Loaded “PB&(Chia) Jam” Nanners

Hello from Scotland!

I am currently visiting St. Andrews, Scotland to see my litter brother who is a 3rd year in Uni there. Before my trip I grabbed a beet & goat cheese salad from RootDown in DIA, and added tender belly bacon and a side of olive oil. In-flight I brought some snacks to supplement the Gluten Free meal I got. I wasn’t super hungry to eat all of it, but if you were wondering what that GF in-flight meal looked like…. (obviously not perfect, but not terrible!)

Prior to Scotland, my brother and I hopped over to Munich, Germany to attend Oktoberfest, as our great-great grandfather grew up there before immigrating to the US.

I did just want to comment on importance of balance between culture & health, feel free to scroll down to the recipe, I don’t mind!

As someone who values her own health and well-being, traveling can sometimes be difficult. The socio-economic stresses sometimes get to me…. For example, if everyone is trying a Belgian Waffle, but I don’t want one (it doesn’t appeal to me). People may assume that I am forgoing the waffle due to a sort of “self-restraint”, when in reality I just don’t want it. OR, they give out free food on a plane, or in a hostel. Usually bread-filled, it can be hard to weigh the pros and cons of spending extra money for additional food or taking a “health-hit”. These are things that often cross my mind when traveling.

On the other hand, I think about things as an anthropologist- as someone who wants to genuinely experience places, people, and culture. These two trains of thought can come to interesting crossroads. Now, since I am not actually allergic or seriously intolerant (don’t give me too many nuts HA) of any foods, I have a bit more wiggle room than others. I still pack healthful snacks, and try to order selectively when traveling… but I also make room for cultural experiences. I am a little more lenient. Because at the end of the day…and the end of all my cumulative days, I do not want to regret experiencing places. This means something different for everyone, and I definitely do not go overboard. I just let myself lean more into the 20% of the 80% mentality. For example, this weekend I went to Oktoberfest. Beer- DEFINITELY NOT GLUTEN FREE. But heck, I did ingest a whole lot of beer. Is it the most healthful? NO. Am I going to get worked up about it? NO. Why? It is a cultural experience (I promise it is full of Bavarian culture –from which my Dad’s side hails- not just drunk college visitors) that I deem worth the “health hit”. But while there, I didn’t go for pretzels, I instead still opted for better options- like this plate of veggies, chicken, and potato that I shared with my brother.

I’m just saying, don’t miss out on all the culture due to food restrictions or dogmas, culture is important too! Just choose your “battles”, if you will.

St. Andrews has some cool food options… like the Heart Space shop (full of organic and cool paleo/primal foods/products!), the Old Cheese Shop (sorry, forgot the name…) which has great, traditional local cheeses, and even plain old Tesco had good eggs & butter!

But back to the recipe!! Loaded “PB& (Chia) Jam” nanners!

This is a great (quick) snack- with protein from the nut/seed butter, sugar & carbohydrates from the fruit, fiber from the chia seeds and some good fats from the coconut butter. The honey (if raw & local) can help with allergies too. Maybe try this as an after school snack for kids, or a “I wanna freaking PB&J” substitute for adults.

LOADED “PB& (Chia) Jam” NANNERS

1/3 cup water

1.5 tsp coconut butter (aka coconut manna)

3 tbsp frozen blueberries

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 banana

2 tsp nut/seed butter of your choice

Honey (for drizzling)

Add the water & coconut butter into a warm pot or pan. Stir to fully dissolve/incorporate coconut butter into water. Add chia seeds; bring to a simmer. Add blueberries. Let simmer until blueberries are warm, soft, and the entire mixture has thickened and has turned purple. Add cinnamon.

Separately, split the banana down the middle, and in half.

Cover each piece with the nut/seed butter of your choosing. Take the blueberry-chia jam from the pot/pan and load it on top of the banana.

Finally, drizzle it all with honey, & GOBBLE UP!