Dylan has been bugging me to make banana bread with the almost unrecognizable bananas sitting on the counter for quite some time now. But I have yet to come across a great banana bread recipe that isn't just shy of being cake. I looked at about 10 different recipes and mated the best parts of each to come up with this recipe.The stars have aligned and this bread is healthier, delicious, and moist.
This bread has whole wheat flour, yogurt, eggs, chia seeds and dark chocolate. Really the most important thing to remember, as with anything, is portion control. This bread is definitely a healthier version of most banana breads, but it also should not be a used as a meal replacement, enjoyed as a slice, not a hunk.
Dark Chocolate Banana Bread
Directions:
1 cup truvia (or other sugar substitute)
10 T butter, softened
4 eggs
*Cream butter and sugar sub together for at least 2 minutes, then add eggs, one at a time to mixture.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 T chia, or flax seeds
2 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
*Combine dry ingredients, and add to egg mixture, alternating with 12 oz. vanilla yogurt. Beginning and ending with flour mixture.( I used Yo plus vanilla yogurt, but have used strawberry yogurt in the past as well. Using a low fat yogurt will not affect the bread at all and will improve the overall health benefit.)
*Lastly, fold in 2 cups of mashed, ripe bananas and 1 cup of dark chocolate chunks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. This recipe makes 2 large loaves.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
January Dinner Party
We decided to go with a healthy soup theme for January's dinner party. This time of year, it is so nice to have something warm, and filling, and healthy, to snack on during the cold days. I also don't hate smelling the soup simmering on the stove or in the crock pot all day long.
Abbie hosted this month and made a kale and white bean soup, a couple of breads, and THE most delicious thing I have tasted in a long time. I made Tortilla Soup, Liena made WonTon Soup, Michelle brought Italian Sausage Soup, and Alli rounded out the group with an awesome corn chowder. We had an incredible evening of laughter and good, good food. Recipes are as follows.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 fresh jalapenos, diced (optional)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green Chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans
2 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
*Here's the best thing about this soup, besides the taste, you dump it all in the crock pot and cook it on low 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
Abbie hosted this month and made a kale and white bean soup, a couple of breads, and THE most delicious thing I have tasted in a long time. I made Tortilla Soup, Liena made WonTon Soup, Michelle brought Italian Sausage Soup, and Alli rounded out the group with an awesome corn chowder. We had an incredible evening of laughter and good, good food. Recipes are as follows.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 fresh jalapenos, diced (optional)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green Chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans
2 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
*Here's the best thing about this soup, besides the taste, you dump it all in the crock pot and cook it on low 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
*Here's the next best thing about this soup. You can adjust it for whatever your likes and tastes are. I happened to have jalapenos, and pasilla peppers, and red bell peppers on hand, so I diced and added one of each. The next day, I had some left over roasted sweet potato, which I diced and tossed into the soup before I reheated it. It was delicious, and I will probably add it to my next batch.
*Because of the amount of canned goods involved, it is really important to rinse the items that you can, i,e beans, corn, and wash off all the extra sodium. For sure, do not add any extra salt.
*You can also place a couple of frozen chicken breasts into the soup, and shred them at the end of cooking. Also you can shred a rotisserie chicken and toss it in.
*Top the soup with whatever you like, reduced fat sour cream, plain yogurt, salsa, jalapenos, sharp cheddar cheese, cilantro, ect...
Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 lb. turkey or chicken Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14oz.) cans beef broth
1 (14.5oz.) can Italian-Style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 oz.) can great northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini , cubed
2 cups fresh spinach, packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
diced onion as desired
diced jalapeno as desired
* In stockpot brown sausage with garlic, jalapeno and onions. Stir in broth, tomatoes, carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
*Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
*Remove from heat and add spinach. Replace lid, allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves for 5 minutes. Serve.
Abbie made a couple of these breads with one of our girlfriends, who is gluten intolerant, in mind. They were delicious, and kept well the next day
Make-at-Home Socca
Taken from the Nourish Network
1 cup chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to oil the pan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt, for garnish
Whisk together flour, water, oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours.
Position rack 8 inches from broiler in oven. Preheat broiler.
Pour a thin layer of oil into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, swirling pan to coat thoroughly. Heat pan over high heat. Pour half of batter (about 3/4 cup) into pan, swirling to distribute batter evenly. Cook 2 minutes.
Transfer pan to oven and broil 2 minutes, or until socca is golden.
Remove pan from oven and transfer socca to a clean work surface. Repeat procedure with additional oil and remaining batter.
