Snackster Sam Blog
Our recipes and activities are always Snackster Sam approved and kid approved.
 What am I?Almost everyone loves me! 100 billion of my fruit are eaten every year! I've been around for a long time, but the fruit you eat today is much different than the wild ones that were full of hard, large seeds. The fruit today doesn't have any seeds - and that means that I could be wiped out at anytime.  Where I growYou might think I grow on trees, but it's actually a BIG plant! My plant grows from a rhizome (underground stem) and grows a false trunk. What looks like the trunk are actually leaves that grow over each other and grow taller and taller. I can grow as tall a two-story house! Then my plant grows a cluster of flowers called a "hand!" That's where hundreds of my fruit grow, and it's called a "bunch".  After I'm pickedAfter I'm picked, I get more ripe. When my skin is yellow and starting to get brown spots, I'm sweetest and ready to eat. When you're ready to eat it, just peel the skin. If I will be used for baking, it's best to wait until I turn more brown. To help me ripen faster, put me in a brown paper bag.  Did you guess... BananaEspañol: plátano Bananas are a BUNCH of fun! The bananas you eat today don't have a lot of differences, unlike a lot of fruit we've seen on Snackster Sam. Watch the video to learn more about bananas and what might happen if a disease wipes out bananas. Feed your food curiosity! Snackster Sam provides fun and educational content about food that grows. Join the adventure. Download the Snackster Sam app from Google Play or the App Store!
 I'll be honest with you... I've been searching for a long time for a better pancake, and I mean a pancake that is Snackster Sam approved. Get Snackster Sam's list of snacks for your fridge or pantry! Traditional pancakes consist of complicated ingredients that provide little nutritional value. And to make it worse, we drizzle the stack of cakes with butter and maple syrup to add flavor. Real maple syrup can cost about $9 per bottle, so most families use the knock-off syrup, which is just sugar. To put it plainly... traditional pancakes weren't cutting it for me. I've tried to make a better pancake before. I even made a green pancake using avocados... it was awful. :( So you have no idea how excited I was to try a pancake that was actually Snackster Sam approved, easy to make, AND tasted delicious (do I dare say even better than traditional pancakes?!)! I promise, you can't taste the banana. These seriously taste like traditional pancakes. Plus we didn't think it needed butter or syrup... just some berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon was enough for us! What I love about these three ingredient pancakes is that it allows children to help in the kitchen. With simple tasks such as cracking eggs, peeling bananas, and stirring, this is a recipe for kids as young as 18 months to help. Our whole family was involved in the process, which was a fun way to start our Saturday morning! My husband, a self-proclaiming flipper master, flipped the pancakes and my kids took turns helping Mom. I encourage you to try this and make it your own! What variations did you add? Share your comments below!
Directions Preheat griddle to 350° or non-stick pan to medium heat. For every banana, add two eggs to the mixture. A family of four would want 6 eggs and 3 bananas. Add eggs and bananas to a mixing bowl. Add seasoning as desired. Using a potato masher, mash the banana and egg mixture (this will make for a thicker texture). You can also add the mix to a blender and blend until texture is smooth (this is easier and faster). Pour mixture onto griddle or pan. Flip pancake and cook on both sides. (We tested and found that if you wait three minutes before the first flip, it works best.) Top pancakes as desired and serve! Try it and share your comments below! Learn more about Snackster Sam in the lovable, rhyming children's book that helps kids make better food choices! Danielle is the mother of two and creator of Snackster Sam. She has been concerned about healthy habits and nutrition for over a decade, and conducted an award-winning scientific study on portion control. She created Snackster Sam to make eating healthy more fun for parents and children. Learn more about the mission here.
 Who doesn't love cookies? Traditional cookies take forever to make, kids lose interest in the baking process, and the SUGAR... you have to limit how many cookies you can eat in a sitting. It's no fun at all. The cookie battle is over! Introducing... the Banana Cookie. With only three ingredients, it's easy to make, affordable, fun, a crowd pleaser, AND Snackster Sam approved! Get the FREE list of peanut-free, school-approved snacks! My kids loved making these with me, and the plate of cookies was gone in no time. I didn't have to put a limit on how many cookies they could eat either! So are you ready to learn how to make them? Get out a notepad... and then put it away. These are too easy you can memorize it! Which may come in handy when you have 2 lone bananas left on your counter (like I did). Plus, there are so many variations so you can make this recipe your own! BANANA COOKIES INGREDIENTS 2 ripe bananas 2 cups rolled oats 1/4 cup raisins Equipment Blender Variations Dried cranberries Chopped walnuts Sliced almonds Dash of cinnamon or ginger DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350° F. Mash ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. In blender, blend rolled oats until it has a flour-like texture. Add oats to bananas and thoroughly mix. Add raisins or other variations. Roll mixture into small balls and place on non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges become golden brown. Place cookies on a cooling rack. (This is the tough part!) These cookies get better with time! Wait until they are completely cool before enjoying. The banana flavor strengthens so the cookies are sweeter! Try it and share your comments below! Danielle S is the mother of two and creator of Snackster Sam. She has been concerned about healthy habits and nutrition for over a decade, and conducted an award-winning scientific study on portion control. She created Snackster Sam to make eating healthy more fun for parents and children. Learn more about the mission here.
 by Ambassador, Danielle S When you think of kids, you usually think of sticky and messy. And snot. But I think of ICE CREAM. Because my kids always want it (and so does my husband). But ice cream is EXPENSIVE and it's loaded with ADDED SUGAR. The cheaper ice cream usually doesn't even contain the natural ingredients that are used to make homemade ice cream. So on a mission (like Snackster Sam's), I found a recipe to make a knock-off ice cream. I modified it slightly and removed the added sugar. What's amazing about this recipe? It's SO EASY TO MAKE AND CONTAINS 3 INGREDIENTS! AND YOUR KIDS WILL THINK IT'S REAL ICE CREAM. I PROMISE.
Ok... so why is this the best EVER?Glad you asked! A few reasons: It's affordable. I purchased my bananas at a discount - they were bruised and over ripe. Which is exactly what I wanted! If you can't get your bananas on sale, just store your bananas that are overripe in the freezer. Either way, bananas are much cheaper than ice cream. I fooled my kids. Every time I make this, I have the kids go to another room while I make the Bananas for Ice Cream. When they SEE and TASTE it, they BELIEVE it is ice cream from the store. It's actually funny to watch them look in the freezer later and ask for more "ice cream". They have no idea how I make it magically appear! No, it doesn't taste like bananas. If you have a picky eater who hates bananas, just try it. Frozen RIPE bananas taste so much different than non-frozen ones. Plus, if you add a dash of cinnamon or some other fruit on top, it masks any hint of banana. There is so much room for variations! What I love about this recipe is you can change it. For a change of flavor, you could add other FROZEN fruit (just keep bananas as the main ingredient). Let your kids experiment with seasonings (I bet ginger would be yummy!) and toppings. The possibilities are nearly endless! DID YOU TRY IT? Share your comments and experiences below! Bananas are Snackster Sam approved! (Ice cream is not.)Danielle is the mother of two, small business owner, and creator of Snackster Sam. She has been concerned about healthy habits and nutrition for over a decade, and conducted an award-winning scientific study on portion control. Danielle is an author and community activist who is passionate about helping people reach and exceed their personal and professional goals. Danielle is involved in numerous volunteer activities in the area. She believes philanthropy is as important as carving your own path. In her spare time, she enjoys relaxing on Rainy Lake with her family.
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