Bananananananana Bread! April 28, 2009

By popular demand – my new, low fat, low sugar all taste Banana Bread recipe!

It's low fat and high fiber, but I won't tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 danged ripe bananas, mashed very well
• 1/4 cup oil (such as canola)
• 5 tbsp vanilla yogurt (I use the fat free, sugar free kind)
• 3/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute, such as splenda, if you’re diabetic, like my dad)
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 2 eggs, or 1/4 + 1/8 cup liquid egg whites
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Mix together mashed bananas, sugar, vanilla, oil, yogurt, egg whites (or eggs) & vanilla in a bowl
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt in another bowl
3. Pour dry ingredients into the wet, all at once, stirring until moistened, but not over-mixing.
4. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Enjoy!

Seriously, this is a deadly simple recipe, takes all of 10 minutes to put together (including mashing the bananas), and is full of fiber and healthy goodness!

I took a standard banana bread recipe, and lowered the fat by using egg whites in place of eggs, replacing half the oil with yogurt, and adding more banana in place of buttermilk. Because the yogurt I use is sweetened, I also reduced the sugar so it wouldn’t be too sweet. However, if you want to use unsweetened Greek yogurt, or you may want to increase the sugar back up to a full cup.

You can also add things to really make this yummy – try a cup of sultana raisins, chopped pecans, or even… peanut butter chips. The thought of peanut butter, cinnamon and banana together is seriously amazing.

Someone make this and stir in a cup of peanut butter chips and let me know how it turns out!

Spicy Sechzwan Turkey Hash April 27, 2009

This is a quick riff on sechzwan eggplant, and is very tasty! Make as spicy or as mild as you like. If you follow my directions, you might find it too hot.

Supplies:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 onion, sliced
125 grams ground turkey
1 medium zucchini chopped
2 small heads baby bok choy, greens separated from the stalks
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tbsp Thai chili sauce
1 tbsp black bean sauce

Method:
1) saute garlic, onion and ground turkey until turkey is mostly cooked
2) add Thai chili sauce, black bean sauce, zucchini, and the stalks of the bok choy and stir until mostly cooked.
3) add tops of bok choy and sprouts, cook until wilted.
4) devour!

OMG Curry April 14, 2009

I admit, I love curry. I have three different types of curry powder in my cupboard right now. My current favourite is a tikka Marsala mix. Very hot, but so good and slightly sweet due to the addition of Ginger and cloves. Anyhow, feel free to use these veggies, or substitute whatever you have on hand. My ingredients were chosen because they were almost bad, and I didn’t want to waste them.

Supplies:
1 medium Japanese eggplant, slightly old. Bad spots removed, and remaining eggplant chopped into 1 cm cubes.
2/3 of a tomato, diced
2 green onions, chopped
300 ml water
1 cube stock (veggie or chicken)
1/2 tsp curry powder (more or less, to your taste)
1 tsp thickener, such as corn starch (I used tapioca, cause it’s what I had.)
1 heaping tbsp sour cream

Method:
Sautee eggplant and onion in a frying pan until halfway cooked.
Add curry powder, stir for about 30 seconds.
Add water, cube of stock and tomato.
Turn heat to about 3/10, and cook until the liquid reduces a bit.
Add thickener and cook until thickened.
Stir in sour cream and you’re done!!

Serves 1 in a big bowl, or 2 over rice.