Healthy Banana Pancakes

My little guy is 4 months old today; I can't believe it! The first few weeks were so hard, but the whole thing has gone by really fast. Some people assume that because it goes fast, that it isn't hard. But it has been really, really challenging to have these two home alone with me for the past few months. They are such great kids, but oh my, it has stretched me to the very edge of my physical and emotional limits.

With Alex, my doctor recommended that he start eating rice cereal at 4 months because he was having trouble gaining weight, and it was such a great experience. I know that the advice is to exclusively breastfeed or bottle feed for the first 6 months now, but since my first was eating at this stage, I can't help thinking about making baby food for this little one.

Baby food is so fun to make because it is so easy! And you can really play with a lot of flavors and spices. It's so fun to see your baby's reactions to all the different tastes. I can't imagine how exciting it must be to go from exclusive milk to all these tasty options.

One of my favorite breakfasts to make Alex when he was about a year old was banana pancakes. We were very careful not to give Alex any added sugar for the longest time, we even stayed away from juice 98% of the time. These pancakes are fun because they are sweet and cinnamon-y and they are healthy.

Plus, Alex just gobbles them up like no one's business.

It is one of the rare moments when he is completely quiet.

Healthy Banana Pancakes
1 mashed banana
2 Tbl flour (you can use whole wheat flour to be healthier or baby oatmeal)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg

Stir it all together and pour onto a greased skillet. Flip when lightly browned on the underside and serve. Makes about 3 medium sized pancakes.

Cheesecake–Mousse Lovechild

I'm already behind on my posting, and I'm horrified! I actually made this little recipe several days ago (and consumed all of it) but haven't been able to post until now. So here's to holding my breath that Baby Al won't wake up too soon.

Sometimes I daydream of food. Sometimes I even night-dream about it. Often my dreams don't pan out to anything tasty, but I was pretty pleased with the results of this dessert. The day I made it, I spent a considerable amount of time drooling over a picture of a no-bake cheesecake that I saw on the Inter-web. I usually don't like no-bake cheesecakes because they seem kind of phony to me. So I had a minor heart attack wondering if I was pregnant again, calmed myself down, and started mixing.

Here's the line up of ingredients (minus some butter and powdered sugar):

Looks pretty simple, right? It is! It took me about 10 minutes tops to make the whole thing. First, I made a graham cracker crumble. I blended about 5 crackers in a blender and mixed it with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter. 

Then I mixed 4 ounces of cream cheese and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar together until they were all incorporated. I melted about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave blended it in with the cream cheese mixture. However, I found that it just wasn't enough chocolate, so I ended up with probably 2/3 cup of melted chocolate chips. 

You could probably just put in some cocoa powder instead since the rest of the ingredients are pretty sweet all by themselves. 

Then I folded in 1 1/2 cups of cool whip. I was careful not to mix it too much. 

 Finally, I layered graham cracker crumble and cream cheese mix a couple of times in some sundae dishes. I topped it with whipped cream and more graham crumbles. You can put it in the refrigerator to cool it more, but most the ingredients were cold to begin with and the cream cheese mix was already a good consistency, so there's no need to wait!

Here's the recipe:

Makes about 4 servings

Graham Crumble

5 graham crackers blended

2 Tbls melted butter

Cream Cheese Mix

4 oz. cream cheese softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2/3 cup melted chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup cool whip

Whipped cream for topping

Mix graham crumbs and melted butter together and set aside. 

Blend sugar and softened cream cheese together. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, heating in 15 second increments, stirring between. Add chocolate to cream cheese mixture until well blended. Fold in cool whip until it is mostly incorporated into chocolate. Some white streaks will remain. 

Layer graham crumbles and cream cheese mix until desired amount. Top with whipped cream and garnish with graham crumble. Enjoy!

Lisa