Healthy Homemade Freezer Pancakes

So I didn't really have time to bake anything today, since I was working then came home and completely crashed in front of the TV to watch the end of the Andy Murray vs. Stanislas Wawrinka match (which Murray won 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3)*! However, I made a batch of whole wheat banana pancakes a little while ago on a whim (and because I was hungry for banana pancakes one weekend morning), and decided to freeze most of them to heat up on rushed early mornings! They're quite healthy and hearty to start the day off, and re-heat really well - just microwave them wrapped in a paper towel for about 2 minutes, or until they're completely defrosted, and top with honey or maple syrup and fresh banana!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

yield: about 6 large pancakes

1 c. 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. light brown sugar

2 tbsp. applesauce

1 c. skim milk

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)

1 banana, mashed

2 tbsp. honey

1/4 c. pecans, chopped

1 banana, sliced

1. Mix all ingredients except for sliced banana in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Heat a nonstick frying pan at medium heat (or a regular frying pan coated in oil or cooking spray).
3. Ladle on the batter, and while the first side is cooking, press some slices of banana into the pancake, then flip it over when ready.
4. Top with fresh banana slices, and drizzle with honey or maple syrup.

I'm not a morning person at all...but these are a great and tasty way to wake up and get energized for a long day!

* Also, for anyone who cares...Roger Federer (my FAVORITE tennis player) won his match today against Robin Soderling (whom he also played/beat in the French Open final a little while ago) 6-4 7-6 7-6!!! My mom was nice enough to text this to me while I was at work since I had to leave just after the first set ended!

Elvis-y Oatmeal Cookies

The other day while I was at the grocery I thought to pick up a bag of reese's peanut butter chips! So I was trying to think of a recipe to use them for, and came across this recipe for banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which I thought would be really good with peanut butter chips and also a great way to use a banana I had that was turning speckled! Well, here is the slightly altered recipe, with the addition of peanut butter and different sugar composition since I ran out of granulated sugar!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

yield: around 22 large cookies

1 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

sprinkle of cinnamon

sprinkle of ground nutmeg

5 tbsp. butter, softened

2 tbsp. peanut butter

1/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. oats (I used quick, but I think rolled would be better)

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chunks

1/2 c. peanut butter chips

2 bananas, roughly mashed

1. In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon together and set aside.
2. In your mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until completely blended.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended.
4. On low speed add the flour mixture until it is just incorporated.
5. Mix in the oatmeal, chocolate chunks, and peanut butter chips until evenly distributed.
6. Add the mashed banana and mix until evenly distributed.
7. Wrap the cookie dough in clingfilm, and refrigerate for 12-36 hours.
8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F, and cook for 15 minutes on a silpat or greased baking sheet!

These cookies are quite rich, but so tasty and chewy! But then again...I love anything with a combination of peanut butter, chocolate, and banana (best sandwich ever: whole wheat bread, peanut butter, banana slices, and mini chocolate chips...it's even better when it's grilled)!

Happy Eating!

Update: these cookies got really soft and smooshy really fast in my cookie jar, so I made a peanut butter-chocolate marshmallow filling (using fluff, confectioner's sugar, skim milk, cocoa powder, and some peanut butter), and turned them into whoopie pies! They were soooo good and refrigerated really well!

A Day of Boredom and Baking

A couple days ago my family finished the banana-cherry bread I made the other day, so I decided that I needed to make a new one. This time, though, I used a cup of diced mango instead of the cherries, lime juice instead of lemon juice, and 1/4 c. light brown sugar and 1/4 c. granulated sugar instead of the 1/2 c. granulated sugar. I think it turned out even better than the last attempt!

Later today, though, I decided that what I really wanted for dessert was chocolate chip cookies...so I made some! I used the recipe for Cholesterol-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Mrs. Field's cookie book, which only uses egg whites and 1 stick of butter, as opposed to the usual eggs and 2 sticks of butter in most recipes! It also uses some honey, which I think made the texture really nice! The recipe called for 2 c. of semisweet chocolate chips, but instead I put in about 1 c. milk chocolate chips, 1/2 c. semisweet chunks, and 1/2 c. butterscotch chips, and they were sooooo tasty!

Sorry that there is no recipe, but with the modifications I mentioned, you should be able to transform any chocolate chip cookie recipe into a slightly lower cholesterol version!

Enjoy!

Banana Bread with a twist

This morning I woke up craving something with bananas in it, and knew exactly what I wanted to make! The other day I saw a recipe for blueberry-banana bread on the blog Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and thought that sounded really good! Since I didn't have any blueberries on hand, but I did have a bunch of cherries, I decided to change the recipe a bit so I could use fresh cherries in it! So...here's my slightly altered version:

Cherry Almond Banana Bread

3 large over-ripe bananas
2 tbsp. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
1/3 c. apple sauce
1/2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. honey
2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. cherries, pitted and quartered

1/3 c. slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil.In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the lemon juice, applesauce, sugar, and honey. Stir well to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the cherries and almonds.
4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Notes: The bread turned out really well, but next time I think I would use either white whole wheat flour, or 1c. whole wheat flour and 1 c. all-purpose flour. I also think it might taste good to use 1/4 c. granulated sugar and 1/4 c. light brown sugar instead of 1/2 c. granulated sugar.

All in all this bread turned out well, and is a great healthy breakfast bread utilizing fresh summer cherries!