Friday, December 30, 2011

Foodie Friday - Yonanas!

Our family had a very Yonana's Christmas. You've seen the incredibly cheesy yet intriguing infomercial for Yonanas, right?  It's the machine that turns frozen bananas into an all-natural ice cream-like treat.

You've wondered if it's any good, haven't you?



My mother-in-law bought every one in the family a Yonanas machine for Christmas. My kids - especially my middle school daughter - couldn't wait to try ours out.  So we made a batch on Christmas ... and every day since then. 

So yes, it's actually good.

Start with very ripe bananas: the brown-spotted ones you can find super cheap at the grocery store. (Or, the kind you can find in your fruit bowl if you don't much like them plain and aren't addicted to PB&B sandwiches like I am.)


Peel them, then freeze them in a zip lock. Preferably overnight. Once frozen, break them in half.

To make a serving of the super creamy treat, I push half to 3/4 a banana through the machine, followed by any additional ingredients like frozen berries, then the other half of the banana. So far I've mixed banana with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. I've also done it with pineapple and mango.



It comes with a recipe book with flavors like Mint Chocolate Chip and Blackberry Vanilla Bean. I'm looking forward to trying some fresh frozen peach in this in the summer. In fact, I bet it will taste amazing when fruit is in season. Right now you may want to sprinkle on a little sweetener as you push them through the chute.


The machine is simple and very easy to clean. The only drawback is that it's pretty loud when it's on. You don't want to run this when the toddler is napping. Or when the teenager is still sleeping. Although I've found it gets mine happily out of bed.

Bottom line: The machine can be a little pricey ($50) if it's not given to you or found on sale. But it does make good stuff with past-prime bananas. It feels and tastes like a creamy frozen dessert. Perhaps you could accomplish something similar with your blender or food processor but we are bananas for Yonanas here in the Olsen house.

I linked up today over at Ann Kroeker's Friday food tour.

2 comments:

  1. I have never heard of this machine! I know that "if" my hubby knew of it we would have it! He's a BIG dessert eater!He LOVES his ice cream and wants it everynight,doesn't matter that it's 7 degrees outside!!! He's wants dessert after breakfast,lol. Today I made him a banana/strawberry smoothie :). So with that said I think I'll shop online for this for his 75th b'day gift!! Thx Rachel <3

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  2. Stephanie, this would be a great healthy gift for an icecreamoholic. :)

    I've had it at night, like a bowl of dessert, and I've had it in the morning as part of my breakfast. Sounds like your hubby and I would get along just fine!

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