Patriotic Banana Pops: No Artificial Colors

Celebrating holidays doesn’t mean you have to eat junk food.  I am all for indulging on occasion but there are so many great real food alternatives for pretty much every processed food you can think of.  Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and get working in the kitchen to make sure whole ingredients are being used but it doesn’t have to be time consuming.

 Fourth of July is one of those holidays where color is key.  I think every party includes red, white, and blue foods in some way or another.  The problem with this is that often times it means artificial colors.

*Artificial food dyes are made of the same petroleum in gasoline.*

Artifical colors or food dyes are chemicals derived from petroleum which is the same crude oil used in gasoline, diesel, asphalt, and tar.  Food dyes are in everything these days, from cake mix to cereal to salad dressing to drink mix.  Another great reason to make sure you are checking your food labels ingredient list.

These dyes aren’t just limited to food products.  They are in toothpaste, laundry detergent, cough syrup, and shampoo.  We are probably being exposed to dyes numerous times everyday unless we take conscious action to eliminate them.

*Food dyes are linked to hyperactivity and cancer.*

Food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in children and long-term health problems such as cancer.  The scary thing is that if you continue to eat processed foods it would be hard to go one day without consuming these potentially harmful substances.  Warnings that dyes are toxic have been debated for years, yet seven of them are still on the FDA’s approved list for use in the US.  Over the last hundred years or so many artificial food dyes have been banned for use so why are we still allowing these last 7?  They are all made out of the same things.  Yellow #5 has already been banned in Europe, so why are we still using it?  The other 6 dyes have warning labels oversees.

*Europe banned Yellow #5 but it is still in food in the US.*

The FDA says that further evidence is needed before banning more dyes.  Many food companies rely heavily on being able to use food colors, if they were banned business would take a hit.  Well what about our health taking a hit, what about medical costs taking a hit?  The FDA doesn’t want to add warning labels to products containing artificial colors either because they don’t want to confuse the general public.

While some companies are making an effort to listen to their customers and voluntarily   making the switch to a natural alternative, some aren’t budging until they are forced to do so.  We are increasingly gaining access to naturally colored products but we have to educate ourselves on what to look for so we can make the right choices.  Food dye names may include…

FD&C Blue #1, Brilliant Blue, Bright Blue, Blue #2, Ingtotine, Royal Blue

Red #3, FD&C Red No. 40, Allura Red AC

Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Tartrazine

FD&C Green #3, Fast Green, Sea Green

Fortunately, it is completely possible to avoid food dyes and still be able to enjoy life.  Avoiding processed foods, making more homemade treats, reading every ingredient on food labels, and using real food for color are all things you can do to control exposure to these chemicals.  My recipe today is a great example of how you can still have fun without harmful dyes.

These Banana Pops are….

Not processed and each pop contains only 3 ingredients

A fun homemade treat

All natural foods creating patriotic colors

Print

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Author Sara

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1 cup coconut butter melted chocolate, or nut butter (I used coconut butter)
• 1/2 cup freeze dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries or raspberries
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 8 Popsicle sticks

Instructions

1. Peel the bananas.
2. Cut the bananas in half and carefully insert a Popsicle stick into the cut end at least halfway threw the banana.
3. On a small lined sheet tray lay the bananas in a single layer.
4. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
5. While the bananas are in the freezer, put the freeze dried blueberries into a food processor (or just put in a ziplock bag and pound with a rolling pin) and process into a powder.
6. Clean out the processor or bag, dry well and repeat with the strawberries.
7. Put the coconut butter or chocolate into a bowl or plate.
8. Dip the one banana 3/4 into coconut butter, chocolate, or nut butter- you can just roll them into the mixture or spread it on with a knife.
9. Working quickly and one at a time because the cold banana will set up the coconut butter and chocolate fast.
10. Roll the dipped banana in desired topping of blueberry, strawberry, or coconut.
11. Repeat until all bananas are done.
12. Return finished bananas to the sheet tray and freeze another 30 min.
13. Store in an air light container in the freezer until ready to eat.