Tag: bananas

Plant Protein Powered Breakfast Cookies!

Plant Protein Powered Breakfast Cookies

These cookies make a great breakfast or snack on the go.  Pair a couple of these with some fresh fruit and you have a delicious and nutritious start to the day!  Need a compact quick energy source while out on a hike or bike ride?  These will definitely do the trick.  Chock full of goodies like wheat germ, flax, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds, these babies pack a protein punch!  Not to mention the vitamin E, zinc, omega 3’s, and iron they bring to the party too!  You won’t miss the oil, eggs, or dairy here.  If you tend to be pressed for time, double the batch and freeze some of the baked cookies for when you need something quick on the go.

INGREDIENTS:

DRY
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2  cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

5 Medjool (or 10 deglet noor), chopped

1 handful dried cranberries

WET

1 flax egg (1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons water)

1/2 large ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3-1/2 cup sucanat (or organic brown sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons almond milk

DIRECTIONS: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.  Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Next, add the wet mixture to the dry one in the large bowl.  Mix well with a wooden spoon to combine.
  3. Drop by spoonfuls onto 1 or 2 parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans after 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Once they cool, if you want to put some  in the freezer for future use, now’s the time.  Otherwise, if you leave them out they’ll be all gobbled up before you know it!  Enjoy!!

 

meltrinidadLeave a comment

Melon Banana Split!

Here’s a fun, healthy alternative to the traditional banana split. Works well as a dessert, or a snack.  Feel free to experiment with different types of melon (watermelon, honeydew, etc.) and toppings too!

1 banana, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
Melon, seeded and scooped into balls with an ice cream or cookie scoop
nuts, chopped
fresh mint
unsweetened flaked coconut
drizzle with honey or agave nectar

Enjoy!

meltrinidad2 Comments

Great egg subsititutes for salmonella-risk-free baking

Has the recent massive egg recall left you a little uneasy about using eggs at home?  Here are a few substitutions that can be used in place of eggs in your baking (or cooking). 

FLAXSEED MEAL – full of omega 3 fatty acids, this is a great way to increase the fiber and nutrients in your baked goods, without the fat, cholesterol and salmonella risk of eggs. 

1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal per 3 Tablespoons water/per egg to be replaced – combine and set aside for a few minutes to allow the flax to absorb some of the water and thicken a bit.

EGG REPLACER (Ener-G egg replacer, or Bob’s Red Mill brand) – Many people LOVE this stuff.  It works great in some recipes (like cookies where you don’t want the little brown specks of flaxseed meal), but I’d recommend it for things requiring no more than 1 or 2 eggs.  It can leave a little bit of a chalky taste.  It also leaves things a bit dense, as opposed to light and fluffy. 

1 Tablespoon egg replacer per 3 Tablespoons water/per egg to be replaced – mix to combine.

SOY YOGURT – Adds a lot of moisture, great for cakes and the like.  Make sure you get a brand that states clearly on the label that it is made from non-GMO soybeans.  If it is organic, it’s required to be non-GMO.  GMO stands for Genetically Modified (aka genetically engineered).  There is a lot of controversy around this subject, which we’ll tackle in a future post, but for now, just try to steer clear from it if you can. 

1/4 cup soy yogurt per egg to be replaced 

SILKEN TOFU – vaccuum-packed, extra-firm Lite silken tofu works great.  Mori-Nu is a good brand. Again, look for organic or brands made with non-GMO soybean.  Make sure to blend it up really well first to make it nice and smooth and creamy.  Be sure to use less if your recipe requires several eggs (ex. if recipe asks for 4 eggs, use 3 “tofu eggs”). 

1/4 blended silken tofu per egg replaced (less if recipe requires several eggs)

BANANA – A cheap and accessible egg alternative, bananas are great egg replacers in items like pancakes, waffles and quick breads.  Be sure to use very ripe bananas (riper =sweeter).  If you have any frozen ripe bananas on hand, they work great in a pinch.  Just thaw out what you need and mash it up.  Because of the sugar content in the bananas, they tend to brown very nicely, so keep that in mind in case your finished product ends up a bit browner than you had anticipated.

1/2 banana, mashed, per egg to be replaced

There you have it 5 different alternatives to eggs to help you create delicious, nutritious and fiber-rich goodies, without the cholesterol, saturated fat or salmonella risk of eggs.  Have fun, get creative and enjoy!!

meltrinidad2 Comments

Time to Show Bananas a Little Love

Bananas.  They are one of the most popular fruits in the U.S. which is pretty remarkable since they aren’t widely farmed anywhere in U.S. (except maybe Hawaii?)  And why not?!  They are full of Potasium, Manganese, Fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins C and B6.  They come in a single serving size, great packaging, not messy, easy to eat on the go.  And for most of us, one of the first solid foods we ever experienced as a baby. 

We use bananas at our home all the time.  They are a great snack by themselves and just about everyone has had one sliced into a bowl of cereal, but there’s a lot more you can do with your bananas, especially once they start to ripen or overripen. 

Most people think the only thing you can really do with overripe bananas is make banana bread.  Great idea!  But there are so many other things you can do with them too!  We usually by 2 bunches at a time and let one get good and ripe.  Once the peel starts to get brown, more of the starches start to convert to sugar, and they become much sweeter.  They may not be as pretty on the outside, but never judge a banana by its cover. 

One of my favorite things to do with a bunch of overripe bananas is peel them all, then line them up on baking sheet.  Place the baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours.  Once the bananas are good and frozen, transfer them to a gallon-size freezer bag and keep them stored in the freezer.  Now you will have frozen bananas at your fingertips!  So what can you do with frozen bananas? 

Here are a few ideas…

  1. The next time you find yourself on the couch with a craving for something cool and sweet, rather than indulging in ice cream, try a frozen banana.  It really satisfies that need for a sweet, cool treat!  You could even go a little decadent and dip it in chocolate (melted chocolate chips, perhaps)
  2. Throw one in a smoothie.  Frozen bananas add creaminess to smoothies that you just can’t get from fresh ones.
  3. Blend a couple in the blender (with a little soy or almond milk) to create a wonderful creamy ice cream-like treat.
  4. I discovered this use when I was going to bake muffins last week and I didn’t have any fresh, ripe bananas on hand.  I tried thawing and mashing a frozen, ripe banana, and it worked out great!  Thaw on a plate or in a bowl on the counter for a little while.  Then mash ’em up and use as  fat or egg replacer in baking.  Please note, do not try this with anything that you do not wish to have a little banana-ish taste to. 
  5. Slice and add to oatmeal.  The frozen banana slices also help to cool your oatmeal down quickly so that you can start eating it sooner.  It’s great for little guys (and girls) who can’t handle hot foods and always want to eat NOW!  You can do this with any frozen fruit, really.

If you have any other uses for frozen bananas, please leave a comment and share them with the rest of us! 

So the next time you’re at the store, pick up an extra bunch of bananas, freeze them when the get really ripe, and see what you can do!

meltrinidad2 Comments