Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

I had some overripe bananas, no white flour, but the desire for banana bread. I found a recipe online for whole wheat banana muffins which was perfect since I had wheat I could grind. They are even better because they're made with whole foods and sweetened with honey. There's only 4 Tbsp of butter in the entire recipe which made 24 muffins exactly. They taste delicious. The recipe is a keeper!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread and Muffins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup mashed over-ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas) -I used 3
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs

Blend in the blender and pour into lined muffin tins until each cup is barely 1/2 full.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Makes 24.

For Bread:  Spread batter into a well buttered bread pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Ideas To Lighten It Up

Polynesian food.  Oh! It's soul-transporting to warm, sandy beaches and the cool, moist breezes of the islands every time I savor a bite!  It's also fat capitol of the USA (unverified statistic), weighing in heavily with high-fat meats, Mayo-laden salads, and sugar-saturated sauces. All that served with heaping portions of white rice and other refined starches. No wonder it tastes so good, but it's "auwe" (bad) for the life vessels of the body.

So, let's play "make it better for me!"  Choose a Polynesian food or meal and tell us how you could change or prepare it differently to make it better for the bod!  Leave a comment with your best suggestions and be featured on the next post. So, "go chance 'em!"

Baked Oatmeal PB Breakfast Bites

These are so good! Faster then cooking a pan of baked oatmeal, these breakfast bites are done in 10 minutes! They are naturally sweetened with a mixture of pure maple syrup and sweet honey, and come out warm and crumbly and delicious! 

My daughter says they taste a lot like a peanut butter cookie as she was hurrying back for seconds. these taste like a treat, and you can feel good about eating them because they're made with oatmeal and no sugar!  Another breakfast winner in my book!

Make this! You won't regret it.

Preheat oven to 350. 

Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Stir together the following:

3 tablespoons honey 

3 tablespoons maple syrup 

one egg 

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add to the following to the wet mixture and stir to combine: 

1 3/4 cup quick cooking oats 

a scant teaspoon of salt 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Batter will be quite wet. Use a cookie scoop to fill your mini muffin tin. Any remaining batter can be baked in a small pan. Place in the oven for 10 minutes and they're done. Enjoy!

My Favorite Fresh Apple Oatmeal

It has been a year since I tried to eat more oatmeal. I admit that I hated it at first, but now I rather like it. It took about 2 to 3 months for me to acclimate to the taste and texture, but I can attest that if you persevere you can train yourself to like something!  Today's fresh apple oatmeal is proof, proof that I'm still going strong.  I was often making blueberry-maple oatmeal, but I recently I made a bowl of hearty oatmeal filled with fresh apples.  This recipe is very, very good, with a wink and a nod to the flavors of your favorite Apple cobbler, only better for you.  It's naturally sweetened with real maple syrup and apple cider, and it's a winner!

I don't use specific measurements, I just do things to taste. 

Here is how I made it today:

-Scant half cup quick oats 

-milk to cover the oats

Combine in a microwave safe large cereal bowl, and cook in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until oats have absorbed the milk and become fluffy.

-One quarter of a fresh apple, diced small 

-a pinch of salt 

-a pat of butter 

-sprinkle of cinnamon

-A splash of apple cider, perhaps 2 tablespoons 

-real maple syrup for drizzling

Add the remainder of the ingredients to your bowl and microwave for 30 seconds more.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fall Salad with Ricotta Basil Vinaigrette

Chicken Fall Salad is what summer harvest time is all about!  I loved when my dad would make this salad for us.  He first tasted a version of it at a restaurant and a week later he made it for us.  That was years ago, and it still remains one of my favorite salads of all time!

I've adapted the original recipe just a touch so that I could use the ingredients that I already had on hand.  This salad features a bed of green leaf lettuce, and is topped with sliced tomatoes, sliced bell pepper, sliced onion, sauteed zucchini, sliced steamed potatoes, shredded basil chicken, and drizzled with a homemade ricotta-basil vinaigrette.  I love this salad!  The warm chicken, potatoes, and zucchini against the crispy cool lettuce, onion, and bell pepper is like a party in your mouth, and the salad dressing makes everything taste delicious- it's sweet, creamy, herbaceous goodness! 

My kids like their salad deconstructed, and they are so proud of their colorful creations that they get to eat!

Make this!  So addictive!

Ricotta-Basil Vinaigrette

• 1/4-1/3 c. ricotta cheese- part skim
• 3 Tbsp. - 1/4 c. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. - 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar
• 1-2 tsp. dried basil
• a few dashes of salt, pepper, onion powder

Whisk it all together, add a splash of water to thin it if you desire, and drizzle all over your entire dinner!

Summer Orzo Garden Salad

Uncle Kirk has done it again with a salad of the week! I've got to try this one.

Tossed with a lemon-parmesan vinegarette, this salad boasts a bed of baby spinach, diced cucumber, diced zucchini, diced bell pepper, diced tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, capers, toasted pinenuts, and orzo pasta.  Yum!

Dinner Inspiration- Kabobs!

Much thanks to my sister for taking a picture of her delicious low-fat dinner last night!  I'm super inspired to make one just like it!  I've got zucchini growing in my garden and I LOVE kabobs!

So what veggies do you have laying around that you could skewer and throw on the fire?