Food NA·RC

I recently found an amazing Oatmeal Banana Bread recipe on a blog that I read Peanut Butter Fingers.  Julie always posts simple and healthy restaurants that I enjoy. Plus, her blog has tons of peanut butter recipes – straight to my heart!

This recipe doesn’t have any peanut butter in it, but it is really great. You can see the original recipe for a Mini Oatmeal Banana bread here.  I made a larger one and added chocolate chips because to me banana bread isn’t complete until you add chocolate chips. Who knows…maybe I will experiment next time and add peanut butter next time (Marc doesn’t like peanut butter and chocolate, so the bread would be all mine. haha).

This banana bread is dense and very suitable for breakfast! There is no sugar (aside from the chocolate chips I added), butter or oil. Don’t expect it to taste like regular banana bread, but it is pretty damn good in its own right. Thanks Peanut Butter Fingers!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

Note: I didn’t have 4 eggs, so I altered the recipe for 3 eggs. Your bread will turn out thicker.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Stir oats, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Add in mashed banana and egg white and mix with a mixer until everything is combined and no clumps of banana remain.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour batter into pan.

Bake 15-18  minutes, until loaf is set and springs back when touched lightly on top.

Marc and I have been taking this to work for an afternoon snack and sweet fix. Delicious!

We all love Google and they even have a recipe section, but sometimes you want a search engine that’s 100% recipes. It displays the recipes nicely too. (link)

Really? Searing meat is a myth? My mind is blown.

However, in the book On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee finally makes a direct comparison between a seared piece of meat and an un-seared piece, both cooked with identical methods. The result was that the seared piece of meat actually retained fewer juices than the un-seared piece, and at the very least the searing did nothing to preserve the moisture inside the meat.

It also seems like dairy isn’t the only thing that’s good for your bones. (link)

I finally tried to make Kale Chips! It was a complete success, although I will probably make a few changes next time. Kale is a super food, packed full of vitamins. So, if you generally like greens and you LOVE chips (a big weakness for me. Marc has much more self control), then give this snack food a try!

It was pretty easy, just a little time consuming. No real labour involved, you just need to be around to watch them and transfer a few rounds into the oven. Then again, most people probably don’t have to do this, but Marc and I have a VERY tiny oven. It is seriously tiny. I can only fit one baking sheet in at a time and even that is pushing it. We also have a VERY tiny fridge. I have heard they are called “apartment size,” but I have lived in 7 different apartments and I have yet to see anything quite like it. They are also really old and the knobs on the stove are reversed in comparison to more contemporary stoves. I have burnt a few things, but I am slowly getting used to it. The only plus is that I can boil a part of water in like 1.5 minutes. No joke – they made these appliances to last and perform.

When I was looking for a good Kale Chip recipe I couldn’t find one that I felt I could really love – especially in terms of the seasoning. So, I decided to combine a few different recipes.

For the basic instructions I used a recipe from Kath Eats Real Food. This is great blog I have been reading for awhile and I seriously covet all of her meals! She makes nutrition easy and delicious! The recipe she used was very easy. I just made a few changes with the technique and seasoning. Marc and I LOVE garlic. When a recipe calls for 1 clove, we put in 3.  We must smell al the time!  So, it was only fitting that our first attempt at Kale Chips had to include garlic seasoning.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of kale (organic preferred)
• 2-3 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• garlic powder
• sea or kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Wash the kale, remove the stems and break into (chip-sized) peices. Use a salad spinner to dry the Kale. It is really important that the Kale is completely dry before baking because your chips will get soggy.

Put the kale into a large bowl and coat with 1-2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil. The kale needs to be lightly and evenly coated. If you notice parts that don’t have oil use your handles to rub it in.

Spread the Kale on a baking sheet and season with salt and garlic powder.

Bake for 15 minutes (do not turn them over). Be sure to watch them around 12-13 minutes (it really depends on your oven). You will know they are done when the edges become crispy and they slide easily when you move the baking sheet. Or, if they are crispy to touch. Don’t let them get too dark (very dark green or black) because they will taste bitter.

You can use whatever seasoning you want. I think I am going to try parmesan cheese and salt next. Yum! Marc and I have been snacking on these chips all week.  I think they are going to be a staple in our house.

Happy Healthy Snacking!

I know I have an issue with stains on my cutting board, which is why I now use a dark board. That being said, I have used this trick and it does work. Just be sure to do the whole board and not just a section of it like I did because now the other ‘dark patches’ that I didn’t clean stand out. (link)

I love muffins. When I was little my Mom used to make chocolate chip or oatmeal muffins as treat. I loved the days I would wake up to the smell of muffins (on a school day too!).  I would race downstairs to warm muffins, slice on open and top it with butter. Heaven. Now, I prefer my muffins with out butter (or at least this is what I tell myself).

I found this recipe Fit Sugar. Don’t expect these to taste as delicious and cakey as regular muffins. But, if you are looking for a healthy muffin that is super moist and packed full of fruit…this is your recipe.

I made two changes from the recipe on Fit Sugar.  I did not have mini-muffin tins, so I used a regular sized tray. I do really think that these muffins need to be bite sized though. They come out so moist that it would be easier to eat them if they were smaller. Plus, who doesn’t love mini-food! I also replaced 1/2 cup of white sugar with 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I love brown sugar and it is sweeter than white sugar so you don’t need to use as much. Regardless, I think you can cut the sugar a bit because the fruit makes it really sweet.

Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 apple (organic preferred)
• 1 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups wheat flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• paper muffin cups or vegetable oil to grease the pan.

Directions:

Preheat oven at 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl mash up the bananas with a fork.

Peel and cube the able and add to the banana mixture.

Add the egg, cranberries, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well with a fork.

Add the flour and sugar, and stir until the mixture is moist.

Spoon batter into muffin tins.

Bake for 20 minutes. They will be sort of spongy to the touch when they are done. If  you aren’t sure if they have cooked through, insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean they are done.

I liked these muffins (Marc loved them), but I think next time I may try a banana chocolate chip combo. What can I say…my mom ruined me with her amazing chocolate chip muffins as a kid. haha.

I may also try subbing the sugar for honey or maple syrup. But, that can get tricky since I will have to cut the liquid or the banana.