Recipe Makeovers

Banana split

A sweet and satisfying banana split that's low in calories and saturated fat, and full of healthful vitamins and minerals.

Many of the makeovers here concentrate on savory foods such as cheeseburgers, tacos and French fries. So now it's time to treat the sweet tooth a little. And you certainly don't get much sweeter than a banana split.

Unfortunately a typical banana split contains a lot of saturated fat (from the ice cream and whipped cream). And it can also be a disaster when it comes to calories -- with some commercially available banana splits topping the 1000 calorie mark.

So what's the best way to make a banana split healthier? Well essentially a banana split is a banana topped with ice cream, syrup, whipped cream and chopped nuts. So by increasing the amount of vitamin and fiber-rich fruit in the banana split while at the same time reducing the amount of higher calorie ingredients -- like the ice cream, cream and syrup-- it's easy to turn a banana split into a healthier dessert.

Making a healthier banana split

The way we're going to increase the fruit quota is by adding strawberries and pineapple to the banana split. And instead of the high calorie strawberry or chocolate syrup that usually tops a banana spilt, we're going to use a strawberry sauce made from fresh strawberries instead.

Reducing the amount of ice cream in a banana split is as simple as using two small scoops of ice cream instead of the typical two or three large scoops. And we're going to forgo the whipped cream all together. Although, if you have this banana split as only an occasional treat, feel free to add a little. But we find that a banana split is already creamy from the ice cream, and banana has a naturally creamy texture in its own right, so it's not really something that's essential anyway.

Let's have a look at how these changes have impacted the calorie and saturated fat content of a banana split:

In the end, we have a banana split that's not only far lower in calories and saturated fat than a regular banana split, but it's also rich in nutrients as well. The banana is a good source of dietary fiber and potassium; the strawberries contain fiber and also plenty of vitamin C (which acts as a powerful antioxidant mopping up free radicals); the nuts sprinkled on top also contain healthy unsaturated fat, and even the ice cream is a good source of calcium.

Here's the step-by-step instructions for making two banana splits:

Peel and cut two bananas in half lengthwise and place on plates.

Hull 4 fresh strawberries and slice. Hull and chop more fresh strawberries to make up 1 cup for the sauce.

Place the cup of chopped strawberries in a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon water and 2 teaspoons superfine (caster) sugar and process until smooth.

Arrange 2 sliced strawberries and ¼ cup fresh or canned pineapple pieces (drained) on top of each banana.

Place 1 small scoop each of chocolate and strawberry ice-cream on top of each.

Drizzle each split with equal amounts of strawberry sauce, sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of crushed roasted peanuts, and top with a cherry on each scoop of ice-cream to serve.

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