Peanut Butter Bananadilla

Growing up in sunny SoCal, tortillas figured prominently in my diet. On trips to the beach I downed bags of spicy chili-powdered tortilla chips, on special occasions my mother would take me to Green Burrito or my father out for fast-food tacos, and for years my brothers and I had an insatiable taste for simple quesadillas. There was no savory indulgence quite like microwaved Colby-Jack in a white flour tortilla.

Excluding that Colby-Jack now sends me into lactose-intolerance misery, my consumption of quesadillas fell by the wayside when I started avoiding foods that filled half my daily allotment of saturated fat in one sitting. However, I did not banish the innocent tortilla for the cheese's sins. Whole wheat tortillas are excellent for healthy wraps like my tasty chicken fajitas. My latest creation, tried out for the first time yesterday morning on a post-exercise whim, replaces the quesa with wholesome fruit for what I like to call: The Bananadilla.

-one whole wheat tortilla
-one tablespoon creamy peanut butter
-small banana, thickly sliced

Spread the peanut butter thinly over the tortilla, and place on a frying pan over low heat. Layer banana slices on one half of the tortilla and heat until the PB has melted.


Fold the unencumbered half of the tortilla over the banana filling. Transfer the bananadilla to a plate and cut into four wedges.


I had my bananadilla with some end-of-summer cantaloupe and a cup of light chocolate soy milk. The meal would have been 450-500 calories (justifiable, since I needed to replenish my strength after running for two whole miles :p), except I had a bizarre episode of appetite reduction. After only 3 of the 4 wedges and half the beautiful melon, I suddenly felt very full and very anti-food. I have no idea what happened--the bananadilla was delicious and I'm usually as excited as a six-year-old at the prospect of chocolate milk, but I had to force myself to choke the latter down. I wrapped up the extra fruit to accompany my tuna sandwich for lunch, but I really hope this doesn't become a recurring trend. I like my food ;-;