Banana ice cream, sweet red bean paste, and mud pie?

I gave Boo her breakfast and she pushed it away and said she didn't want it. Um, okay, you loved it the last time I gave it to you... but I'm used to it by now. She also loved carrots a couple weeks ago now she thinks it's yucky. She told me she wanted banana ice cream and I told her what a fabulous idea. Boo loves ice cream but it’s not often she gets it. I don’t want to deprive her so here’s a healthy non-dairy ice cream recipe I make that she could have everyday and it’s fine with me.

Cashew Banana ice cream
- 1 frozen banana
- 2 tablespoons cashew nut butter or any other nut butter

Place ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

That’s all there is to it. If there are any left over, I put it in the freezer and when she wants it again I’ll blend it for a few seconds to soften. This is a good base and other frozen fruits can be added like blueberries and strawberries.

We are a banana loving family but none of us like them when they get lots of brown spots. I buy a couple of bunches at a time so the few we don't eat can get really ripe. These I peel then stick in the freezer for smoothies, ice cream, and other recipes.

I made beany brownies last week and they turned out really good then I remembered it isn't a new concept to eat beans as a desert. How could I forget? In Japan, many of the sweets include sweetened azuki beans that are mashed to a paste-like consistency. When I was little I ate taiyaki which is defined by Wikipedia as:

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Taiyaki is made using taiyaki, regular pancake or waffle batter. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold for each side. The filling is then put on one side and the mold is closed. It is then cooked on both sides until golden brown.

I made the azuki bean paste using agave nectar yesterday and it turned out really good. It's usually just mashed with chunks of beans intact but I don't like big pieces so I put it in a food processor for a smoother consistency. I don't like fruit peels and bean skin - I think its texture interferes with the softness of the interior. I don't mind black, navy, and some kidney beans but I do not like lentils unless they are pureed. Moving on...since I'm gluten intolerant I can't have the traditional taiyaki so I thought to try it on gluten free waffles and it was a pretty good substitute. It makes for a healthy snack whether you are gluten intolerant or not.

Finally to wrap up tonight's blog, my 3 year old entomologist and I went outside today to search for bugs. After she grew tired of looking at ants, she wanted to dig in the dirt in hopes of finding other kinds of insects there. The dirt was dry so we got some water to soften the earth. We came across a couple interesting looking creatures that we need to look up in her bug book to identify them - she reminded me of this at bedtime since we forgot to do it. She soon grew bored of that so we made mud pie. We were on the far side of the yard so she happily walked back and forth with her pail of water as shown in the pic. It was really cool to see determination, hard work, and focus in my little girl today. I have a feeling we'll be bug hunting and mud pie making again tomorrow. :)