Frozen Banana Pops

Since I'm home for lunch most days this summer, I find myself just wanting a little bite of something sweet.  I love any kind of ice cream treat, but goodness knows I don't need a full blown dessert for lunch everyday. That's the beauty of these little freezer pops; you can just have a couple at a time as needed. (Yes, sometimes it is needed.) 

These treats are gluten free and overall pretty healthy. Potassium from the bananas, antioxidants from the dark chocolate, and essential oils from the nuts.  I'm going to go ahead and say that eating these is practically like taking vitamins, right? They taste so rich, however, that they feel like a splurge.  

I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, chopped pecans, and dried coconut. This coconut is incredible. It is not that artificially sweetened, sticky, chewy stuff that most of us grew up cooking with. It's an organic shredded and unsweetened coconut and is so light and flaky. After you've tried this, you'll never buy that other junk again. (Unless you're making homemade Almond Joys-I think sticky, sweet, chewy coconut is a requirement for those.)

 

Frozen Banana Pop Prep:

1. Melt equal parts milk and dark chocolate in a double boiler on low heat. 

2. Once melted, cut bananas and dip in chocolate using toothpicks. Roll in nuts or coconut and lay on wax paper.

3. Freeze for 2-3 hours before eating.

4.  Since they are pretty hard when they come out of the freezer,  I let them thaw just a few minutes before eating.

These can last in an airtight container in your freezer for a month before the bananas start losing their sweetness.

I had so much melted chocolate and coconut left that I frantically searched for, grabbed, and dipped the only other fruit I had in the house. (There was a shriveled kiwi that had evaded me in the bottom of the fruit bowl, and don't think I didn't consider dunking that poor little guy in some chocolate.)  I have never added coconut to chocolate dipped strawberries before and was pleasantly surprised. It adds another element to a classic combo and gives it a little more texture. Plus, don't they looks so fancy and pretty?

 

In other news, I am trying so hard to savor every moment of summer this year.  I wish time would just slow down. Even though I'm not teaching, I am working a full work week.  It's work that I would do even if I wasn't being paid. I don't think I've shared this on the blog, but I do interior design on the side. So far,  I've worked by word of mouth because I can only take so many clients during a busy school year.  In the summer I can handle more and stay pretty busy.

I absolutely adore this work.  It flows well with blogging because I find design inspiration everywhere in blog land. Plus it's a little difficult to switch gears during the school year and and allow for creativity after spending nine hours a day doing something so completely different. The process of creating and cooking flows seamlessly with designing spaces where people live, cook, and eat.

This fall I'm officially launching the business locally in my town. I'm just starting the branding process,  trying to collect pictures from past projects to build my portfolio, and get a website ready.  All of this takes time. Lots and lots of time. To do lists in a creative field are not as easy to check off as I thought they'd be.

Plus, some exciting blog related things are ahead too. (I know I've been saying a redesign is coming, but it really is coming soon this time!)

All this business has a tendency to make time fly. As much as I love what I'm doing and have craved these couple months to get the work done, I don't want June and July to be blur when I look back on them. I want to build memories with family and friends that have nothing to do with an agenda or to do list and lots to do with good food, fine drinks, and late night conversations. 

Is it possible to have both a highly productive and relaxing summer?