Low Fat Banana Bread that Doesn't Taste Like Crap

I know. I KNOW, the title is really not appetizing at all. But, I've been searching for a decent low fat banana bread recipe for ages and this title sums it up. Really, it shouldn't have been this hard. Let me tell you, we've tried some pretty gross experimental recipes. This recipe is somewhat original, but with a little tweaking it suits us just fine. If you're watching your fat and cholesterol like we are, don't be afraid of the butter in the recipe. It's a small amount and much needed for flavor.

*Please note that Sam is in the background working on a Dakota Indian diorama. He went above and beyond what was needed for this project. I was so proud! He's taken to checking his grades online (way more than I do--I think I last checked in before Christmas sometime). He's become so responsible and talks to his teachers if he disagrees with a grade or finds an assigment that appears missing on SchoolView despite the fact that he KNOWS he turned it in. I guess my "be your own advocate" speeches worked! Sometimes, especially during these years, you need a little parental validation that you've done something right!

LFBBtDTLC

4 bananas, peeled and mashed (I just throw them in the mixer and let em whirl)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 TB butter, no substitutes

1 1/2 tsp real vanilla, no substitutes

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg or 1/4 cup egg whites

2 TB applesauce (unsweetened is best, but use what you have)

Mix all until well blended. Place in a large loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Variations:

• add 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts


• dust top with cinnamon and sugar before baking or dust the pan after greasing with cinnamon and sugar


• add raisins and/or chocolate chips and bake in a 9x13 inch pan as a snack cake (check after 20 minutes for doneness) Sam's friends love this.


• make in muffin tins for better portion control, add streusal topping to wow and amaze your family


• use leftover (if there is any) or double the batch and use one loaf for bread pudding


• I LOVE toasted banana bread for breakfast. You need a toaster oven or use your regular oven, but it's yummy and delightfully different. The toasting caramelizes the bread. Top with orange marmalade... or not.

We always have unpeeled bananas hanging out in the freezer. We use them in smoothies, I bake with them (add to a cake mix, any flavor, with a little water and some egg whites and you've got a wonderful cake). They're a must have for us and a great way to use up the bananas that we don't eat before they start looking nasty. Freezing makes them look even nastier. No worries. The inside is just fine and the peel is the only packaging that they need to survive the freezer.

Grab and Go

Notice how I demonstrated the proper technique of not overmixing the muffins. It is not a unmixed bit of flour you see, but superior muffin technology.

It's been a busy week. Lots of meetings and activities and play dates. It's end of the quarter for school, so there are last minute projects, assignments, and tests to study for. I said yes way too many times and now I'm paying the price.

Turns out I wasn't the only mom last night that was spread thin. Most of the friends and acquaintances I saw last night, all arrived the same way I did. Out of breath, sweating, scattered, and cursing the fact that all activities like this seem to be planned for right around dinner time.

Last night was Young One's first middle school orchestra concert. He's been so excited to start playing the upright bass after two years of playing the cello. This big, bad instrument has been his goal since starting orchestra.

I know that part of it has to do with the fact that it's the biggest instrument in the orchestra. You know, a kind of, "mine is bigger than yours" mentality. He walked around in his almost a tux uniform, parading the big bad thing in front of as many of his classmates as he could. I overheard him telling a bunch of kids that it weighs, "more than I do."

I was lucky enough to chat with a more experienced parent of a bass player. She gave me some helpful hints on how to navigate life with an instrument that has it's own zip code. I had volunteered to rally some sixth grade Mom Troops to chaperon the kids before the concert. Orchestra kids are really great kids, so really, there wasn't much to do. Of course, I found someone to chat with!

One of the things I learned when I was working full time plus on our business was to have a lot of grab and go things in the freezer. Muffins or banana bread can round out a cheese stick and a glass of milk to make a quick meal. It's also portable, as in, "GrabamuffinIfilledyourwaterbottlealreadyIknowyou'resickofstringcheesegetsomeanywayandgetinthecar."

Last night was the concert, today is the Pumpkin Run at school, tonight is a meeting for Confirmation guides, and tomorrow I'm participating in a math placement focus group for school. Friday is a dance at school and Young One is going to a friend's house. Saturday is Halloween and Sunday church and then I'm going to fall on the floor. Monday morning it starts again.

