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Nana Nog // Almond Banana Shake Recipe

1 · Jan 23, 2015 · 1 Comment

+ This Nana Nog // Banana Shake Recipe Post brought to you by the folks at Silk Almond Milk +

When I was a kid, one of my favorite treats was a banana shake that my Mom would make every once in a while, we called it a Nana Nog.

No relation to Egg Nog, plus you can drink it year-round!

It was a simple mixture, but it was always so heavenly. She would always pull it out of her hat, right at the perfect time.

You know, that moment when you’re craving a little sweet refreshing treat?!

Secretly I’m sure, she made them right when the bananas were heading south and she didn’t have time to make banana bread.

I however, would like to think she was so in tune with my every desire and knew just when the time was right to pull out her famous Nana Nog!

The name of the drink has a two fold meaning now. Of course it was originally named after the key ingredient, bananas. Now, since we call my Mom Nana, the drink is named after her the creator! It’s perfect!!

We have another drink called Magical Monkey Milk, I’ll have to share that sometime too! It’s yummy!!

Nana Nogs are simply a mixture of Silk Almond Milk, bananas, ice, a little bit of sugar and a dash of nutmeg. Boy I tell ya, it really hits the spot sometimes! I choose to use Almond Milk rather than traditional milk for several reasons. First, it’s obviously dairy-free so even friends with dairy issues can have this sweet treat. Plus, check out all these added benefits…

90 calories per serving
50% more calcium than dairy milk
Excellent source of vitamin E
Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat
Free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG
Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program
No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

Yea, it’s pretty good stuff. Silk’s plant protein truly helps you BLOOM, plus it tastes GREAT!!

You should check out the Silk Site for all kinds of great ideas and coupons for all the Silk products.

Nana Nog Recipe

2 ripe bananas

2 cups of Silk Vanilla Sweetened Almond Milk

1 cup of ice

1/4 teaspoon of sugar

a pinch of nutmeg

Really truly, your bananas should look more like this…

In the jar of your blender, add all of your ingredients.

And Blend, that’s it!

This makes roughly three to four child size servings. Perfect to share with some friends.

My little guy Gage thinks it’s just the bees knees! Grab some Silk Almond Milk and surprise your kiddos with this fun treat!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe

0 · Dec 4, 2014 · Leave a Comment

+ This Roasted Eggplant Dip Recipe brought to you by the folks at Pompeian +

Last fall I went on a trip of a lifetime… I joined a handful of bloggers as we traveled to Israel for an amazing food tour called the Taste of Israel. I shared a little of my experience in my post about zucchini hummus, you should check it out.

Today, I have another recipe that came from my Israel travels, Roasted Eggplant Dip.

If you are an eggplant fan, this dip is amazing! We learned all about it while spending the afternoon at the Dan Gourmet School of Kosher Culinary Arts. We had the pleasure to learn a few little tips and tricks from the director of the school Chef Amir Ilan.

I wish I could spend an entire week shadowing Chef Ilan. This man is amazing and his passion for teaching the culinary arts comes through in his work. When we first arrived in his kitchen he placed several eggplants directing on the gas burner and we just sat and watched them char as he taught us about the school.

Once the eggplants were fully charred, he removed them from the flame and then we, or shall I say, Kevin from Closet Cooking removed the charred skin. Then Chef Ilan cut the eggplant down the middle opening up the soft flesh, he salted it lightly, and added some prepared tahini, drizzled with a nice full bodied olive oil and that was it!

There’s Kevin and Ally from Ally’s Kitchen in the background snapping photos.

That was it! Just a simple eggplant some seasoning and a flavorful olive oil! Our hosts told us that this is an appetizer that is on almost every Israeli table when they entertain or have family over. Mainly because of the ease of the dish, but the flavors are divine as well.

You serve it with bread or pita and it’s lovely!

I thought with the Holidays upon us and the season of entertaining, this would be a great addition to your family table as well.

All you need is an eggplant or two. I don’t have a gas stove at my house (so sad, I know) and it’s to cold to grill right now here in Lincoln, I thought I would just roast my eggplant in the oven.

First, I washed and pierced my eggplant a couple of times and then just placed them in a 425˚ oven on a baking sheet…

After about 25-30 remove your eggplant and let cool for a few minutes. They come out looking rather sad, but trust me, they taste amazing when you are finished!

Now because the skin isn’t charred, you can skip the step of removing the skin. I just cut it into quarters, leaving the top intact.

Fan it out like so. Next, lightly salt the flesh of the eggplant. I then lightly drizzled some tahini sauce onto the eggplant. Tahini is a sesame paste that is made out of pressed sesame seeds. It’s well known for it’s role in Hummus, but’s it’s fantastic in all kinds of applications.

I then drizzled the eggplant with a lovely full-bodied Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Pompeian.

