I had some bananas laying around and thought I would give a new recipe a try. Everyone in our house loves banana bread. I found this recipe to be interesting because it is actually called Vegetable-Nut-Bread. I found this in an article on Yahoo! called Sneak in Veggies! 7 Ways to Trick Anyone (Yourself Included) into Eating Greens. It had some great ideas in it. I am as guilty as a lot of people when it comes to eating my veggies. I do it, but do not always like it. For me reading recipes is like reading a feel good book. I love to see what others are putting together. I would consider myself to be a cookbook junkie. This I have my mom to thank for, she had a love for cooking and cookbooks as well. I collect all kinds, but my favorites are the ones that have a story behind the recipe or the type of food. One of my favorites is called Cajun-Creole Cooking by Terry Thompson. It tells the story behind the food, about the people, when and why it's served. This leads me to my second favorite type, the ones from small communities. The older books that are from the area I grew up in contain a lot of food I grew up on, I have very fond memories of this.
This bread was great hit in my house. I hope you try it and let me know what you think! I will post the original recipe after mine for anyone that would like to give that a try as well! I plan on trying it, again, I just used what I had on hand.
Banana Nut Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup orange or apple juice or milk
1 egg
1 cup banana (about 2 banana's), mashed with fork
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan butter or spray it with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
In another bowl whisk together the juice, butter, and egg. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just enough to moisten; do not beat and do not mix until the batter is smooth. Add the bananas and the nuts, then pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Makes 1 loaf.
Vegetable-and-Nut Bread
For this loaf, I used grated raw sweet potato and chopped walnuts. You could alternatively bake the batter as muffins: Prepare as directed, then divide among 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 400°F for 20 to 30 minutes. Adapted from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman.
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into pieces
3/4 cup orange or apple juice or milk
grated zest of an orange or lemon
1 egg
1 cup any raw fruit or vegetable: small berries left whole, anything else peeled and grated or chopped (I used grated sweet potato)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter or spray it with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a fork, pastry blender or your fingers, until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea. (You can use a food processor for this step, which makes it quite easy, but you should not use a food processor for the remaining steps or the bread will be tough.)
In another bowl whisk together the juice, zest and egg. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just enough to moisten; do not beat and do not mix until the batter is smooth. Fold in the fruit and the nuts, then pour and spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Makes 1 loaf.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tasty Breakfast
I have a blog/podcast that I follow, Leigh Peele, which I absolutely LOVE! I have learned so much about nutrition, calorie counting, & exercise from listening to her, she ROCKS! On her blog she shares recipes from time to time and the last one was a quick and easy egg sandwich, she also has a step by step video as well if you want to check it out. It is great, super filling and quick and easy to make. Like many recipes I make, I never quite have the same thing on hand, so I use what I have and see how it works. This recipe is no different. I will post what I did different, but eventually will try it her way. I ate this paired this with a 3oz banana and a cup of coffee around 8am and was still not hungry by 1pm. It is usually more calories than I consume at breakfast, but it is filling and I didn’t need a snack before lunch.
The Perfect Egg Sandwich
3 Large Eggs (whites)
25g Smart Balance Light “Butter”
30g Shredded 2% Cheese (I used 1 serving (1/3C) Shredded Taco Cheese)
1 Muffin (egg, spelt, grain, etc) (I used Rye Bread, lightly toasted)
salt/pepper
1.Heat a small skillet pan on low-medium (4-5) and melt butter.
2.In a ramekin, heat 15g of the butter in microwave for 10-15 secs.
3.In a bowl, mix egg whites and melted butter. Set aside ramekin to use later.
4.Pour mixture into the skillet. Season with salt/pepper on top.
5.Let cook for a min and then move it a round into a slight scramble. You do not want to completely scramble the eggs You want them to still be wet and have a slight soupy texture.
6.Scrap/pour eggs into the ramekin. Stuff shredded cheese down with the eggs into the ramekin (being I was using bigger bread, I used a small oval like container instead of using a ramekin).