Apple "Clean out the Cereal Cupboard" Muffins

1 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg--freshly grated is best

1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped fine

1 cup skim milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil--you could sub applesauce, I did and they turned out great

1 egg or the equivalent of egg substitute

2 cups Raisin Bran or high fiber cereal with fruit--I used Kashi something or other with cranberries-- you could use all the leftover cereal you have, you know those bottom of the bag amounts that aren't enough to fill up a husband or kid with, but end up in your cupboard languishing until you either throw them out or feed them to the birds. I wouldn't recommend the cereals that are really just big bags of sugar because not only do they look frightening in muffins (trust me), but they don't taste very good either.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Set aside. Peel, core, and chop apple. Mix milk, vegetable oil OR apple sauce, and egg, whisking well. Add wet ingredients, apple, and cereal to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do not over mix. Place in equal amounts in muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

If you want to freeze and bake later, freeze in paper liners in the muffin tins overnight and pop out into freezer zip bags. You can pull them out and bake from frozen (increase baking time). Or bake and freeze, defrost in the microwave for quick grab and go breakfast, in the car "meals, or snacks.

The Pie Plant

Everybody I knew as a child had a rhubarb plant or two. It's actually a pretty plant, like Swiss Chard on steroids. Large ruby colored stalks capped with giant dark green leaves, it's one of the first to peek out of the ground in the Spring.

My mom and my grandma always made fabulous cakes, but my very favorite was when my mom would make rhubarb pie. You don't even want to know how much sugar went into that confection. It invariably boiled over in the oven, so mom would throw open the windows to the Spring air, the smoke would roll out of the oven, and we'd know we were in for a great treat for dessert.

Black rolling smoke and the smell of burnt sugar--now those are good memories!

Now, pie, by it's very definition is not Weight Watchers friendly. In fact, I think in the dictionary next to the word pie is a picture of a broken bathroom scale. I'm working on a WW friendly rhubarb pie recipe, but in the meantime, these muffins help get me a pie plant fix.

Rosy Rhubarb Banana Muffins

I replaced most of the fat in these muffins with mashed banana. I think the result is quite good. Sweet banana balances the tart rhubarb. 3 WW Points per muffin.

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large bananas

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 cup low fat buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cup flour

2 cup rhubarb

1/2 cup oatmeal for sprinkling over the top before baking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place first three ingredients in mixer bowl and blend well. Add the rest of the ingredients, waiting until all are well combined before adding rhubarb. Place in lined muffin tins. Sprinkle with a little oatmeal if desired. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean, approximately 25 minutes. Check every five minutes towards the end of baking.

What's in Your Bowl?The Breakfast Edition

Oatmeal made with diced dates, 2 tsp of raw sugar, sliced almonds, cinnamon, and a cap full of real almond extract from Penzeys Spices.

Check out Penzeys for the best spices and extracts. Every catalog contains amazing recipes, so sign up!

Feeling Waffley?

There are those days, more than I'd like to admit, that it takes every ounce of my being to work out. I've tried to run my work out schedule like a work week. I work out five days a week, Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday, I try to get some extra activity in if I can, but more often than not, they're my look-forward-to-rest-time-that-motivates-me-to-stick-with-the-work-out-schedule-that-I-set-knowing-that-I-wouldn't-stick-with-it-if-I-had-to-do-it-seven-days-a-week.

Truth time. I haven't worked out since before our vacation. I'm not going to make excuses. No one cares. I don't really care. The point is, you just get back on the horse and ride, right?

I figured out that if I had to drive to the gym or if I didn't get my workout clothes on right when I was just getting out of bed, bleary eyed, and easily led, that I wouldn't do it. That's why I work out at home. My alarm goes off or the kid alarm sounds, as in Young One comes in announcing something like, "I spilled an entire box of oatmeal on the floor this morning, but don't worry, I cleaned it up and put it all back in the carton. And, oh, I forgot, today is the day I need red shoelaces and a box of spinach pasta for an art project at school." I grab my yoga pants and awesome REI athletic top that I got for four bucks ($4!!!!), put on my industrial strength exercise bra (thank you Oprah) and by the time I'm getting my socks on, I've done too much to undo. Once dressed, I might as well work out, right?

