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Pumpkin Banana Bread

October 24, 2011 ·

An overabundance of overripe bananas is never a bad thing.  We all know those little black bananas mean that in the near future, some sort of banana treat will be made.  Banana bread is always a safe bet, but this time of year I find myself wanting to make something with pumpkin as well.  What better way to combine the two than to make Pumpkin Banana Bread.   

This Pumpkin Banana Bread is very easy to make.  Made with part whole wheat flour and less sugar, it becomes a healthier option.  The bananas add natural sweetness, which along with the pumpkin, yield a moist and delicious bread.  It’s not quite banana bread and not quite pumpkin bread, but a delightful combination of the two.     

Pumpkin Banana Bread
Yields 3 small loaves

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon brown sugar (for topping, optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping, optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 3 small loaf pans with cooking spray.  Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. 
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla. 
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the banana-pumpkin mixture, and gently fold until combined.  
  5. If using, combine sugar and cinnamon for topping. 
  6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired.  Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove bread from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.   

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    Adapted from Low Fat Cooking @ About.com

    Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,
    healthy chocolate peanut butter oat coconut bites

    Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

    October 5, 2011 ·

     

    healthy peanut butter balls | alidaskitchen.com

    Healthy Peanut Butter Balls are an addictive, no-bake snack, made from simple ingredients found in your pantry.  

    It is no secret that I love peanut butter.  So you can imagine my excitement when I was selected to participate in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with the National Peanut Board.  The task was to create a snack recipe using peanut butter and incorporating other ingredients found in most homes. Easy enough!

    I wanted to make something healthy, convenient and easy.  I also wanted to make something with oats.  It was time to roll up my sleeves, grab ingredients from the pantry and experiment.

    healthy chocolate peanut butter oatmeal coconut bites

    After adding a little here, a touch there,…voila! I finally got the results I was looking for, using simple wholesome ingredients found in my pantry.

    This healthy snack could not be any easier to make. The recipe requires no baking; simply measure, mix, roll and chill. The mixture may seem a little dry at first, but as you continue to mix it comes together (or add a little more honey or peanut butter to moisten the mixture to a consistency that works for you). Rolling the balls in a coating as optional. It makes the balls a little less sticky on the fingers, and also is a fun way to vary the flavors, but it is not necessary.

    Healthy Peanut Butter Balls are a healthy and delicious snack, or even a quick breakfast on-the-go, featuring one of my favorite foods of all time…peanut butter!

    Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
     
    Print
    Yields: 16-18 balls
    Ingredients
    • 1 cup peanut butter, natural is preferred (chunky or creamy)
    • 2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed or wheat germ
    • 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut
    • cocoa powder, wheat germ, powdered sugar, chopped peanuts, (optional) – for coating
    Instructions
    1. Heat peanut butter and honey in the microwave until easily mixed, about 15-20 seconds. Stir until blended.
    2. In a separate bowl, mix oats, flaxseed and coconut (if using) until combined.
    3. Add peanut butter mixture to oat mixture and stir until incorporated. (Mixture may seem a little dry at first…just keep mixing).
    4. Form a rounded tablespoonful of the combined mixture into a ball and place on a plate. Repeat until all mixture is used. Now, if you do not want to coat the balls, skip to step 6.
    5. Roll each ball in whatever coating suits your preference. Cocoa powder, powdered sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon sugar and chopped peanuts are some ideas.

    Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was provided with 2 jars of Planters peanut butter, from the National Peanut Board, for free.  The details of my experience are exclusively my opinion, and I was not otherwise influenced or compensated.

    Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, healthy, kid-friendly, Popular, Recipes, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

    Brown Sugar Brownies

    September 26, 2011 ·

    Back in college, I had a recipe for Brown Sugar Brownies.  They were honestly the best brownies I’ve ever had (aside from my grandmother’s of course). I still remember them, but that was ages ago, and sadly my dear recipe is long gone.  Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was in the middle of baking and ran out of brown sugar.  Mike went on an emergency brown sugar run for me.  When he set the bag down on the counter, it happened to be recipe-side up (hmm…do you think that was intentional?).  What did I see?  Brown Sugar Brownies!