In the Middle East and Mediterranean countries, olive oil is way more than an oil to cook with. It’s more of a comment as well. When you are using it as a dip or dressing, you want to make sure you are using a GOOD olive oil that is rich and flavorful like the robust flavor of the Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I drizzle it right only my eggplant, add some pita chips and serve. Your guest scoop the dip right out of the eggplant, it couldn’t be simpler than that!

The flavors of the soft eggplant, the tahini & the olive oil are amazing! If you are an eggplant lover you should give this a try.

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pompeian. I received product and payment for my recipe development.

Indian Themed Dinner Party

1 · May 31, 2014 ·

This Indian Themed Dinner Party is brought to you by Silk Coconut Milk // I adore coconut… Like a lot. My husband and I share this love and it’s a treat that we will take in any form possible. Sweet or savory, there is something about coconut that just takes recipes to a new level.

Not to long ago, the folks at Silk challenged me to throw a coconut themed dinner party and with it being coconut, I was for sure up to the challenge. I checked out Silk’s Coconut Milk Pinterest Board and their Silk Coconut Milk Web Page and decided on an Indian themed night.

We started the night with a flavorful butternut squash coconut and lentil stew…

This soup was inspired by a recipe that was created by Aarti Sequeira of Food Network fame. She is my go to girl when it comes to Indian dishes. She just takes a rather mysterious cuisine and takes all the mystery out of it. Most of the recipes that I used for this dinner have been modified from her recipes and they turned out aaaamazing.

Click HERE for the Butternut Squash Coconut and Lentil Stew Recipe

For our dinner, I set a simple table out in my backyard with mismatched plates and some fresh flowers from Trader Joes. It couldn’t be more simple. I’ve collected all of my plates and bowls primarily from Target and Anthropologie. I like buying mismatched plates, that way, if I fall in love with a plate, I buy one which doesn’t break the bank and add it to my collection.

Next on the menu for the evening was my Coconut Curry Shrimp…

Now this shrimp isn’t your typical deep fried tropical shrimp dish. It has a lovely curry flavor and it covered with dried unsweetened coconut with no frying at all…. It was lovely.

Click HERE for my Coconut Curry Shrimp Recipe

For the main course, I made Coconut Curry Meatballs served over rice. These little goodies were the star of the show…

Forget what you have every thought about meatballs! These scrumptious bites have a totally different flavor profile and they were divine.

Click HERE for the Coconut Curry Meatballs with Rice

Finally, we topped off the night with a creamy and refreshing coconut lime granita…

This is a frozen treat that is a little like lazy man’s ice cream. It’s super simple to make and you don’t need an ice cream maker. The bonus… It’s dairy-free! One of my friends who joined us for the evening has a daughter with a major milk allergy and this little treat will help when everyone else in the family is enjoying a bowl full of ice cream. She won’t feel left out at all!

Click HERE for the Coconut Lime Granita Recipe

My friends were floored when I told them that every single recipe had Silk Coconut Milk in the recipe in some form.

Who knew coconut milk was so versatile. Its not just for drinking or making smoothies, you can make all kinds of dishes. Visit the Silk Coconut Milk site for a $1 off coupon plus a whole bunch of fun recipes to try with your new SECRET INGREDIENT!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Butternut Squash Coconut and Lentil Stew

1 · May 31, 2014 · 1 Comment

+ Wake-up your tastebuds with this butternut squash coconut and lentil stew +

I’m a soup girl by nature and this hearty soup/stew is one of my favorites. It has all kinds of complex flavors and yet it’s super simple to make. I shared it with some friend the other night for a Coconut inspired dinner party and everyone loved it!

Time Saving Tip // You can make this soup ahead of time and they reheat and serve the day of your dinner party. Just hold off adding the spice oil and add that at the very last minute before you serve.

Butternut Squash Coconut Lentil Stew

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Tickle your taste buds with this super simple yet scrumptious stew.

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Recipe type: soup/ stew

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Stew
1 cup yellow split pigeon peas (toor dal)
2 18.8 oz cans of Campbell's Homestyle Butternut Squash Bisque
1 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
½ cup dried shredded coconut (unsweetened)
½ teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon cumin
4 cups of Silk Original Coconut Milk
Spice Oil
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove minced
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 lime, juiced
¼ cup flat leaf Italian parsley or cilantro

Instructions

Rinse the yellow split pigeon peas in a couple of changes of water. Remove any stones or off color peas.
In a large soup pot, add the pigeon peas, tomato, coconut, turmeric, cumin and Silk Coconut Milk. Bring to a low simmer, cover and let cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid, add the Butternut Squash Bisque and simmer uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.
In a small sauté pan, add the oil over medium high heat. Heat until the oil is almost smoking, add the mustard seeds and cover with a lid, they will pop.
Once the popping has died down, add the red pepper flakes and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the garlic and salt and cook for another 30 seconds.
Pour into soup pot and stir to combine.
Finish the stew with honey, lime juice, parsley (or cilantro.)

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Nana Nog Recipe

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