Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Puree

While waiting for my parents to arrive for a visit last weekend, I saw the basis for this recipe on Five Ingredient Fix, a show on Food Network that can be either hit or miss with me. My ears definitely perked up when I heard this recipe because I had a bunch of bananas that needed to be used up and I'm always in the market for a healthy and easy-to-prepare dessert. It drove me nuts that she kept referring to this as ice cream, which I define by inclusion of milk/dairy (or milk substitute like soy, hemp, or almond milk, although I also don't think of that as real ice cream either), but it's also not quite technically a sorbet either. Whatever you call it, it's a pretty healthy and tasty dessert for all the banana lovers out there. I made the banana puree and froze it separately from the walnuts and chocolate chips so they could be incorporated according to each person's preference, but you could also stir them in after the banana, peanut butter, and honey are pureed together. While it isn't a substitute for Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream, this can definitely satisfy a craving for a frozen dessert and make for a sweet, but healthy, treat.

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Puree
serves 3 to 4
adapted from Food Network

4 medium ripe bananas
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 to 2 tablespoons
Chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (optional)
Chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

1. Slice bananas into 1-inch pieces and freeze. Place frozen bananas chunks in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add peanut butter and honey and process until thoroughly combined. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to eat. Top with chocolate and enjoy!