Glazed Pumpkin Banana Bread + How to Combat Tummy Trouble this Holiday Season

December 2, 2016 by Jenni 1,825 Comments

Do the holidays just get ya? Right in the feels?! It does me too, and that’s why I’m sharing this yummy-licious glazed pumpkin banana bread recipe!

I stay “giddy” all through November and December. The music, the movies on Hallmark, the chilly air outside, and then there’s the FOOD. All. The. FOOD.

I consume more calories in November and December than I do all of the rest of the year combined. Not even kidding! But, don’t we all??!! I tend to get rumblies in my tumblies sometimes though, especially during the holidays, so thank goodness I have a few favorite digestive health relief products that I can depend on!

Thanksgiving is over and we’re gearing up for Christmas, however, we do still have a few weeks left. I’ve been wondering what in the world to do with my leftover canned pumpkin. And just FYI, no. I’m not sick and tired of pumpkin just yet! I also had some REALLY ripe bananas leftover, so…I made this delicious glazed Pumpkin Banana Bread!

Pumpkin Banana Bread Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)

5 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 really ripe bananas
1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin
1 stick softened butter
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 2 loaf pans.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Then slowly add the pumpkin, banana, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients and mix slowly until completely combined.
Pour the batter evenly, into the 2 greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350, for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center is clean.
Place loaf pans on a wire cooling rack. After they’ve cooled – it’s time to pour the heavenly glaze over the top!

Glaze Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until it’s creamy. You can add more milk to get the consistency you want.
After bread is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over each loaf.
Enjoy!

I know that the holidays are the time that we enjoy the best foods! Things that we don’t often get, and yummies that are slap full of calories, and other goodness! My belly usually doesn’t agree with all of that. Yours probably doesn’t either.

While I’m out grabbing groceries for holiday dinners and ingredients for all of the candies and treats we make, I make sure to grab some of the items that take care of the belly issues too. Like the new IMODIUM® A-D® Softgels. Umm. Hello! These are a life-saver!

I grabbed mine while we were at Walmart. The husband heads straight to the electronics department. (eye-roll). I stop at the pharmacy for the IMODIUM® and then make a quick pit stop by the toy department. Luckily – I made it out of there without getting anything! Then ran on over to get all of the groceries on my list.

Make sure to stock up on IMODIUM® and all of the other digestive health relief products at Walmart — for the whole family! You never know when diarrhea will rear it’s ugly head! Gahhh! Better to be prepared, just in case — especially if you’re traveling for the holidays.

Visit Walmart.com/digestivehealth to learn more and shop these brands to feel better from top to bottom!

Are you planning to host a holiday dinner or make a dish or dessert to take to your family dinner? Our pumpkin banana bread will be a hit!! You should also check out some of these other easy and delicious recipes!

Enjoy and have the Happiest of Holidays!!

Haunted Pumpkin Patch Lunch Ideas | Help Your Kids Be Unstoppable This Year

October 9, 2015 by Jenni 1,096 Comments

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Smucker’s through my participation in the Mom It Forward Blogger Network. However, all fun and yummy opinions are 100% my own, and honest, as always.

Haunted Pumpkin Patch Lunch

We’ve been talking lately about how the lunch bags that we pack for the kids, are SO boring. The same ol’ same ol’ – day in and day out. I get in a rut with lunch myself – so I guess I’ll just keep little man in a rut too. For shame. That’s where the idea for this Haunted Pumpkin Patch lunch idea began.

Okay, okayyyy. I know it’s wayyy more cute’sy than “haunted”. It’s hard to make food look scary!

Moving along now, and forgetting that this lunch is not that scary. {eye roll}

… … ………. (<– That’s me, moving along.)

I was inspired by this post – 8 Hacks That Will Make Your Kids Think You’re Supermom. Just stepping outside the boring lunch bag here, and BOOM. Kiddo and their lunch table neighbors will think I’m supermom!

I mean, HELLO!

A ghost banana?!

A pumpkin inspired Uncrustables sandwich?!

Ta-daaaaaaa!

Here’s how I made it:

Let the Uncrustables Sandwich thaw a bit.

Cut black olives to create the eyes and mouth, and used a chunk of green bell pepper for the stem. Then use green bell pepper strips as the grass that the “pumpkin” is sitting in. If your kids aren’t fans of olives or green peppers, you can totally use raisins or chocolate chips – and cucumbers or any green veggie they like.

For the ghost banana, simply cut the banana in half and peel. Using the half with the pointed end, just push in 2 chocolate chips for the eyes and another for the mouth.

Then I piled in some carrots and peppers, and made a dipping ghost by pouring in a little ranch dressing. I put more chocolate chips (you could also use raisins or black olives) for the eyes and mouth of the ghost dip.

Decorate up with mallow pumpkins. You could also use fun things like candy spiders, gummy worms or anything creepy. Some of those candy eyes would be fun too! The sky is the limit when it comes to creating the cutest ~~haunted~~ pumpkin patch lunch! 🙂

I’m such a fan of Uncrustables! These little PB&J sandwiches are so good and are perfect for little man’s lunch bag. You just throw them in their lunch bag in the morning, and by lunchtime they’re thawed and ready to devour! They’re great for after school too, especially when the evenings are busy.

I love super convenient things like that. Hungry kids with no patience is not a good combination. Holy hungry meltdowns, Batman!

Some fun news about Uncrustables…

They’ve teamed up with Disney to help families be unstoppable this school year! Through this partnership, mom and dads across the country have shared tips for their on-the-go lifestyle.

Being so busy all the time, we tend to become less “unstoppable”. We just barely seem to scrape by, most days. That’s why I love to do small things, that require little effort, to make days more unstoppable for my kiddo!