I'm sure once I get bored with all this and want to head to our community center, which has a fantastic pool and gym, I'll have cuter work out clothing and a better attitude. Maybe not, though. For now, it's Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds. I'll do anywhere from 3-5 miles, with resistance training after I get Young One on the bus. And I'm done. This works for me. The key is just to get moving, right? I don't have trouble with the moving, just getting to the point where I start moving. That's always been my challenge.

You feel so good after working out, you'd think that would be more of a motivator. But, I could think of any number of excuses why I shouldn't. They're pretty funny and at some point, I should write them down.

Merriam Webster (http://www.m-w.com/ remember real dictionaries?) defines to waffle as flip-flopping or vacillating. I have another definition. In my book, to waffle is to eat crisp breakfast confections, pulled from a piping iron, and drizzled with real maple syrup hopefully with French pressed coffee and a Sunday paper on the side.

I came up with this recipe, inspired by the gals over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I've gained 3 pounds just reading their recipes! Such talented cooks. I've been able to successfully convert many of their recipes to Weight Watchers without a problem. Their pictures, stories, and recipes have inspired me to create many of my own and for that, I am very grateful.

Here's my version of Waffled French Toast. I don't think we'll ever eat it any other way!

Waffled French Toast

Each 2 ounce slice, lightly dipped in egg custard, is approximately 4 Weight Watchers Points.

One loaf of Kings Hawaiian Bread
1 cup egg substitute or egg whites
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
real maple syrup--no substitute

Preheat waffle iron. Slice Hawaiian bread into 2 ounce slices. Mix egg, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Spray waffle iron with nonstick spray. Dip bread into custard, flipping quickly and allow bread to drip excess back into dish. Place on waffle iron, close, and allow to cook until steam stops and bread is cooked through and browned. Serve with fruit and drizzle one tablespoon of real maple syrup over it.

Breakfast of Champions

Once again, I got the eye roll from Young One when I was taking pictures of my breakfast. He just thinks it's hysterical and more than a little bit weird that I take pictures of food. And, when you really think about it, it is.

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. It packs in a few serving of fruit, a dairy serving, and some fiber. Best of all, it takes seconds to throw together and it's delicious. The Weight Watchers Points value depends on what kind of fruit, yogurt, and granola you use, so I didn't include the calculation for the bowl of goodness I pictured above.

I'm not even going to create a formal recipe. You don't need it, right? It's just a big bowl of mixed, fresh fruit topped with your favorite yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farm Organic Fat Free Lotsa Lemon), and a sprinkle of low fat granola. I think it's a rule somewhere that every breakfast should be accompanied by a huge cup of coffee or two. I'm not a rule breaker, in fact, I'm a bit of an overachiever. I'm working on cup number three right now.

Oven Baked Breakfast

There are many versions of baked oatmeal out there on the web. This is one of my favorites because it doesn't require making it the night before. Oatmeal is one of our favorite winter breakfasts. I especially love steel cut oats--think it's my Scottish heritage since they are also called Scottish oats.

Baked Oatmeal

Serves 6 at 5 WW Points per serving.

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan. Combine all ingredients together.
Spread in prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Immediately spoon into a bowl. Top with warm milk, fresh fruit or brown sugar if desired.

Citrus French Toast

Citrus French Toast

In honor of the Sunshine State that I'm currently visiting, I offer you this recipe. I absolutely love the orange marmalade glaze that accompanies it. Super easy, make it ahead and enjoy a simply fabulous breakfast.

1 loaf French baguette bread

1 1/2 cup Egg Beaters Egg Beaters

2 cup fat-free skim milk

3/4 cup fat-free half and half

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

9 Tbsp orange marmalade

Spray casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut French bread into 9 slices and layer in pan. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.Preheat oven to 350.Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Heat marmalade in microwave until warm. Cut into 9 servings, top each with 1 Tbsp warm marmalade.1 serving = 4 points

I'm a Little Bit Crunchy

I was called a tree-hugger recently and secretly, I was a little pleased, but also I found it pretty funny. I'm not a typical tree-hugger. I live in the 'burbs. I don't wear clothing made of hemp or attend protests. I'm not Vegan and I don't drive a hybrid. Yes, stereotypes these are, but I think the name tree hugger in itself is a stereotype. We've just got to think of a better name. Hugging trees can lead to bark scratches on your face; a look I find rather unpleasant.

