I got home from working out and had a salad for lunch. It was good, but within an hour I was hungry for something else. Something sweet. I was tempted to pull out a bag of Reese’s cups or grab a spoon and a pint of chocolate peanut butter ice cream from the freezer. But instead, I went with something a smidge healthier.
I still got the chocolate and peanut butter taste, but I threw in a banana! Fruit = healthy, right? Well, it turns out bananas are a great post-workout food! They have fast-acting carbs that help restore your body’s energy levels and rebuild damaged muscles. Plus, it has potassium, which can keep you from having charlie horses.
These chocolate peanut butter banana bites were delicious, and they really hit the spot!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- One banana
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate chips ( I used semi-sweet because it’s all we had, but you could use dark, milk or even white chocolate. I suggest dark chocolate!)
Peel the banana and cut it into slices.
Spread some peanut butter over each slice.
Put the chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave them in 10 second intervals. If you go much longer than 10 seconds at a time, the chocolate could scorch. I heated the chocolate for 40 seconds, but only 10 seconds at a time and stirring between each 10 seconds. Don’t look at how dirty my microwave is — I’m human.
The chocolate chips will slowly melt. After the 4th 10 second heating, I stirred it up real good to get rid of any chunks that hadn’t melted yet.
Now comes the difficult part. The chocolate will clump up and harden quickly so you have to move fast. Spread the chocolate over each banana slice. Don’t worry about getting chocolate on the bottom of each bite because it will freeze to the plate anyway. I used a fork, a spoon, my fingers — it got messy. Can you tell which ones I started with and which I ended with? The ones that don’t look good are the ones where the chocolate was starting to harden. They were still just as yummy!
Freeze the bites on a plate in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. Then, enjoy! It’s a perfect treat with a hint of health.
- 1 Banana
- 2 Tbs peanut butter
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Peel and slice the banana
- Spread peanut butter over each banana slice
- Melt the chocolate chips at 10 second intervals in the microwave, stirring after each 10 seconds
- Spread melted chocolate over each banana slice, on top of the peanut butter
- Freeze the bites for 15-30 minutes
What’s your favorite post-workout food or snack?
[…] 6. Bananas. Yes, I know it’s a fruit too. Bananas have a type of carbs that rebuild your muscles after a workout. They are also full of potassium, which keeps you from having a charlie horse. You don’t have to just eat a banana either. You can put it in a smoothie (#3) or make banana bread. Oh, or I love these chocolate peanut butter banana bites. […]