You won't want to eat your standard S'more again.  These have been a hit on the tour - and don't worry, I have been able to sneak some for myself too!

P.S.  Check out Dole Bananas at your local grocery store and see if they have the Peel the Love sticker!!


PEEL THE LOVE!!

Launching of Love and Flinging of Bananas

Whew!  It has been quite the week / weekend getting this tour off the ground!  I must apologize to those of you receiving an email from me recently.  I went back to re-read some of my emails and BOY did I not edit that before sending.  I was a bit tired at that point in time, but if you are reading this it means you made it to the correct blog address!

Our first fill up of the 50 gallon tank!

 For those of you that heard about the bridge collapse in Seattle, no, we were not involved.  Ironically, I have a fear of drowning and falling from bridges into water while driving.  Irrational, I know.  But, as we drove in to Seattle I had asked Lucas about the way the truck doors lock from the inside because I was thinking, "What would we do if we went over a bridge in this thing??"  Sure enough, the next morning we heard the story about the bridge on I-5!  Bad timing.  My heart goes out to the people that were involved, but man-o-man that did that make me nervous!

On Thursday, we picked up the Peel the Love truck from the airport and finally had a chance to feel how the thing drives!  It wasn't too bad, although getting used to how wide we are will take some time.  We basically take up an entire lane.  It is nice sitting so high above everyone else...so much so that we can't see anyone as they drive past to see their reaction to how bright we are.  It was fun to finally get to drive around, fill up with gas for the first time, and discover that our windshield definitely leaks when it rains!  That will be fixed soon though.

Lucas also discovered the great acoustics that compliments our truck.  We anticipate there will be some great singing sessions during our longer road trips...maybe we can get a video of that at some point.  We also "get to" stop at weight stations!  Riding at 14,050 lbs. qualifies you for a weigh station stop, so that should be an experience!  Don't worry, some quality trucker hats are on the list of things we need to purchase sooner rather than later.

Bed full of t-shirts

Otherwise, we have been doing a lot of shopping, organizing of the truck and figuring out how to clean dishes since the sink on our truck is relatively small.  Oh yes, I also sorted 1000s of t-shirts in my hotel room.  The picture shown is a birds eye view of the queen bed at our hotel...the bed is there somewhere!  There is a lot to figure out but we are starting to get some systems down so our sampling days are like a well oiled, but very delicious, running machine.

1,400 DOLE Bananas

We also loaded up our food truck with 1,400 bananas....and no, that is not a typo.  With 15 boxes stacked every which way, we arrived with 1,400 bananas on the truck for the first event.  We served 1,000s of samples and still had plenty of boxes on our truck.  We are constantly surrounded by bananas but I can't say I mind it so much.  I was worried about the smell, but so far that hasn't been a problem.

Our first event has gone really well and I will be blogging about that it my next post, but we have also had some time to see the city of Seattle, walk around the Northwest Folklife Festival (where our first event took place), see Luke's wonderful cousins, eat some local Seattle fare and also met some great people.  I wish I could write about it all right now, but I really like the idea of going to bed.  So I will show some photos instead!

The first brewery we tried of the summer.  Delicious!! In Kent, WA.

Puppets and guitars at the Folklife Festival

Space Needle 

Pikes Place - I finally got my own pic of the sign! 

I was tired and this seemed like a good idea...

The gum wall....so gross, yet so cool!!

One of the many garages under The Pike Brewing Co. 

Clara - our cousin, doing some dancing with her flower balloon!

Our last day at the Northwest Folklife Festival is tomorrow and I will post about it then, so be on the lookout!

For now, I will leave you with this:

Blue Diamond Almonds is a 100 year old company and is a co-op.  They work with 3,000 almond farmers from California for all of their almonds and work closely with them to make their snack almonds, Nut Thins, and Almond Breeze delicious!!

Good night and Peel the Love!!

The Peel The Love Tour!!

     It must have been fate when I created this blog, because my husband and I are about to embark on the most adventurous Gourmet Getaway of all!  This summer we will be seeing the country - from coast to gulf to coast - on a food truck!  Traveling to events, museums, festivals, science centers, zoos, and various grocery stores, we will be sampling my favorite fruit ever...BaNaNaS!!  
     Considering I already eat a banana just about every day, love a delicious smoothie, enjoy traveling and cooking, aim to live a healthy life and love talking to people - the tour was just too good to be true! Bananas, promoting healthy lifestyles and some adventure mixed in...this tour was designed for someone like Lucas and me!

 In addition to Dole Bananas, we will also be sampling Almond Breeze almond milk made by Blue Diamond Almonds, and combining bananas and various flavors of Almond Breeze to dish up some tasty and unique recipes!  It turns out bananas are a great addition to salads, and the chocolate almond milk made by Almond Breeze is out of this world.  I can go into details later, but this is just an intro into this adventure of ours!



The Truck:
    Since choosing to be tour managers for the Peel the Love Tour, the food truck has been referred to as many different things - The Banana Boat, The Banana Bus, The Banana Truck, The Banana Mobile, etc.  
     Also, many questions such as - 
Is it shaped like a banana? No...
Is it big? YES.... 
Is it yellow?...Not exactly, but more exciting than yellow... 
Will you live in the truck?  Nope.

Low and behold, our newest companion and home away from home for the summer:

The Getaway:

     During the summer we will be traveling to the following cities via food truck, and hopefully seeing some great sites in between each stop!  We begin our tour in Seattle and finish in New York with many cities along the way.  If you have any suggestions for things to do in these cities, please comment at the end of this post:
Seattle...
Sacramento...
Los Angeles...
Phoenix....
Houston....
Des Moines....
Baltimore / DC ....
New York

The Gourmet:
     I will go into details about each recipe as we make our way through the tour, but below is a list of the food we will be sampling at events:
1. Pineapple Banana Coconut Smoothie
2. Chocolate Monkey Smoothie (with chocolate, peanut butter and banana)
3. Frozen Banana Pudding Pops
4. Grilled Banana S'mores
5. Grilled Bananas with Sundae Bar Toppings
6. Thai Peanut Banana Salad (yup, banana salad)!

     If you are interested in following our travels, seeing photos, learning about Dole bananas and Almond Breeze almond milk, and staying in touch this summer...this is the place to be!  I will do my best to update a couple times per week and will also provide recipes, banana and almond fun facts and general updates about our travels.  Please add comments below or shoot us emails during the summer, because we will surely miss everyone!

By the way - Did You Know?!?! - The average person eats 28 pounds of bananas a year!
We will probably eat 28 pounds on this tour alone!

Have a wonderful summer, keep your eyes peeled for our new ride trucking along the interstates, and if you are in a city where we will be, please stop by and say hello!  In the meantime...

PEEL THE LOVE!!