Bananas for Yonanas

So, I'm officially bananas for Yonanas.

What exactly is Yonanas, you might be thinking?

Yonanas doesn't really sparkle, it doesn't really shine, it isn't glittery, and it isn't pink.  But I love it.

Yonanas is a kitchen appliance that makes frozen-yogurt-like deserts from frozen bananas.

I'm a child of fro-yo.  Remember Penguin's frozen yogurt?  I got yogurt there A LOT when I was younger.  Yummy yogurt, yummy toppings.  Yum Yum Yum.  More recently, I've become obsessed with PinkBerry, TuttiMelon, and a hand full of other local Fro-Yo shops.  I'm a huge fan of the signature "tart" flavor with rainbow sprinkles, blueberries, and mango.  Occasionally, I'll add in some "crack cookies" as my friends call them - the pink and white circus animal cookies from Mother's.  Super yum.

But all of that Fro-Yo comes at a pretty high caloric cost.  Now, I generally try to eat pretty healthily and take good care of myself.  So, when I read in some magazine a little snippet about Yonanas, I was very much intrigued.

I looked up Yonanas on-line (click here).

It seemed a little gimmick-y - after all it is one of those "as seen on TV" gadgets.

But it also seemed like it could really be super yum!

I eat a banana almost every day along with strawberries, blueberries, and sometimes blackberries mixed in with some Kashi Go Lean Crunch, ground flax, and nonfat plain Greek yogurt.  Super yum.

So, turning frozen bananas into fro-yo seemed like something I would like very much since I already like bananas, and I absolutely love fro-yo.

As it turns out Yonanas is available at your friendly, local Bed, Bath & Beyond stores, and if you are like me, you have a ton of 20% off coupons lying around, it isn't all that cost prohibitive. (about $49.99 less the coupon discount).

So, I liberated one of the Yonanas contraptions this weekend, got some frozen blueberries, some chocolate, and some ripe bananas, and tried it out.

First - it is very noisy.

Second - it is very easy to use.

Third - it creates a very tasty treat.

It comes with a little recipe book, but really sky's the limit in terms of what kind of fruit to use, and what other additions to include.

So, what does it taste like, you may be wondering...

Well, it doesn't taste overtly banana-ish.  The bananas serve as the base of the faux fro-yo, and the other fruit you add in makes the flavor.

I made mine with blueberries.  (By the way, for those of you who follow points on weight watchers - bananas and most other fruit are zero points - yes, zero points.)

I made some for my boyfriend with frozen grapes, and some chocolate-peanut butter.

Both were super YUM!

My boyfriend was a little sad when I packed up my yonanas to bring home with me this afternoon.  He admitted to actually wanting one of his own...

Bottom line.  If you like fro-yo, but want a lower-calorie healthier alternative, Yonanas just might be the thing for you.

You can read some other reviews on the Bed, Bath & Beyond site and on on Amazon.com.

I'm definitely a fan.  I'm bananas for Yonanas! (And, no, I'm not a paid lobbyist for Yonanas).

What would you mix with your Yonanas?

Until next time...

Glorious Gold!

So, clearly I love sparkly things.  I have a blog dedicated to sparkly things.  I've recently been obsessing over gold.  Glorious gold!  It shines and sparkles; can be shiny or muted, yellow, white, rose, or a myriad of other colors; mixed with other metals or stand alone; basically a majorly versatile color that I have always loved.

My most recent pedi consisted of a gold base coat with 2 coats of gold sparkles on top.  Absolutely love.  It's almost time to get a new pedi and I will definitely be very sad to see this glorious gold glitter go.  But, I guess I have some solace in the fact that I can get it, or something equally as glittery again.

I almost got a teal base coat with hot pink sparkles on top, but in the end, opted for the gold.  I may rock the teal / pink sparkles for my next pedi...  It may need to be a game-time decision.

Over the weekend, a friend noticed my toes and my gold leather purse and asked if I purposely matched them together.

I hadn't but had a little chuckle that my purse and toes were perfectly matched.  I know you don't have to match shoes, belts, and bags any more...  What about matching toes and bags?

The pic above is one that my friend took.  It's a little crazy that they match so well.

This is the actual bag in full view...  I absolutely LOVE this bag.

It is super-soft dark gold sparkly leather with brown leather braided handles.  I purchased it several years ago from Anthropologie.  I had seen it in the catalog for a while, but couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a bag.

Then several months after I initially saw the bag, I was at Anthropologie shopping one of their sales and when I was in line for the dressing room, I saw this magnificent bag just sitting on one of the bed displays.  I stepped out of line and picked it up.  I peeked at the price tag, and to my pleasant surprise, it was on sale for a much more reasonable price, and this little gem came home with me.

Also this weekend, I undertook a little home decorating improvement project.  I had an unfinished night stand, book case, and step stool that I have been wanting to paint for some time.  I decided on hot pink / fuschia for the book case and step stool, and gold (shocker) for the night stand.  Off to Home Depot I went to get supplies.  The hot pink I wanted was the color if my ipod.  The nice man in the paint department tried to color match it, but ultimately said the pink was too bright (boo), but I found a great fuschia alternative in one of the pre-made colors.  I'm almost done painting.  I'm sure I'll dedicate a blog in the near future to fuschia.

The night stand was a different story.  I wanted a metallic-ish paint for it, but not all out glitter.  The nice paint man showed me this stuff from Martha Stewart that I thought might work.  It is textured metallic paint that comes in an assortment of colors.  I opted for a dark copper / gold with just a hint of sparkle, but not over the top glittery.

Here are my thoughts...  Great idea.  Love the metallic likeness of the paint.  The color in the container is just lovely.

 The negatives...  It is not liquid-y like regular paint - it has a much thicker consistency.  It is also not smooth.  It is VERY textured, and I'm not yet sure how I feel about it.  It was really hard to get a uniform finish / texture with it.  I finished the night stand (pic below) and think I may take some fine sand paper to it to remove some of the texture.

 
I don't hate how it came out, but I'm not overwhelmingly in love with it either.  I will relegate the night stand to the "other" side of my bed.

I replaced it with a super cute night stand from a local store in my neighborhood.  It is white with a decoupaged bird pattern on the top of it.  An early birthday present from my boyfriend.  Love it & him.

And now on to some other glorious gold pretties I've spied lately and may be added to my wishlist.

A rail road spike bracelet in copper.  From Giles & Brother (click here).  $55.  I am a newcomer to this site and like what I see.  Lots of unique statement-y jewelry.  You can even have this made custom with words stamped into the bracelet.

Satin Mona pumps in gold-ish satin from J. Crew (click here).  $248.  Not sure I'm sold on them with that price tag.  Also can't vouch for their comfort, but I think they are pretty cute!

Another pretty shoe find from J. Crew.  Lula glitter flats, $135 (click here).  Super cute & glittery.  They come in a few different color combinations - notice the subtle cap toe in a slightly different shade of glitter.  Love.

Ok, I think that is all of the glorious gold I have to share for now... until I find more!

I mentioned in a previous post (click here) the coolness that is Pinterest.  I'm adding new pins almost on a daily basis, and just started a Sparkly Wonderland board dedicated to all things sparkle.  Check it out some time...  http://pinterest.com/jen_ni_fer/

Until next time, bask in the glory of gold!