7.Heat in microwave for 15-20 secs. This can be a little longer depending on your microwave or how cooked the eggs are. You may need to cook it up to 30 secs.
8.Let set for 2-3 mins while you toast your muffin.
9.Scrap around the edges of the ramekin and flip the egg onto the muffin. Top and serve.
Entire Recipe
Calories: 344 Protein: 23 Fat: 16 Carbs: 26
My version I figured to be 351 calories, when I add my coffee and banana to it, my total calories for breakfast equaled 462.75. My splenda and creamer get me for my coffee!
I hope some of you give this a try and check out Leigh's Blog!
The Perfect Egg Sandwich
3 Large Eggs (whites)
25g Smart Balance Light “Butter”
30g Shredded 2% Cheese (I used 1 serving (1/3C) Shredded Taco Cheese)
1 Muffin (egg, spelt, grain, etc) (I used Rye Bread, lightly toasted)
salt/pepper
1.Heat a small skillet pan on low-medium (4-5) and melt butter.
2.In a ramekin, heat 15g of the butter in microwave for 10-15 secs.
3.In a bowl, mix egg whites and melted butter. Set aside ramekin to use later.
4.Pour mixture into the skillet. Season with salt/pepper on top.
5.Let cook for a min and then move it a round into a slight scramble. You do not want to completely scramble the eggs You want them to still be wet and have a slight soupy texture.
6.Scrap/pour eggs into the ramekin. Stuff shredded cheese down with the eggs into the ramekin (being I was using bigger bread, I used a small oval like container instead of using a ramekin).
7.Heat in microwave for 15-20 secs. This can be a little longer depending on your microwave or how cooked the eggs are. You may need to cook it up to 30 secs.
8.Let set for 2-3 mins while you toast your muffin.
9.Scrap around the edges of the ramekin and flip the egg onto the muffin. Top and serve.
Entire Recipe
Calories: 344 Protein: 23 Fat: 16 Carbs: 26
My version I figured to be 351 calories, when I add my coffee and banana to it, my total calories for breakfast equaled 462.75. My splenda and creamer get me for my coffee!
I hope some of you give this a try and check out Leigh's Blog!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Counting Calories
I would like to quote Leigh Peele, whom I love to listen to and read her blogs,
“The only people who really hate to count calories are those people who don’t want to admit how many they are actually eating!”
This is so true! While keeping my food journal, if I eat it I have to write it down. I will see what I have eaten. In class one night the instructor brought Hershey Nuggets, I chose not to eat any. A woman in my class said to me, “Eat it and just don’t write it down.” I thought about what she said and by doing that the only person I am cheating is myself. As much as I dislike counting calories, I do it because I have seen results. Just because this works for me, it may not work for someone else. Some may give up before they have given it a chance or they dislike some of the side effects that come with a calorie deficit. If you want it bad enough you will stick with it, you will do and not just try. These are the side effects I had and still get on occasion, especially if it is that time of the month! I didn't even realize that they were from my deficit until I read a blog post by Leigh called, No calories, no scale? No problem.
Hunger – Worse for the first 3 Days, usually decreases dramatically after that.
Headaches – Can be pretty vicious the first few nights, but should decrease. Yo-yo dieters might think they are dealing with migraines.
Being Tired – Pretty much stays the whole time being you are in a energy deficit.
Changes in Sleep - You may find insomnia becomes a problem or falling asleep in general. You can also find apathy increases and getting up in the morning becomes harder and harder.
Moodiness – Pretty much stays the whole time and you become manic.
Hang in there! You can do it!
“The only people who really hate to count calories are those people who don’t want to admit how many they are actually eating!”
