These sweet and salty treats taste like an actual candy bar – and what’s even better? They’re anti-inflammatory, easy to whip up, refined sugar-free, and you can store them in the freezer for whenever your sweet tooth strikes:

NUT BUTTER

Decide on your nut butter of choice. Since our theme this month in The Well of JOY Community is all things anti-inflammatory, we went with the most inflammation-busting nut butter we could muster – walnut butter. But you can use anything you have on hand!

If you decide to make the walnut butter (I encourage you to – it’s easier than I was expecting!), just roast 1 cup of walnuts at 300 degrees for 10 minutes to get them toasty + warm, and the oils moving and grooving. Then add them to your food processor and pulse for about a minute.

Add a tablespoon of maple syrup, whisk together in a bowl, and you’re ready for the next step.

BANANAS

You want your bananas to still be firm, not at the banana bread stage. I cut each in half to make it easier to dip into the nut butter bowl. Add the banana halves one at a time, coat the banana on all sides, and move to the next step. Wait, before you scroll down, did you know bananas are capable of all of these health benefits?!

CHOCOLATE

We already know chocolate is a superfood, but knowing it’s an anti-inflammatory too is just a delight! I broke up a dark chocolate bar we snagged from Whole Foods, swirled a tiny drizzle of EVOO (what do you know?! another anti-inflammatory agent) and melted it for 30 seconds, stirred, then one more 30 second pop and voila, melty goodness. Once your banana is coated in the nut butter, add to the chocolate bowl and spoon it over until you’ve got it covered completely. Let the excess drip off, then lay it on a parchment-lined dish.

ALMONDS

Lastly, and before your chocolate starts to harden, chop up some almonds (we used slightly salty Marcona almonds) and sprinkle them on the top along with a shake of cinnamon. Did you know that most nuts contain high amounts of fiber, calcium, magnesium, zinc, Vitamin E and Omega-3 fats which all have anti-inflammatory effects?

Place your dish in the freezer and allow your your candy bars, I mean banana boats, to harden. Then I move them to an air-tight container, and they keep for weeks in the freezer for whenever a craving strikes. Please share if you make them – we can’t wait to hear what you think!