I was raised to respect our environment. That phrase, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints" was family law, but we didn't use that cutesy phrase. My dad would have choked on it. Hey, I choke on it, but if it works, so be it.

I've been known to delve into other people's garbage to take out recyclables. I limit my carbon footprint (another little catch phrase that I think is stupid). I don't buy bottled water. I've been bringing my own shopping bags to the market for years (thankfully, people rarely stare now!) I don't use my car very much and when I do, I combine trips as much as possible.

I do everything I can to make sure that my son's world will be better than my own. It's the tree-hugger name that I don't like. It lends this sort of us versus them feeling. It labels like minded people with something that isn't very well received by other folks. In fact, it's getting just as big of a rap as liberal now is. I think there's got to be another title that isn't quite as polarizing. I'm a wordie. I love to play with words and I can't for the life of me come up with another title. What I want is a word that means, I'm not an extremist, I'm just doing the best I can to limit my impact on the world without being political, vegetarian, a hippie, a Birkenstock wearing mom who makes her kid eat Kefir and Tofu, or a radical. Environmentalist is a whole mouthful and doesn't quite hit it.

If anyone can think of a word for those of us who don't quite fit into the tree hugger mold, let me know. I, for once, am speechless.

Crunchy Granola

Finally, a lighter version of granola, which those of us who are watching what we eat know can be a major diet breaker. Granola, so called health-food, is typically full of fat and calories. This granola recipe still provides high flavored crunch with less fat and calories and comes in at 3 Weight Watchers Points per serving.


3 cup(s) rolled oats
3 cup(s) ready-to-eat puffed rice cereal
1 cup(s) Perky's Nutty Rice Cereal (in your Natural foods section) or Post Grape-Nuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Syrup:
2/3 cup(s) unpacked brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup(s) water
1 TB real almond extract
1 TB real vanilla extract

After baking:
1 cup(s) raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries

Place brown sugar, cinnamon, and water in a saucepan, heat over medium high heat until almost boiling. While heating, place oats, cereals, and nuts in a large, greased baking pan. Mix to combine dry ingredients. Once almost boiling, remove syrup from heat and stir in flavoring extracts. Pour syrup over dry ingredients and granola well to combine. Press with back of spoon to form some granola clumps (the technical term for this is smooshing). Bake at 300 degrees stirring often until toasted, about 30 -40 minutes. Cool on wax paper. Stir in raisins and dried cherries.

I like to bag this recipe in individual 1/2 cup servings to keep portion control easy. Young One loves to take this to school as a snack. It's wonderful as a stand alone snack and great with yogurt or fresh fruit and yogurt.

Dear Diary

I had a bright red diary with a gold lock on it. Maybe it was green and I wanted a red one. I think Anne Frank's diary was red. Yep, I'm now officially old enough to not remember what color my childhood diary was. It's in a box of memories somewhere in the house. I really need to go look for it again. I do know for sure it had a gold lock on it. I kept the key in my desk drawer. Probably not the most brilliant of hiding places, especially having two older brothers who were quite savvy at figuring out my hiding places. I wonder if they read it. Hmmm. I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that.

It was a great diary. I tried to keep it updated as often as I could, but I wasn't really good at it. Those times that I did sit down with it were usually filled with angst. Somebody had done me wrong or some pre-teen boy wouldn't pay attention to me. It's pretty much a record of my woes. I didn't often turn to it in times of celebration.

Throughout my diary, I tried out different handwriting. Sometimes I dotted my i's with circles, sometimes hearts, sometimes, in a fit of creativity, I made smiley faces. I practiced my latest crush's last name as my married name. Mrs. Michael Jackson was repeated a few times along with some blurbs about how much our age difference wouldn't have mattered. Every once in a while, I put PhD at the end of my name.

Does anyone actually write a diary anymore? Do they even sell these little books with the locks? I ask because when I found my childhood diary in my thirties, I was almost more interested in my handwriting, the color of the pen that I chose, the stickers and scribblings in the margins as I talked on the phone-- all of these things that can't be seen in blogging. Will today's teenagers be without these historical documents from which they can later, analyze these years of their lives? Will they have any little snippets of their handwriting or their doodling?