    Quick and easy to prepare, this recipe makes a delicious brownie that is more fudgy than cakey.  In fact, they are light and airy and almost melt in your mouth.  Now, I used dark chocolate that I received from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Ghiardelli.  This would be delicious using unsweetened per the original recipe, but I was pleasantly susprised at the results with what I used.  I also used light butter, which has half the fat and calories of regular butter.  I like using light butter when I can, because if it works why not, right? 

    Now for the best part.  If I told you these brownies were under 115 calories each, would you believe it?  I hardly believed it myself!  I did the calculation a few days after making them (and after I had already eaten a few bars).  I was eating half a brownie each time because I expected they would come in a lot higher.   I did the calculation once, checked it again.  It’s true.  These babies clock in around 112!

    Brown Sugar Brownies
    Yields 16 brownies

    1/2 cup (1 stick) light butter, melted and cooled
    1 cup brown sugar
    2 eggs
    2 ounces unsweetened OR dark chocolate (such as Ghirardelli Twilight Delight), melted, cooled slightly
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1/2 cup all-purpose flour
    powdered sugar (optional)

    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
    2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until combined.
    3. Beat in eggs, adding one at at time. 
    4. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla.
    5. Gently fold in flour, until combined.
    6. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely.  Cut into squares, and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

    Adapted from back of sugar bag (recipe found here here)

    Disclaimer: While this is not my formal write up of my experience with Ghirardelli chocolate, I feel obligated to disclose the following:  “As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was provided with Ghirardelli chocolate for free.  The details of my experience are exclusively my opinion, and I was not otherwise influenced or compensated.”  I will be sharing a full write up of my experience later this week. 

    Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

    Brown Sugar Coconut Blueberry Muffins

    September 23, 2011 ·

    The hunt for tasty ways to use the remainder of our blueberries continues.  It’s not a bad problem to have, that’s for sure.  We have been happily enjoying Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, lots of blueberries in Greek yogurt, and many other treats.  But it was time to make something new.  I already have several blueberry muffin recipes that I love, but when I found a blueberry muffin recipe using brown sugar and buttermilk, I knew it would become an instant favorite.

    While the recipe looked nearly perfect as-is, I decided to add a little twist and use coconut oil instead of canola oil.  This was my first time using coconut oil, but I had high hopes it would be the perfect addition to these muffins.

    The coconut oil imparts a delicious coconut flavor to the muffins, which works beautifully with the tangy blueberries.  The muffins are incredibly moist as well.  Score for the coconut oil, and score for another fantastic recipe for blueberry muffins!

    Brown Sugar Coconut Blueberry Muffins
     
    Print
    Yields: 12 muffins
    Ingredients
    • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
    • 1½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
    • ⅓ cup coconut oil (or canola oil)
    • ⅓ cup buttermilk
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
    • 2 teaspoons brown sugar, for topping
    • 2 teaspoons sweetened flaked coconut, for topping
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
    2. In a large bowl, stir flour, sugar and baking powder.
    3. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
    4. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined.
    5. Gently fold in blueberries.
    6. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a sprinkle of coconut.
    7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

    Brown Sugar Coconut Blueberry Muffins
    Yields 12 muffins

    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    3/4 cup packed brown sugar
    1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
    1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola oil)
    1/3 cup buttermilk
    2 large eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
    2 teaspoons brown sugar, for topping
    2 teaspoons sweetened flaked coconut, for topping

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
    2. In a large bowl, stir flour, sugar and baking powder.
    3. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
    4. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined.
    5. Gently fold in blueberries.
    6. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups.  Top each muffin with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a sprinkle of coconut.
    7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

    Adapted from Babble

    Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

    Triple Chocolate Malted Cookies

    September 6, 2011 ·

    The baby was asleep. The husband was out to dinner. What’s a girl to do? Make Triple Chocolate Malted Cookies, of course!

    I haven’t made cookies in ages, and these just happen to be one of Mike’s favorites. Actually, after one bite, they quickly become everybody’s favorite. These cookies are soft, chewy, and chocolaty with a hint of malted milk flavor.

    The dough is quite sticky, but becomes much more managable after chilling it in the refrigerator. It is also key to either line your cookie sheet, or spray it with cooking spray. Otherwise the cookies have a tendency to stick. 

