Sunday, September 4, 2016

Fantastic, Four-Ingredient, Frozen Treat

Since summer isn't officially over yet, and there is still much warm weather to combat, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share this cold-treat recipe.



This is a delicious, creamy, cold treat that more than just toddlers can enjoy:
  1. Toddlers can eat it—check!
  2. Mommies and Daddies can enjoy it—check again.
  3. Anyone else? ... How about this little lady?

Kaylee Face
This is Kaylee, and she loves frozen treats too.

Dogs Love Them Too!

OK, so real talk: I got this recipe from a dog treat book, but you would never know from looking at the ingredients. In fact, I started feeding this particular recipe to my kids after my husband mistakenly served it up to them with their dinner. He thought it looked and smelled delicious, and since I make a lot of baby food and freeze it, it made sense for him to assume that it was a baby treat instead of a dog treat—and now it's both.

Side Note: A lot of the recipes in this book do use "people food" that you may already have in the house, which makes it much more fun and convenient to give your puppy a little homemade treat.

You Bake 'Em Recipe Book and Cookie Cutters

It is actually a cute gift idea for dog owners since it comes with a bunch of dog-themed cookie cutters. Besides the frozen treats, I also like to make Kaylee Christmas cookies that are reddish on one side (from tomato juice) and green on the other (from spinach).

Christmas Cookies for Kaylee
Christmas cookies for puppies, Dec. 2014

But enough about the source, let's move on to the steps for making the delicious, frozen treats that multiple species can enjoy!


Fantastic Four Ingredients
Four simple but fantastic ingredients
It's Gobblin' Time!


If you are feeding this to your child, please do not do so unless they are at least a year old. Honey is not safe to feed to babies who are less than 12 months old. Peanut butter can also be a choking hazard for young ones because it is so sticky, but if used in small amounts—like this recipe—it shouldn't be a problem for babies who are at least a year old.


INGREDIENTS

  • One 32 ounce container of yogurt
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • ½ cup peanut butter*
  • 2 tablespoons of honey**

*The photo shows crunchy peanut butter, but I recommend using smooth.
**Because this contains honey, it should NOT be fed to babies who are less than 12 months old (explanation can be found here).


INSTRUCTIONS

If you have a nice kitchen mixer, then you can simply mix all ingredients together with the paddle attachment. With a mixer, you also shouldn't have to mash the bananas ahead of time—just tear them into a few pieces and let the paddle do the work.

Mixing until smooth


After thoroughly mixed and smooth, pour contents into ice cube trays and freeze.

Silicone Ice Trays
Silicone ice trays are pretty amazing

For feeding puppies: I give our dog the treat as a frozen block, but I usually stick it in her food bowl so it doesn't make a mess on the floor.

For feeding peoples: in a bowl, either leave it out or put it in the refrigerator to thaw just enough so the consistency is closer to frozen yogurt.

Frozen Cubes in Bowls

The amount in the photo is about three ounces of frozen deliciousness per container.

Now let's see those babies get their yum on!

Frozen Treat - Henry
Henry's eyebrows say it all.

Frozen Treat - Winry
A little sloppy, but I like her moxie!

Henry About to Spoon

Henry Spooned
Henry, August 2016

Winry - Tongue Out

Winry Getting It
Winry, August 2016

Frozen Treat