Besides a fun lunch, another cute thing I love to do is add sweet lunch notes to his lunch bag, like these Disney lunch notes (<— click to download)! Just print a few pages, and keep them hidden in the kitchen and sneak one in when they’re not looking! They’re sooo sweet!

Uncrustables comes in a few different really awesome varieties. We really like the reduced sugar with whole wheat ones. They also have a chocolate flavored hazelnut spread Uncrustables. Shhhhhhh. I keep those hidden wayyyyy back in the back of the freezer. Just for me. Stop judging me. It’s not enough that I can’t make food look scary? Now I can’t even eat deliciousness, in hiding?!

You’re still judging me.

Stop it!

Anyhoo – visit Smuckers Uncrustables for flavor varieties and more information! Make sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter too!

How does your family stay unstoppable?

Pumpkin Trifle Dessert (12 Days of Christmas Desserts)

December 11, 2014 by Jenni 33 Comments

Our 12 Days of Christmas Desserts posts have been a BLAST! Today is day #11. If you’ve missed the earlier recipes, no worries! You’ll find them all below, at the bottom of this post.

Head over to Just Plum Crazy to get the recipe for Pumpkin Trifle dessert. It’ll quickly become a new favorite holiday dessert! Layers and layers of yumminess! Now, as promised…below are the other recipes in our 12 Days of Christmas Desserts in case you’ve missed them.

2 Secret Weapon Ingredients to Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier

January 24, 2014 by Jenni 270 Comments

There are 2 secret weapon ingredients that I keep stocked in my kitchen at all times. One sweet, the other savory and they’re BOTH very good for you. They’re both great ways to lower the fat content in some of your favorite recipes! Here they are…from my secret weapon arsenal to yours.

Pumpkin. I use canned pumpkin to make virtually fat free muffins. These are my go-to dessert…make them all the time! There is something really awesome that happens when you mix canned pumpkin with a boxed cake mix. Seriously! This killer low-fat muffins recipe uses NO oil or eggs. All it calls for is a can of pumpkin and a boxed cake mix. We always use devils food for fudgey muffins or a spice cake mix for a fun twist. They’re really dense and moist.

…and Greek Yogurt. YESSS!!! This stuff is awesome-sauce! There is NO fat and it’s slap dab FULL of protein! Here are all of the things you can do with it.

Use instead of sour cream for baked potatoes, tacos, dips, etc.
Replacement for mayonnaise in salads, dressings or dips – and even on sandwiches.

I love it for salads, dips and especially as a sour cream replacement – but I have to say that I haven’t quite nailed down a good recipe for ranch salad dressing using it. Let’s just face it…not much else compares to full fat ranch dressing. Others have great success making Tzatziki sauce with it. I’ve made it – and it IS good! I love to snack on that with some crackers or chopped veggies.

Great for breakfast or snacks in place of regular yogurt. It’s delicious with honey and your favorite granola. I love to layer granola and this yogurt. Add fresh fruit…and it’s the bomb {dot} com!

Here are a couple of the recipes I’ve created using Greek Yogurt in place of mayonnaise or dressing.

Sweet and Sour Tuna Salad

Skinny BLT Chicken Pasta Salad

Do you have secret weapon ingredients that you can’t live without? If so, I’d love to hear all about them!! I’m always looking to add new weapons to my healthier foods “arsenal”. Please be sure to share them with us!!

This post was sponsored by Alomune, a daily pre-biotic supplement that helps you stay strong all year long. For more healthy living ideas & inspiration, please visit the Alomune Healthy Living blog, their Facebook page, Pinterest or join the conversation on Twitter.

Nutty Pumpkin Waffles Recipe

December 7, 2012 by Jenni 514 Comments

Love Pumpkin Recipes? Try these Waffles!

One of my seasonal favorite flavors is pumpkin and I enjoy having it as often as I can. Here’s a fun pumpkin recipe for Nutty Pumpkin Waffles. YES, we can even have pumpkin for breakfast ;)! You have to give these a try. They’re easy to make and the perfect breakfast treat in the fall and winter that your family will enjoy. If you love pumpkin recipes, try this NO Guilt Light Pumpkin Pie recipe. You won’t be sorry!

Nutty Pumpkin Waffles Recipe

Estimated Times:
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Cooling Time:0 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs (separated)
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (melted)
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1 recipe pumpkin maple sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

COMBINE flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg
in large bowl. Combine egg yolks, milk and pumpkin in medium bowl; mix well. Add to
flour mixture. Stir in butter. Beat egg whites in small mixer bowl until soft peaks form.
Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.

PREHEAT waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions. Depending on size of
waffle iron, pour 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups batter onto hot iron. Generously sprinkle with
nuts. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Repeat with remaining batter and
nuts. Serve with Pumpkin Maple Sauce.

NOTE: This recipe makes 8 waffles of 7-inch diameter.

FOR PUMPKIN MAPLE SAUCE: HEAT 1 cup maple syrup, 3/4 cup LIBBY’S® 100%
Pure Pumpkin and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in small saucepan until warm.

If you liked this recipe, visit my Recipe Box for more fun and tasty treats! Leave a comment below!

This recipe and images brought to you by Nestle, Walmart, and Lunchbox as part of Nestle’s Winter Favorites.

Pumpkin Banana Bread Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)

Glaze Ingredients:

Instructions:

Glaze Instructions:

Haunted Pumpkin Patch Lunch

Here’s how I made it:

Some fun news about Uncrustables…

How does your family stay unstoppable?

Love Pumpkin Recipes? Try these Waffles!

Nutty Pumpkin Waffles Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions:

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