To serve, garnish socca with fleur de sel and additional pepper. Cut it into wedges or serve it whole and let diners tear off pieces as they wish.
Yields 2 (10-inch) soccas
Green Socca
Taken from Pure2raw
Pure2raw recipe: Green Socca
Ingredients:
Pre-heat oven to 400. Heat oil in 10 in pizza pan till for about 2 minutes. Place remaining ingredients to your Vita-mix blender and blend together. Pour green socca batter into hot oil and bake for 30-40 minutes.
No-Knead Spelt Bread
Taken from Prairie Table. See additional info and pictures at their site.
No-Knead Spelt Bread adapted from The New York Times
3 cups white spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt - though next time I think I'll use 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 1/2 cups water
In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and water and stir until combined. Dough will be shaggy and much stickier than most bread dough. Cover bowl with plastic and leave in a warm place for at least 12 hours. Flour your hands, turn dough out onto a liberally floured board, dust dough with flour and fold into thirds - like a business letter. Then fold into thirds again, and shape it into a ball. Place seam side down in a well-floured bowl, and sprinkle more flour on top of dough. Cover bowl with kitchen towel, and leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size, and it retains the impression of your finger when poked. At least 30 minutes before the end of this rise, preheat oven to 500, place a baking stone on the center rack and another pan - not glass - on the bottom rack. When dough is finished rising, turn it out onto the hot baking stone, seam side up. Don't worry if it looks messy, that's part of its charm. Pour about a cup of water into the pan on the bottom rack and quickly close the oven door. Turn oven down to 450. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust is a deep golden brown.
Kale and White Bean Soup
(Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook)
2 tablespoons oil (olive, grapeseed, coconut, etc.)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups water (I used 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups water)
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped kale, with hard spine removed (there are different kinds of kale. I
used the dinosaur or lactino kale and didn't have to take out the stem)
1 (14 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannelini beans)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I omitted this b/c I didn't have it)
Pinch of pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until
golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes, and tomato
paste, and saute until the ingredients are well combined. Add the water, miso,
cumin, coriander, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 30
minutes. Add the kale, white beans, and thyme and simmer another half hour. (I added
the kale at the very, very end, right before serving to keep it crunchy and bright
green). Garnish with basil and pepper before serving.
Chicken and Shrimp Dumpling Soup
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 pound shelled, deveined shrimp, chopped
1/2# ground chicken
2 green onions thinly sliced, tops & bottoms divided
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp sesame oil; divided
1 tsp fresh minced ginger, and Sriracha chilli sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tap pepper
4 square egg roll wrappers -6" wide/or the small ones
4 fresh Shiite mushrooms
Combine broth & soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to barely a simmer.
Mix shrimp, chicken, onion bottoms, garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, ginger, sriracha, salt
& pepper in a bowl. Place a spoonful in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the
edges with wayer, pull up all 4 corners and meet in the center & seal.
Lower dumplings gently into broth, cover & simmer until cooked (8 min).
Last 2 min of cooking add shiitakes. Serve with broth. Sprinkle with onion tops and
remaining sesame oil.
And lastly for the best dessert ever! Don't let the dates fool you. This is TAS-TEE!
Chocolate Covered Birthday Dates!
Taken from Making Love in the Kitchen
Chocolate Covered Birthday Dates
12 medjool dates, pitted (can do this by hand)
3/4 cup almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
1 dark chocolate bar or make your own raw chocolate sauce using this recipe
1-2 Tbs coconut oil (if using the chocolate bar method).
Sea salt to taste
Still waiting on Allie's soup recipe, but I will post it soon!
Italian Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 lb. turkey or chicken Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14oz.) cans beef broth
1 (14.5oz.) can Italian-Style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 oz.) can great northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini , cubed
2 cups fresh spinach, packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
diced onion as desired
diced jalapeno as desired
* In stockpot brown sausage with garlic, jalapeno and onions. Stir in broth, tomatoes, carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
*Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
*Remove from heat and add spinach. Replace lid, allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves for 5 minutes. Serve.
Abbie made a couple of these breads with one of our girlfriends, who is gluten intolerant, in mind. They were delicious, and kept well the next day
Make-at-Home Socca
Taken from the Nourish Network
1 cup chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to oil the pan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt, for garnish
Whisk together flour, water, oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours.
Position rack 8 inches from broiler in oven. Preheat broiler.
Pour a thin layer of oil into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, swirling pan to coat thoroughly. Heat pan over high heat. Pour half of batter (about 3/4 cup) into pan, swirling to distribute batter evenly. Cook 2 minutes.
