August 25th is National Banana Split Day! A nutritious diet is all about balance and making sure you’re using quality ingredients. That doesn’t mean you have to skip out on a delicious dessert! This banana split recipe tastes amazing, you’d hardly believe it’s healthy too! Banana splits are not typically an unhealthy dessert, but this recipe elevates the nutritional value without sacrificing indulgence and flavor!
Bananas are a fantastic source of potassium, which is a mineral that helps maintain normal blood pressure, helps muscles contract, and balances low blood sugar. In addition, bananas are also a versatile fruit. Use bananas to make a variety of desserts, like banana bread, banana pancakes, and banana soft serve; not to mention this delicious dessert!
The variety of nuts used in this recipe is important to ensure you’re including healthy fats in your diet, which leads to an overall balanced and nutritious lifestyle!
Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which are extracted from cocoa beans. Flavonoids maintain brain function and blood flow, and eating dark chocolate moderates inflammation and improve your mood. Who’d have thought that eating chocolate was actually healthy? If you choose dark chocolate with a high cacao percentage, then the cacao nibs are not processed and contain less sugar.
Healthy Banana Split
Total time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- Roughly 1 ounce dark chocolate (over 70%)
- 1 or 2 fresh cherries
- 1 scoop good quality vanilla ice cream/banana soft serve*
- Handful chopped raw walnuts/peanuts/almons
Directions
- Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds. You won’t need much, it’s just to drizzle over at the end!
- In a long bowl or plate, split your banana down the middle lengthwise.
- Add the ice cream or soft serve in the middle of the banana, and drizzle with the dark chocolate sauce. Top with fresh cherries and the nuts. Enjoy!
*To make the soft serve, freeze 1 banana for 2 hours, then blend in the food processor, occasionally scraping down the sides until it’s smooth and resembles soft serve!
If you recreate this recipe, be sure to post it on Instagram and tag us @lorrainekearneynutrition; we love to see you eating delicious, nutritious foods!
