This is the thing to make when all you want is a little sweet treat with chocolate that won’t take much effort to make. All you do is melt, dip, freeze, wait impatiently, poke bananas to see if they’re fully frozen yet, lick the melted chocolate off your fingers, wait some more, poke again, wait, forget about it, come back, and enjoy an amazing little bite bursting with flavor.

The chocolate freezes over like a chocolate ice cream shell. The coconut provides little more than something to make it prettier (unless you really load it on), and the banana freezes and becomes like a little bite of ice cream.

It’s a perfect summer treat, not to mention fairly versatile. Try it with different nut butters (Coconut Cream Concentrate might work really well here!), different dried coconut cuts, chopped nuts, and different chocolates. It’s all good.

Enjoy!

Sarah 🙂

Frozen Chocolate, Coconut, Banana Bites

Serving: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces dark chocolate (or other chocolate of choice)
• 1/4 cup coconut peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup (optional, but recommended if using dark chocolate)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
• 2–3 bananas, sliced to desired thickness
• shredded, dried coconut

Directions:

Melt chocolate over very low heat or double boiler with coconut peanut butter, brown rice syrup, and vanilla until melted and smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir a few times to cool.

Dip banana slices into chocolate. Spoon a little extra over the top, if desired. Sprinkle with coconut.

Freeze until fully frozen and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Sarah Shilhavy.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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Coconut, Mango Pancakes

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups barley flour (do not pack flour; fill cup with a spoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 3/4 cup mangoes
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 cup warm water

Topping ideas: honey, shredded coconut, extra mango slices

Directions:

If coconut is solid at room temperature, place it in a bowl of warm water until it liquefies.

Melt 2 tablespoons coconut oil in skillet over low heat.

Meanwhile, mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg slightly, then mix in remaining ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to dry—MIXING ONLY UNTIL COMBINED. (If you overmix, the pancakes will be dense).

Cook pancakes until bubbles form on the surface, then flip over. Heat until golden on each side.

Drizzle pancakes with honey. Top them with extra mango slices and shredded coconut.

Recipe and photo submitted by Lisa, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

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Coconut Treat Balls

Servings: 15–20
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces unsweetened shredded coconut
• 8 ounces pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (or other spices as desired)
• 2 tablespoons fruit spread of choice

Variations:

• cocoa powder
• nuts
• chocolate chips

Directions:

In food processor, use chopping blade to blend coconut, dates, coconut oil, and spices until dates are finely chopped in mixture.

If using nuts, you can add these now to the food processor and may not need to add any fruit spread to bind balls.

If you are not using nuts, put the mixture or part (if you want to make different flavors) of the mixture in a bowl. Mix in any extra ingredients you like at this point.

Add fruit spread (if needed) and mix. The mixture should be slightly sticky when you touch it but not wet. (Once you refrigerate the balls, they are not sticky to touch.)

Form the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut and put on a plate, refrigerate, and enjoy.

Recipe and photo submitted by Karen, Turnersville, NJ.

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