This is so true! While keeping my food journal, if I eat it I have to write it down. I will see what I have eaten. In class one night the instructor brought Hershey Nuggets, I chose not to eat any. A woman in my class said to me, “Eat it and just don’t write it down.” I thought about what she said and by doing that the only person I am cheating is myself. As much as I dislike counting calories, I do it because I have seen results. Just because this works for me, it may not work for someone else. Some may give up before they have given it a chance or they dislike some of the side effects that come with a calorie deficit. If you want it bad enough you will stick with it, you will do and not just try. These are the side effects I had and still get on occasion, especially if it is that time of the month! I didn't even realize that they were from my deficit until I read a blog post by Leigh called, No calories, no scale? No problem.
Hunger – Worse for the first 3 Days, usually decreases dramatically after that.
Headaches – Can be pretty vicious the first few nights, but should decrease. Yo-yo dieters might think they are dealing with migraines.
Being Tired – Pretty much stays the whole time being you are in a energy deficit.
Changes in Sleep - You may find insomnia becomes a problem or falling asleep in general. You can also find apathy increases and getting up in the morning becomes harder and harder.
Moodiness – Pretty much stays the whole time and you become manic.
Hang in there! You can do it!
Weight Loss Journey
When I started this blog, I wanted to be all about recipes I have tried and foods I have put together myself. I have found it is becoming so much more for me. I, like so many others out there are on a journey, a weight loss journey. So far I have lost 30 pounds, dropped 4 pants sizes and lost some inches, but this I have not measured in a while. My husband has lost twice as much as I have. There are so many people that ask me how we have done it. We did it by creating a deficit in our diet, eating healthy, and exercising. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it’s not. It is hard work and it sucks! I have no one else to blame but myself. I did it to myself, no one else force me to eat all the crap I was eating and drink all the soda I was drinking. When it comes your body and your health you cannot blame anyone else for the shape its in and if you think you can, well you’re wrong.
To find my deficit I needed to figure out my BMR [Basal Metabolic Rate],which is a measure of the rate of metabolism. There are formulas you can use, but I found a BMR calculator that I really like. It tells me how many calories I need to maintain where I am at and how many I need if I want to lose weight per how much I exercise. Now I know how many calories I need per day, here comes the hard part, counting calories, weighing food, it sucks. I have tried the online sites such as Calorie Counter & Fat Secret, but I am horrible at getting online to log everything in and remembering it all. So, I do it the old fashioned way, I keep a food journal and carry it everywhere with me. It takes some time to figure out how many calories are in everything, but we are creatures of habit and many of us eat the same thing most of the time. A website I have found to be the most useful is CalorieKing. It is a site you can join, but to look food up is free.
Another hard part for me is getting motivated to exercise. I started out with a couple exercise buddies, but they quit on me. Damn them! So, I didn’t find any new ones, but I found comfort in some of the regular classes I started taking at my local YMCA. Some people in my classes & the instructors have become more than just a face, they have become friends that inspire me & push me to work harder. So, my advice for someone who is not a self motivator, find a class or two to take somewhere. Don’t try, do!
To find my deficit I needed to figure out my BMR [Basal Metabolic Rate],which is a measure of the rate of metabolism. There are formulas you can use, but I found a BMR calculator that I really like. It tells me how many calories I need to maintain where I am at and how many I need if I want to lose weight per how much I exercise. Now I know how many calories I need per day, here comes the hard part, counting calories, weighing food, it sucks. I have tried the online sites such as Calorie Counter & Fat Secret, but I am horrible at getting online to log everything in and remembering it all. So, I do it the old fashioned way, I keep a food journal and carry it everywhere with me. It takes some time to figure out how many calories are in everything, but we are creatures of habit and many of us eat the same thing most of the time. A website I have found to be the most useful is CalorieKing. It is a site you can join, but to look food up is free.
Another hard part for me is getting motivated to exercise. I started out with a couple exercise buddies, but they quit on me. Damn them! So, I didn’t find any new ones, but I found comfort in some of the regular classes I started taking at my local YMCA. Some people in my classes & the instructors have become more than just a face, they have become friends that inspire me & push me to work harder. So, my advice for someone who is not a self motivator, find a class or two to take somewhere. Don’t try, do!
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