Yes, banana worm bread is actually made with real worms. If roasted worms are not your thing, there are several other versions of the real deal that might be more suitable for the human palate. But first, the following is the basic recipe for authentic, protein packed banana worm bread.

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Next, gather the following items and ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dry-roasted army worms
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• large mixing bowl
• greased loaf pan

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Once the mixture has a smooth consistency, pour it into a the greased loaf pan. Bake for around one hour.

We haven’t had much luck finding a place that sells dry-roasted army worms, but don’t worry — you can make your own. Army worms will show up in your lawn around late summer to early fall. Once you have collected the amount needed to make the bread, wash the worms off (of course). After the worms are nice and clean, dry them off and arrange them in a shallow pan, one layer. Heat in an oven at 300 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

If prefer your sweets without the army worm component, you are not alone. To enjoy banana worm bread without the worms, simply replace the 1/4 cup or worms with an additional 1/4 cup of nuts or you don’t have to substitute at all.

Other Worm Recipes (without the worms)

One of the most popular candies for kids today is the gummy worm. Gummy worms are made from edible gelatin and loads of sugar. Gummy worms can be eaten alone or used as part of a recipe to make cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. A popular gummy worm dessert is the “worms dirt dessert.”

Dirt pudding with worms is a novelty cake of sorts – not all pudding, made from ingredients kids love such as Oreo cookies, cool whip, chocolate pudding, and gummy worms. Used mostly for kid’s birthday parties or on Halloween, the dirt pudding with worms dessert has many different versions, but the following recipe happens to be an American favorite.

Ingredients:

1 bag of gummy worms
1 1/4 lb. pkg. Oreo cookies
1 12 oz. tub Cool Whip (can use chocolate)
2 3 1/2 oz. pkg. instant vanilla or chocolate pudding
1/2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups milk
Flower pot (8 inch diameter)

Crush Oreos. Put 1/3 of the crushed Oreos into brand new flower pot. Set aside.

Mix sugar, butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Set aside.

Stir milk and pudding mix together. Fold Cool Whip into the pudding.

Fold pudding mixture and butter-cream cheese mixture together.

Layer the mixture (about 1/3) onto the crumbled cookies. Add another layer of the pudding mixture, then another layer of cookie crumbs. Continue until all ingredients have been used.

Place the gummy worms in the “dirt” with their heads poking out. Embellish with decorative pieces like edible flowers or plastic daisies.

Chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

For a lower-sugar version of dirt pudding with worms, replace the powdered sugar with “powdered Splenda” made from scratch. The following recipe is perfect because dirt pudding with worms does not require baking and powdered Splenda does not bake well.

Try the following Splenda recipe for powdered sugar:

1 cup granulated Splenda (buy a box of loose Splenda, not the sugar packets)
1 tsp cornstarch

Place the Splenda and the cornstarch in a mixer or food processor. Blend on high speed for one minute until the texture is similar to powdered sugar. The mixture can be stored in an airtight container for up to one month. While Splenda can be used for baking, keep in mind that this particular Splenda mixture is not intended for baking. Click here for Splenda baking tips.

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