Transfer pan to oven and broil 2 minutes, or until socca is golden.
Remove pan from oven and transfer socca to a clean work surface. Repeat procedure with additional oil and remaining batter.
To serve, garnish socca with fleur de sel and additional pepper. Cut it into wedges or serve it whole and let diners tear off pieces as they wish.
Yields 2 (10-inch) soccas
Green Socca
Taken from Pure2raw
Pure2raw recipe: Green Socca
Ingredients:
- 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 large handful of fresh spinach
- 2 tbsp oil (we did coconut oil)
Pre-heat oven to 400. Heat oil in 10 in pizza pan till for about 2 minutes. Place remaining ingredients to your Vita-mix blender and blend together. Pour green socca batter into hot oil and bake for 30-40 minutes.
No-Knead Spelt Bread
Taken from Prairie Table. See additional info and pictures at their site.
No-Knead Spelt Bread adapted from The New York Times
3 cups white spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt - though next time I think I'll use 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 1/2 cups water
In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and water and stir until combined. Dough will be shaggy and much stickier than most bread dough. Cover bowl with plastic and leave in a warm place for at least 12 hours. Flour your hands, turn dough out onto a liberally floured board, dust dough with flour and fold into thirds - like a business letter. Then fold into thirds again, and shape it into a ball. Place seam side down in a well-floured bowl, and sprinkle more flour on top of dough. Cover bowl with kitchen towel, and leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size, and it retains the impression of your finger when poked. At least 30 minutes before the end of this rise, preheat oven to 500, place a baking stone on the center rack and another pan - not glass - on the bottom rack. When dough is finished rising, turn it out onto the hot baking stone, seam side up. Don't worry if it looks messy, that's part of its charm. Pour about a cup of water into the pan on the bottom rack and quickly close the oven door. Turn oven down to 450. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust is a deep golden brown.
Kale and White Bean Soup
(Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook)
2 tablespoons oil (olive, grapeseed, coconut, etc.)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups water (I used 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups water)
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped kale, with hard spine removed (there are different kinds of kale. I
used the dinosaur or lactino kale and didn't have to take out the stem)
1 (14 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannelini beans)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I omitted this b/c I didn't have it)
Pinch of pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until
golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes, and tomato
paste, and saute until the ingredients are well combined. Add the water, miso,
cumin, coriander, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 30
minutes. Add the kale, white beans, and thyme and simmer another half hour. (I added
the kale at the very, very end, right before serving to keep it crunchy and bright
green). Garnish with basil and pepper before serving.
Chicken and Shrimp Dumpling Soup
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 pound shelled, deveined shrimp, chopped
1/2# ground chicken
2 green onions thinly sliced, tops & bottoms divided
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp sesame oil; divided
1 tsp fresh minced ginger, and Sriracha chilli sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tap pepper
4 square egg roll wrappers -6" wide/or the small ones
4 fresh Shiite mushrooms
Combine broth & soy sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to barely a simmer.
Mix shrimp, chicken, onion bottoms, garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, ginger, sriracha, salt
& pepper in a bowl. Place a spoonful in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the
edges with wayer, pull up all 4 corners and meet in the center & seal.
Lower dumplings gently into broth, cover & simmer until cooked (8 min).
Last 2 min of cooking add shiitakes. Serve with broth. Sprinkle with onion tops and
remaining sesame oil.
And lastly for the best dessert ever! Don't let the dates fool you. This is TAS-TEE!
Chocolate Covered Birthday Dates!
Taken from Making Love in the Kitchen
Chocolate Covered Birthday Dates
12 medjool dates, pitted (can do this by hand)
3/4 cup almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
1 dark chocolate bar or make your own raw chocolate sauce using this recipe
1-2 Tbs coconut oil (if using the chocolate bar method).
Sea salt to taste
- Remove pits from your dates.
- With the tenderest of loving touches, pry open the dates and put it approx 1 Tbs of almond butter for each date. Close’r on up as best you can.
- In a double boiler, melt your chocolate.
- Using kitchen tongs (or a fork if you don’t have tongs), dip your almond butter filled date into the chocolate.
- Place on parchment paper and continue with the rest.
- Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt (or use hemp seeds, ground gogi- whatever you like…) and put in the freezer for about 20 mins, or until serving.
- Serve straight out of the freezer.
Still waiting on Allie's soup recipe, but I will post it soon!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Black Bean Brownies
For reals.
I was looking through my cooking mag the other night and there was a little box with a tip for substituting a 16 oz. can of pureed black beans for the oil AND eggs in a boxed brownie mix.
