banana coins

Well, it's Monday. After an unforgettable weekend, I've finally decided to give it a rest and go in for a Sur La Table interview this afternoon. With this new layer of reality being blanketed over my life, I figured it would be an appropriate time to also stop deluding myself here with the bourgeois nonsense and start writing about food I can actually afford.

That's right: it's #BudgetWeek, our first official theme week since...well, I don't remember. It's been a while. We'll be featuring a slew of exclusive, wallet-friendly meals that will surely have your friends and loved ones asking if you've been doing okay. Our first selection? Banana coins, breakfast of champions everywhere.

frozen banana slices

peanut butter

cinnamon

You could sort of describe it as a deconstructed smoothie if you were in a very generous state of mind when considering it. And if you plan on eating it right off of the plate you froze the bananas on, you don't even have to waste any plastic wrap lining it. Win, win.

Listen to me: what's the first thing any successful young person needs in the morning? Protein. It keeps a burgeoning executive full, satisfied, and ready for anything. Dollop a generous spoonful of peanut butter into a microwave-safe bowl and nuke it for about forty-five seconds. Give it a little stir with a fork.

Now, traditionally, this recipe calls for tahini, but my unemployment still hasn't fucking come through, so, in accordance with our new theme, I didn't buy any for this recipe. I made do. It's on the list.

Here are the bananas; if you didn't preemptively freeze a dish of them when you saw it at the beginning of the blog post, you just weren't thinking ahead and you'll never make it in show business. Wait until you're ready to decorate before taking them out of the freezer and have your mise en place in order for when they land; this will ensure that the fruit is cold enough to freeze the little cumshot ribbons of nut butter we're about to drizzle on.

This part always gets a little bit messy. Just try your best to scoop as much as possible up with the fork and let some nice strands run off the tines right over top. You can do this part in any design you want, just so long as you make sure each coin gets a good smothering. When you feel satisfied with your work, envelop them all in a light dusting of cinnamon, and you're done. Breakfast on a budget, assembled on the fly.

Today's recipe was short, and so, so sweet. It's the ultimate lazy man's meal, the perfect thing to really get your socks on in the morning; the potassium in the bananas makes it a great companion to go with coffee or caffeinated tea. It's light, balanced, and, unlike a blended smoothie, won't wake up your mom when you yank it out of the freezer at five AM.

Don't like bananas? Freeze up some strawberries instead. Allergic to cinnamon? Sprinkle on a little bit of nutritional yeast, I don't know. Use your creativity. It's a tasty frozen sensation. You really can't go wrong.