Food In Many Forms

I found about 10 bananas on the back shelf of my freezer, so naturally, I made lots and lots of banana bread. Do you sense a theme this week?! I'll give you a hint - it's food found in the depths of my freezer. I thought I should be healthy or something, and I bought sprouted wheat flour to use in this recipe. It was VERY WHEATY , and not really an improvement in my opinion, so the recipe and nutrition analysis below uses all-purpose flour. Oddly, when I changed the flour in the recipe from whole wheat to all-purpose, it added vitamins because the white flour is enriched - funny how that works out sometimes. Additionally, the fancy flour cost more than a dollar more in this recipe . Definitely going to stick with all-purpose flour on this one. But I toasted up the bread with a little butter and it was pretty darn good with a cup of coffee on this cold, snowy morning ! Ingredients : 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon fine grain salt ½ teaspoon baking so...

Banana, Kale, and Almond Milk Smoothie In a blender, puree 1 medium  banana , 1 cup chopped  kale , and 1 cup  almond milk  until smooth. 201 calories | 5 g fiber | 5 g protein | 4 g fat We made these smoothies at work on Monday as part of an Employee Health Fair during Commitment Week. It generated a lot of great discussion, but people were not too eager to try it because of the strong kale smell and the bright green color.  We also used 2% milk because we didn't have almond milk, and a lot of people were hesitant to try it because they were lactose intolerant.  Next time we make smoothies, I want experiment with almond milk or soy milk, try using spinach and experiment with a combination of fruits.  

It's nurse's week this week, so on my day off, I decided to bake the nurses on my floor a cake. This banana cake is one of my favorite ways to use up overripe bananas, but it was also great with the fresh bananas I bought at the store today. I made it healthier by using Splenda in the cake and only using 2/3 of the recommended amount of oil. I also made cupcakes with the caramelized bananas on the bottom to keep for myself :) Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake  Rachel Ray Magazine, December 2009 Ingredients: 3 to 4 large bananas 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup baking splenda 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, in 1 piece 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 oz vegetable oil Directions: 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 5-by-9 loaf pan. Trim both ends off each of 3 bananas to fit crosswise in the pan; reserve the...

While working for a group in Baltimore Public Schools, my partner and I had to come up with recipes that could be made with foods found at the corner store and little or no pans or appliances. After doing some research at the local 7-Eleven, this is what we came up with and it has a lot of potential I think. Materials 2 Bananas 6 oz low-fat or fat-free yogurt in the flavor of your choice Two paper plates or plastic container Popsicle sticks, chopsticks (optional) Toppings, such as granola, cereal, crushed pretzels, peanuts, chocolate syrup Directions: Peel the bananas and cut them in half horizontally. Insert popsicle sticks or chopsticks in the bottom of the bananas at this time. Place bananas on the plate or container and spoon yogurt over top, until covered. Sprinkle your favorite toppings over the yogurt. Use your creativity! Cover with second plate or lid and place in freezer until firm (3-4 hours)...

If given the choice to eat 4 overripe bananas or make them into a cake - I would make them into a cake every time. This recipe was so much fun to try with my boyfriend and I was happy to have the extra hands when we were preparing the caramel. As a general rule, I like to cut the fat in half in my baking recipes - it almost never has an effect on the flavor. The butter may be needed for the caramel sauce, but the vegetable oil can definitely be cut in half from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup. Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake  Rachel Ray Magazine, December 2009 Ingredients: 3 to 4 large bananas 3/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, in 1 piece 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegetable oil Directions: 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 5-by-9 loaf pan. Trim both ends off each of 3 bananas to...