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A Healthier Pancake and French Toast Topping

April 11, 2013   22 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, Snack Girl was waxing lyrical about maple syrup (see: A Healthy Sugar Made From Tree Juice).

Healthier Pancake Topping

I will be the first to admit that pouring sugary syrup on my breakfast is more of a treat than a necessity. I usually eat my French toast plain or with a wee bit of butter.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a retreat where a bunch of vegetarians were in charge. They served a healthy breakfast with foods like brown rice, vegetables, French toast, and maple syrup. But, they also served a warmed “Banana, Vanilla, Cinnamon Sauce” that I fell in love with.

Seems all I had to do was mash up a banana, add vanilla and cinnamon, and heat it in the microwave and I had created this sauce (go figure). It is luxurious AND instead of just sugar, you get the potassium, fiber, and goodness that is a banana.

Also, I have used fruit that has spent too long on my counter (overripe) to make fruit syrup see: Got Fruit On The Edge? Don't Toss It - Try This .

Both of these warm mashed fruit recipes are great for oatmeal, pancakes, toast, vanilla ice cream or in stirred in yogurt or cottage cheese.

This is a delicious and healthy way to satisfy a sweet tooth and you get started on your five servings of fruits and vegetables a day with the sleep still in your eyes.

Have you tried making a fruit syrup? Please share.

Banana Syrup Recipe

2.1 from 35 reviews

(makes 1/3 cup sauce or enough for 2 pancakes)

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Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
ground cinnamon

Instructions

Cut the banana in half and mash 1/2 of it in a small microwave proof bowl. Slice the other half and add to mashed banana. Heat in microwave on high for 30 seconds. Mix in vanilla and add a few dashes of cinnamon. Use immediately (or it will turn brown).

Nutrition Facts

For one serving (two in recipe): 53 calories, 0.2 g fat, 0.0 g saturated fat, 13.5 g carbohydrates, 7.2 g sugar, 0.6 g protein, 1.5 g fiber, 1 mg sodium, 0 Freestyle SmartPts

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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22 Comments:

Definitely going to try this. Thank you for yet another wonderful idea!

I hope it tastes better than it looks.

@Mary - Yes, this was hard to shoot as it does not LOOK appetizing - but the TASTE - yum!

I take a 1/2 banana, cinammon a 2 tbl.powdered peanut butter (pb2, ehich I order on smazon) and maybe a little water to make it smoother puree it in a small food processor for banana peanut butter. I also do the same with strawberries or a mix of berries if I am in the mood for pb&j. You can also add a little sugar or whatever sweetner you prefer if you want it sweeter.

That sounds awesome! And I don't think it looks too bad in your picture either, although I'd guess it starts to look worse and worse as it gets brown. I'll have to try this sometime soon.

And no WW points! YAH!! Thank you for the great idea, I'm definitely trying this.

Another fruit sauce I make for topping anything is raspberry sauce. Empty a bag of frozen raspberries in a saucepan along with a squeeze of honey or other sweetener. Cook over low til it melts down & is hot. Can be stored in the fridge. Yes it's more expensive than even maple syrup! But it is delicious & healthy!

I top pancakes with plain yogurt and fresh/frozen fruit with just a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. This adds protein and calcium and probiotics and makes it more of a complete breakfast that sticks with you longer (especially if you use Greek yogurt!)

This may sound weird, but my substitution for maple syrup or honey is Passion fruit. I love it! That tangy sweet that goes with everything. I top it on my pancakes, my oatmeal, my crepes. No sugar added, 100% natural. Just split it in half and scoop all the goodies out.

You wont miss the syrup at all!

Pinned! So many uses for the banana and I haven't tried this one yet!

I love you snack girl. :D Your blogs make my day.

This looks great. Will add it to my snack girl recipes.

Easy and delicious! The perfect combination;) My go to topping for pancakes is applesauce but this sounds amazing!

Simply well,

Michelle

Wonderful idea I would have never thought of! Wish I could post a pic of the breakfast I just made because I used this pancake topping on top of protein pancakes. For pancakes mix oats plain greek yogurt one egg white and cinnamon. I jus eyeballed ingredients and made sure the batter wasnt too thick or thin. Added the banana mix on top and still had to add a tiny bit of maple but overall an amazing breakfast. I feel energized and ready to start the morning thanks snack girl!

I do this ALL THE TIME when my sweet tooth hits! Takes all of 30 seconds to prep and 30 seconds to microwave and you have a yummy topping/dessert/whatever. (The only downside is as soon as the first round is gone, you want more! Well, at least I do!)

I didn't bother microwaving it but it's yummy on Melba toast and I think it would be lovely on porridge too thanks for sharing. Hugs Crystal xx

This sounds delicious, though I'm surprised that there is enough sugar in the banana to sweeten the vanilla. You can actually make really good and healthy ice cream out of this if you freeze the bananas then let them thaw slightly and put them through a juicer. I never thought of doing that with vanilla and cinnamon. I'm going to give this a try.

I add thin apple slices to my pancakes with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Going to have to try making the banana sauce. See how the grankids like it too.

Try this with Vietnamese cinnamon instead of regular cinnamon. It makes a huge difference-- the Vietnamese kind is soooo sweet and yummy. It's also great mixed into Greek yogurt or oatmeal. There are several places to order it online-- just google "Vietnamese cinnamon".

Wow! This sounds fantastic! I will be making this.

Aren't those vegans always good for great recipes? :)

WOW. I LOVE IT! I don't think I have ever enjoyed French Toast this much before! No butter, no syrup, just this banana topping and some blueberries! Delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this!

I made this on top of pancakes and it was amazing! Thanks for the recipe!

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