We grew up having dessert every single day after dinner. We never missed a dessert (well, unless we had the flu 🙂 ) and looked forward to it! Our Mom believed that if we ate healthy meals and snacks, we could have a small dessert after dinner—and boy do we agree! 🙂 We went through a phase that lasted about 6 months, where every night we chose some form of ice cream for dessert. Now, our clients often tell us that they avoid ice cream like the plague when they’re trying to lose weight since the calories add up so quickly, but they feel really deprived and often eventually end up giving in and overdoing it. Depriving yourself altogether does often backfire. And although the calories from ice cream can add up quickly, we tell our weight loss clients that they can still enjoy ice cream or their favorite dessert (we do!) if they eat healthy, nutrient-packed meals during the day, and plan to allow for a small indulgence. We typically give them two options for choosing their dessert, based on which is most appealing to them.
1. Option 1: Have a very small portion of the real thing. If you are someone who only wants the real deal and won’t settle for lightened-up versions and if you’re someone who is good with portion control, this option may be for you.
2. Option 2: Choose a lightened-up version of the real thing so you can have a slightly larger portion. If you’re someone who has a very hard time keeping it to a small portion, but doesn’t necessarily have to have the real thing, then this option is for you. We develop a lot of our recipes (like these Skinny Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches!) for you. Also check out our Cherry Banana Bites, Microwave Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and our Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream.
These banana ice cream sandwiches are made with healthy ingredients to keep your sweet tooth happy and your tummy tight. These cookies are full of fiber, whole grains, and are low in calories!
If smooth and creamy ice cream layered between two wholesome and crunchy cookies sound good to you, you’ve gotta try these sandies! And if you’re sensitive to gluten, great news–you can have these since they’re gluten-free (just make sure your oats are gluten-free)!
Skinny Banana “Ice Cream” Sandwiches
The cookies are only 36 calories each. They are delicious and satisfy that sweet tooth! You can make them ahead of time and freeze them, serve them when you’re ready to chow down, enjoy!
Makes: 24 cookies
Ingredients:
Ice cream
o 2 frozen over-ripe bananas (very ripe bananas are best, not-so-ripe ones are not ideal)
o 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• Cookies
o 2 cups oats
o 1 teaspoon baking soda
o 1/4 teaspoon salt
o 1/3 cup stevia
o 1/2 cup apple sauce
o 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
o 3 large egg whites
o 3 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
o Oil in a spray container
Directions:
Cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Lightly spoon oats into dry measuring cups; level with a knife and pour into a medium sized bowl. Combine oats, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
• Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg whites; beat 1 minute. Add oat mixture and chips; beat until blended.
• Spray baking sheets with cooking spray. Add dough into a tablespoon, level itand place on the baking pan 2 inches apart from each dough mixture. Pat down into a cookie shape (not a ball) because the cookies will not spread out like normal cookies. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
“Ice Cream”:
• Allow frozen bananas to thaw slightly before throwing into the blender. Place frozen bananas and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until creamy.
Nutritional Information:
Per Sandwich (2 cookies & 3 tbsp. “ice cream”)
Calories 91; Fat 1.5g; Saturated Fat 0g; Carbohydrates 17g; Protein 3g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium140mg; Fiber 2g
Per Cookie
Calories 36; Fat 0.7g; Saturated Fat 0g; Carbohydrates 6g; Protein 1.5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 7mg; Fiber 1g
- Ingredients:
- • Ice cream
- o 2 frozen over-ripe bananas (very ripe bananas are best, not-so-ripe ones are not ideal)
- o 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- • Cookies
- o 2 cups oats
- o 1 teaspoon baking soda
- o ¼ teaspoon salt
- o ⅓ cup stevia
- o ½ cup apple sauce
- o 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- o 3 large egg whites
- o 3 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
- o Oil in a spray container
- Directions:
- Cookies:
- • Preheat oven to 350°.
- • Lightly spoon oats into dry measuring cups; level with a knife and pour into a medium sized bowl. Combine oats, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
- • Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg whites; beat 1 minute. Add oat mixture and chips; beat until blended.
- • Spray baking sheets with cooking spray. Add dough into a tablespoon, level itand place on the baking pan 2 inches apart from each dough mixture. Pat down into a cookie shape (not a ball) because the cookies will not spread out like normal cookies. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
- “Ice Cream”:
- • Allow frozen bananas to thaw slightly before throwing into the blender. Place frozen bananas and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until creamy.