    Despite the minor challenges presesented by a sticky dough, these cookies are worth every effort. They are delicious and the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of milk!

    Triple Chocolate Malted Cookies
    Yields approximately 30 cookies

    1 cup brown sugar, packed
    6 tablespoons chocolate malted milk powder
    5 tablespoons butter, softened
    3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
    1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    1 large egg
    2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
    1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

    1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, malted milk powder, butter, syrup, vanilla and egg; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
    2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda.  Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, stirring (or beating at low speed) until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
    3. Chill dough for 30 minutes to overnight.
    4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    5. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  [Cookies will appear puffy when first taken out of the oven]  Cool on pan for 2 minutes or until firm.  Remove cookies and cool on a wire rack.

    Adapted from Cooking Light

    Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

    Zucchini Bread

    August 24, 2011 ·

    Childhood summers, playing in the vegetable garden, my 3rd birthday “cake”, that’s what this zucchini bread tastes like. 

    Throughout my childhood, my parents had a vegetable garden.  I remember they grew cucumbers, green beans, various other vegetables, and of course zucchini.  Zucchini plants are the gift that keeps on giving.  Even better, lots of zucchini meant lots of delicious zucchini bread!

    My mom said she got this recipe from an old relative of my dad’s.  Isn’t that the way it is…the greatest recipes are the old tried and trues?  Classic zucchini bread…one of the best simple pleasures.

    Zucchini Bread
    Yields 4 small loaves

    3 eggs, lightly beaten
    1 cup canola oil
    2 cups granulated sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 cups grated zucchini (with peel)
    3 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups all-purpose and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour)
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    dash of salt
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    Cooking spray

    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray 4 small loaf pans with cooking spray (or grease/flour).  Set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Sift dry ingredients.
    3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Add zucchini and stir until combined.
    4. Fold the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until combined (do not over mix).
    5. Evenly distribute batter among 4 small loaf pans and bake for 60-70 minutes.  Let cool in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

     

    Filed Under: bread, breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

    July 20, 2011 ·
    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins from Alida's Kitchen
    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins are a healthy muffin recipe made with buttermilk, brown sugar and topped with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.  

    When I boldly declared Whole Wheat  Peanut Butter Muffins as my favorite muffin of all time, Mike was not surprised in the least.  Not only do they have peanut butter, which I love, but they also have brown sugar and buttermilk, two of my favorite baking ingredients. Chocolate chips and chopped peanuts don’t hurt either. 🙂

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

    Today I am sharing with you a muffin recipe that I thought was lost forever. Many years ago, I bought a bag of whole wheat flour, and featured on the back was a recipe for peanut butter muffins.  I decided to give the recipe a try and was blown away. The muffins tasted just like a peanut butter sandwich only in muffin form. They were incredible.

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

    Fast forward years later, after many moves, the recipe sadly got lost in the shuffle. Until now! I googled away and found my beloved recipe at A Tasteful Garden. I had all of the ingredients on hand, so immediately got to work.

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

    I decided to swap canola oil for butter and add chopped peanuts on top.  I also used mini chocolate chips.  I like that with small chips, it seems as though you get more chocolate per bite.  As with most quick breads made with whole wheat flour, these muffins are dense and hearty.  I find they are best enjoyed with a big glass of milk.

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

    These muffins are even better than I remembered, and now thankfully will never be lost again!

    Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins
     
    Print
    Yields: 12 muffins
    Ingredients
    • 2¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
    • ¼ cup canola oil
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • ¾ cup peanut butter
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 large eggs
    • ¾ cup buttermilk
    • 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (optional)
    • ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, for topping (optional)
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with cooking spray or muffin liners. Set aside.
    2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
    3. Cream together the oil and brown sugar. Add the peanut butter and mix until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Scrape sides of the bowl often to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
    4. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and mix until moistened. Add half of the buttermilk, mix until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and remaining buttermilk. Fold in chocolate chips, if using.
    5. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if using. Bake until golden brown, 22-24 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool completely.

    Adapted from King Arthur Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins, found on A Tasteful Garden

    Filed Under: breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,