Weight Watchers' Banana Applesauce Bread

Every once and a while I buy bananas for smoothies, and 9 times out of 10 I get sick of eating them long before they go bad. So they sit until they're basically black, and then my friends you have what I like to call the perfect opportunity for making homemade banana bread. Yum!

Recently I purchased a Weight Watchers cookbook, and luckily they have a healthy version of banana bread. Now I know some people may think that Weight Watchers recipes are just for people who are dieting (or specifically on a Weight Watchers' program), or that because it's technically "diet food" that it will be lacking flavour and generally boring. Both of these points could not be more incorrect. I assure you, not only are these recipes not just for dieters, they are also absolutely delicious!

Banana Applesauce Bread Recipe:

http://www.free-ww-recipes.com/banana-bread.html

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

6 Very Ripe Small Bananas

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Fat-Free Egg Substitute

1/3 cup Canola Oil

1/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 5x9 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray; dust with flour, shaking out excess.

2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Mash bananas in a large bowl; whisk in sugar, egg substitute, oil, applesauce, and vanilla until blended. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until flour mixture is moistened (don`t over mix). Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.

4. Bake until deep golden brown and tooth pick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hr 15 mins (depending on your oven this may vary; it only took 1 hr for my bread to be fully baked). Let cool in pan for 10 mins on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Enjoy!

Note- Changes that I personally made were:

- Using 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour ( I didn`t have any whole wheat flour around the house and was too lazy to go to the store)

- Using 3 large bananas instead of 6 small.

- I typically do not buy egg substitute, so I used 2 whole eggs

- Adding 1 tsp ground cinnamon

I highly recommend making this recipe; it was by far the best recipe I've made so far, and I was very impressed at how big of a loaf it made. If you want to make this recipe more of a treat, feel free to add mini chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips).

Take Care,

Leanne.

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

Fall is around the corner, and with that comes pumpkin flavoured foods and drinks!

Here's a delicious recipe for a pumpkin pie flavoured protein shake that I found on Pinterest from Fit Sugar:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ae/0a/8a/ae0a8abee1026d217e084d9988a51af7.jpg

This is the perfect fall protein shake! I hope you enjoy this as much as I will. 

Take Care,

Leanne.

Crockpot Strawberry Jam

Growing up, I was lucky enough to live next to a farmer's field that had a wild strawberry bush at the corner closest to my driveway.  I remember spending afternoons playing with my sister and occasionally stopping for a snack from these bushes, and because of that, my summer is never complete without having fresh Ontario strawberries for snacking, or even better, for homemade strawberry jam.

With that being said, here is a quick and easy recipe for strawberry jam, that is perfect if you are like me and don't have a canning kit at home, or just do not have the time to make jam in the traditional way:

http://www.the-lady-wolf.com/2012/06/strawberry-jam-in-crockpot-recipe.html

Ingredients:

2 lbs of strawberries all cut up 
4 cups white sugar 
1/4 cup lemon juice (I think to keep them looking red) 
Crockpot, high setting, 2-4 hours depending on size of strawberries.

Directions:

1. Set Crockpot to high and combine all ingredients together & let cook for 2 hours.

2. Mash strawberries until only little chunks remain (or larger if you'd prefer)

3. Continue to cook on high for 1 more hour.

 4. Carefully pour mixture into containers (I used jars from the dollar store) and let cool to room temperature.

5. Once cooled, place containers in fridge to cool over night and thicken.

Wake up & enjoy!

I cannot wait to buy some strawberries from the farmers market next week and give this a try!

Take Care,

Leanne.

Banana Bread Smoothie {Protein Shake}

After making my delicious banana bread last week, I have to admit I'm on a banana kick.

So I thought I would share with you one of my favourite protein packed smoothies, that tastes just like banana bread.

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--161015/healthy-chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-smoothie.asp

Ingredients:

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 fl oz Soy Milk (or Skim Milk)

1 scoop Vanilla (or Chocolate) Protein Powder

2 1/2 tsp Peanut Butter (or if you're allergic to peanuts, almond butter)

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tbsp Sliced Raw Banana

1 cup Water

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth, adding water gradually until your desired thickness is achieved. 

This is an awesome breakfast or post-workout smoothie. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Take Care,

Leanne.

Better for You Banana Bread

My boyfriend recently received a fruit basket from work which contained many delicious items, including bananas. We both don't really eat bananas on their own but really love banana bread, so rather than putting them into smoothies, we have decided to let them ripen and make banana bread.

I am personally trying to eat healthier so I searched for a delicious banana bread recipe that is better for you than the usual fat and sugar packed version that I usually make, and this is what I found from a great healthy eating blog called 8 Weeks to a Better You Recipes:

http://8weekstoabetteryourecipes.blogspot.ca/2012/09/banana-bread-8-week-friendly.html

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup sugar free applesauce

• 3/4 cup honey

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 3 mashed overripe bananas

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack

I can't wait to try this as soon as the bananas in my kitchen finish ripening this week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I think I will.

Take Care,

Leanne.