I didn't believe it, but happened to have both on hand to give it a try.
I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Chunk Brownie mix, which, in the high altitude directions called for 1/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup oil, and 2-3 eggs.
I drained and rinsed my beans and threw them in the Ninja until mashed, then added the water and brownie mix, but omitted the oil and eggs. I baked it as directed, although I don't have a 9x9 pan so I used a 8x11.
They were freaking awesome.
I was looking through my cooking mag the other night and there was a little box with a tip for substituting a 16 oz. can of pureed black beans for the oil AND eggs in a boxed brownie mix.
I didn't believe it, but happened to have both on hand to give it a try.
I used a Betty Crocker Chocolate Chunk Brownie mix, which, in the high altitude directions called for 1/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup oil, and 2-3 eggs.
I drained and rinsed my beans and threw them in the Ninja until mashed, then added the water and brownie mix, but omitted the oil and eggs. I baked it as directed, although I don't have a 9x9 pan so I used a 8x11.
They were freaking awesome.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Muhammara
My friend Kelli, also the Kellie from my recipe club, brought some Muhammara to work the other day. She was talking about how she loves this stuff called Muhammara, that they serve at Mazza (Middle Eastern Restaurant).
Anyhoo, she loved it so much, she found a recipe on Epicurious for it and brought some in for her lunch. At first offer, I was hesitant, only because I have been spending a lot of time potty training our new puppy in the back yard, and the Muhammara looked suspiciously familiar. After my first taste however, I think Kelli was wishing she hadn't offered, as I was double knuckle deep in her dip. It was tastee.
Kelli brought carrot sticks to eat it with, and the consistency is much like hummus, but she also had used it as a sandwich spread, and the recipe says it would make a good accompaniment to kebabs, meat or fish, or grilled pita.
I immediately printed myself off a copy and have been happily snacking ever since. The day I made it, Dawson was hovering around, and kept making comments about how he doesn't like peppers. Then when I was giving the walnuts a quick stove top toasting, he said how he didn't care for walnuts. I understood what he was talking about, since giving the list of ingredients a once over, there was no way I would have tried it, had I not already tasted it. Dawson hung around though, and since I didn't have bread crumbs and substituted my Food Should Be Good Chips, which he likes, he gave it a taste. Hallelujah, it was a hit. Both Boyz went to town and I immediately had to make a second batch.
Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread
Gourmet/August 2009
by Gina Marie Miraglia Enquez
A take on muhammara, a Turkish and Syrian red pepper spread thickened with bread crumbs and walnuts, this sunset-hued condiment comes together in minutes and does double duty as an accompaniment to both the kebabs and the grilled pita.
Yield: Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
2 (7-to 8-ounces) jars roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a baguette)
1 cup walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, walnuts, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor until almost smooth.
With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.
Cooks' Notes:
*Spread is also delicious with crudites, crackers or toasts.
*Spread can be made 3 days ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Anyhoo, she loved it so much, she found a recipe on Epicurious for it and brought some in for her lunch. At first offer, I was hesitant, only because I have been spending a lot of time potty training our new puppy in the back yard, and the Muhammara looked suspiciously familiar. After my first taste however, I think Kelli was wishing she hadn't offered, as I was double knuckle deep in her dip. It was tastee.
Kelli brought carrot sticks to eat it with, and the consistency is much like hummus, but she also had used it as a sandwich spread, and the recipe says it would make a good accompaniment to kebabs, meat or fish, or grilled pita.
I immediately printed myself off a copy and have been happily snacking ever since. The day I made it, Dawson was hovering around, and kept making comments about how he doesn't like peppers. Then when I was giving the walnuts a quick stove top toasting, he said how he didn't care for walnuts. I understood what he was talking about, since giving the list of ingredients a once over, there was no way I would have tried it, had I not already tasted it. Dawson hung around though, and since I didn't have bread crumbs and substituted my Food Should Be Good Chips, which he likes, he gave it a taste. Hallelujah, it was a hit. Both Boyz went to town and I immediately had to make a second batch.
Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread
Gourmet/August 2009
by Gina Marie Miraglia Enquez
A take on muhammara, a Turkish and Syrian red pepper spread thickened with bread crumbs and walnuts, this sunset-hued condiment comes together in minutes and does double duty as an accompaniment to both the kebabs and the grilled pita.
Yield: Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
2 (7-to 8-ounces) jars roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a baguette)
1 cup walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, walnuts, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor until almost smooth.
With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.
Cooks' Notes:
*Spread is also delicious with crudites, crackers or toasts.
*Spread can be made 3 days ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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