One particularly picky teacher of Young One's once commented on his handwriting and that it wasn't his best work. Seems to me he was in first grade. My answer to her, "Well, he's only 6, so I think he has time to perfect it. AND who cares? These kids aren't going to write anyway." I admit, it was the mother lion in me responding to a person who felt she needed to find SOMETHING to pick on (and she WAS a pain in the arse teacher)--but, really. These kids aren't going to write. How many of us hand write anything anymore? In another generation, they'll probably have implantable keyboards on their knees.

I remember one particularly angst-ridden entry in my diary just as clear as it was yesterday. It was all about my Home-Ec teacher and how she criticized my Balloon Rolls. It got me thinking, just what the heck were balloon rolls. Oh yes, a delectable concoction comprised of refrigerator biscuits (those bizarre creations found in tubes), marshmallows, and cinnamon and sugar. I think she was upset with me because I didn't grease my pan and the roll's caramel center leaked and burnt, leaving permanent stains on the pans. We had a horrible nickname for her that I won't repeat here, but it was dead on! Poor teachers who have names that rhyme with bodily functions. She also criticized my sewing--apparently, you have to trim all the loose threads inside your horridly put together duffel bag that you're never going to use anyway because it's so hideous. Once again, I'm rambling.

I'm sharing the recipe for Balloon Rolls here. They're not complicated or gourmet cuisine, but they're easy enough that your kids can put them together and taste like a treat that took much longer to make. They're fun to make at a cabin or on a sleepy Sunday morning. And I bet you could make them in a Dutch oven over a campfire. Who doesn't love cinnamon, sugar, butter, and hydrogenated oils? I make Young One open the biscuit tube--the anticipation of the pop just pushes me over the edge.

Balloon Rolls

Serves 10 at 3 WW Points each. The marshmallows disappear making a caramel-like center.

3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated biscuits
10 large marshmallows
1/4 cup butter melted


Combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Flatten biscuits. Roll marshmallows in butter and then in cinnamon-sugar. place one marshmallow on top of each biscuit; wrap biscuit around marshmallows and pinch seams. Place seam side down on greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. I dip in more cinnamon and sugar once they're just warm to the touch (painting with melted butter to make it stick).

Grab and Go Breakfast

Getting out the door in the morning quickly is D's most difficult challenge. Getting a healthy breakfast into him is mine. If I only bought Golden Graham cereal from now until eternity, he would grab a bowl every morning and down it without thinking. Chase it with coffee in a commuter cup and he'd be good to go.

He's always enjoyed a good drive through breakfast sandwich. Out of all the offerings out there, McDonald's Egg McMuffin is a pretty good choice, coming in at about 7 Weight Watchers Points. Homemade is always better, though. It's healthier, I know just what has gone into it, it's cheaper, and best of all, they're only 4 WW Points a piece! Simply assemble, wrap, freeze, and zap in the microwave for a great grab and go breakfast.

I think I'm going to make them with WW bagels next time. The combination possibilities are endless. A protein packed breakfast keeps you fuller longer too.

Grab and Go Breakfast Sandwiches

4 Weight Watchers Points per Sandwich

One package Weight Watchers English Muffins (or Thomas Light)

1 1/2 cups egg substitute, any flavor

6 slices very lean Canadian Bacon

6 Weight Watchers cheese singles

Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13 inch pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or use large muffin tins for round egg patties (1/4 cup per tin), pour in egg substitute. Bake until set and very firm, about 15 minutes. Turn on broiler. Split English muffins and place on a baking sheet. Watching carefully, broil until lightly toasted. Let muffins and eggs cool until room temperature. Cut egg into 6 large squares. On squares of wax paper (I like to use the Press and Seal Wrap), place bottom of muffin, a square of egg, a slice of Canadian Bacon, and a slice or cheese. Top with muffin top, and wrap tightly. Place in a freezer zipper bag and freeze until ready to use.

You may pull out the night before and place in the refrigerator to thaw slightly. Or defrost for a bit in your microwave. We have just zapped them on high until hot in the center, but this can make the outsides tough. Just experiment with your microwave (everyone has a different wattage) and you'll soon figure out how to quickly heat them.

I always make at least a dozen of these in several flavors.

If you really miss the drive thru experience, you can always have your spouse hand it to you through your car window!