Healthy Banana Bread

Greetings! I have not posted on this blog for a long time. In the past year, I have gotten away from baking. It is not that I have cut baking out in its entirety, it is just that I have been baking the same few items. In my schedule, I have limited time so I end up baking what I know...or have memorized. During this time away from baking, I have eaten healthier and increased the amount of vegetables and grains in my diet. I limited my baked good intake, although I indulged in chocolate, cheesecake, and ice cream.

The gap of time has made me sad because baking is something that I enjoy and that I am truly passionate about. Today, I was inspired to bake something new and that is what I am sharing today! I made a healthier version of banana bread. I took a spin on my original banana bread recipe found on this blog. I added wheat flour, flaxseeds, and limited the fat and sugar in the recipe. The modifications with keep you fuller longer but also give more nutrients. Flaxseeds can reduce heart diseases. Whole flour provides more fiber in the diet. When it comes to sugar, manufacturers are overloading food products with sugar. Many people are unaware of how many products contain sugar and the high amounts found in food products. Reducing fat and sugar in this recipe will help reduce the overall amount of sugar fat in our already sugar latent diets.

 Let's jump into the recipe, shall we?

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Muffins

Happy 2014! It's time to get back into the blogging swing of things. What better way to start the year than with a recipe that promotes healthy and mindful eating. The greatest thing about this recipe is that while it has the taste of a regular chocolate muffin, it is actually packed with nutrition to make this sweet treat into a nutrition powerhouse. These muffins are also low fat and make for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

The only hint you get that these muffins are healthy is the texture. It is not as smooth as your typically muffin but that is because this recipe uses wheat bran, which has a rustic but soft texture. This is not a bad thing! In fact, it gives the muffin a textural contrast.

The batter is slightly sweet but can be easily modified by altering the amount of chocolate chips. For me, 1/2 cup of chocolate chips of dark chocolate chips was just enough to give me bursts of sweetness as a I devoured my muffin!

Happy baking!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bran Muffins

I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge this past week and debated what to do with it. I had that amount of pumpkin that's not enough for pumpkin bread but enough for a recipe that could replace oil/butter with pumpkin! Ultimately, I chose to jazz my up my Healthy Blueberry Muffin recipe by replacing applesauce and blueberries with pumpkin and chocolate chips. It turned out to be such a great variation to my typically blueberry and applesauce combination. I highly recommend using mini chocolate chocolate chips because the chips disperse all throughout the muffin, ensuring sweet deliciousness in every bite!

The idea to change this recipe was inspired by my dad, whom I've made my Healthy Blueberry Muffins for. He liked them but wished for chocolate chips instead of blueberries. My dad makes me laugh because he is very health conscious (if anyone can eat in moderation, it's him). However, he has such a weakness for chocolate and always say I could add a little more chocolate to my recipes. I can guarantee he will like these, especially with the addition of the mini chocolate morsels. Father's Day is on Sunday, isn't it? Breakfast for daddy: done.

Apple Cinnamon Banana Bread

I've been having an urge to make something with apple. I was struggling on what to make because I wanted to use apples but not in its typical way through a pie, streusel, etc. That's when I saw the ripe bananas chilling on my counter and thought to myself, why don't I add some apple to my banana bread recipe? I also incorporated cinnamon to compliment the apples and bananas. This is a great banana bread variation, especially since I just made banana bread last week. The apples makes the bread super moist and adds nice textural element. Another great textural element are the walnuts which is slightly crunchier than the apple pieces throughout the bread.The cinnamon gives another depth of flavor throughout the bread. It's like eating apple pie and banana bread together. I don't mind that at all!

One note, because there are apples and bananas in this recipe, it won't keep long on the kitchen counter. I portion my loaf into serving sizes and freeze it. This way, I can pull out some bread for an out the door breakfast or midday snack. The bread last longer and you won't have discard your hard work when it's not edible anymore!

Pumpkin Bread

There is nothing I love more than trying a recipe that I've scribbled on a scratch piece of paper laying on my desk. The recipe always screams, "Make Me!" but I always put it off to the side and end up forgetting about it. I became smarter and began storing these scratch pieces of paper in a folder so I can sift through it when I had an itch to bake. Needless to say, when I had the itch yesterday, I whipped out my folder and starting sifting through my recipes. Awhile back, I was searching for a healthy pumpkin bread recipe because quick breads like pumpkin bread tend to be high in sugar and fat. After a good search, I found a recipe than had just the right amount of healthiness!

This recipe calls for egg whites, plain yogurt, and pumpkin which all create a healthier version of pumpkin bread! I love pumpkin and one of the beauties of making pumpkin bread is not having to worry much about the end product being moist because pumpkin recipes tend to be moist.

I was very happy with how the bread turned out. If I could tweak this recipe slightly, I would add more spice to the bread to bump up the flavor. The recipe is good as is if you like pumpkin baked products to be more on the mild side. Next time, I plan on incorporating some pumpkin pie spice to enhance the pumpkin flavor. Each serving has 140 calories and 4 grams of fat. Not too shabby if you ask me!

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

 

During my recent trip to the grocery store, I saw blueberries on sale. I grabbed two pints without hesitation, one for munching and one for baking. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the blueberries but I was certain I could find something! I opted to make blueberry muffins because it is one of my sister's favorite things to eat. While I've made Blueberry Crumb Cake before, I wanted to make a yes, healthy recipe. Instead of using my oat bran muffin recipe and incorporating blueberries, I decided to research a different recipe. It's good to change things up every once in awhile, right? I proceeded to Google 'healthy blueberry muffins' in the search engine and clicked on the first recipe that came up. Thank goodness I did because it turned out to be an excellent recipe. The main ingredient in the recipe was wheat bran so the muffins provide a great deal of nutrients and fiber. One of the first steps was to soak the wheat bran in milk to give the muffins bulk and it helped release the nutrients in the wheat bran.

The muffins turned out great! The muffins had the taste and texture of a muffin, crisp on the top but moist on the inside. Honestly, I wouldn't notice this was a healthy muffin. What I enjoyed most about the muffin was the taste. The muffins had just enough sweetness from the brown sugar. Also, the brown sugar brought out the molasses flavor, which gave the muffins a distinctive and addictive taste. I contemplated the familiarity of the taste for hours. I've eaten a muffin with this taste but I couldn't think of when and where I had the muffin. Finally, I remembered a few months back, my dad bought a muffin from a local bakery and told me to try it to see if I could recreate it. I believe this recipe is very close to what my dad wanted. I guess I should save him one for when I see him this weekend...if I don't eat them all beforehand! This muffin gives my oat bran muffin some competition. I'm already thinking of the variations I can make with this recipe. But bringing it back to this recipe, give it a try. While it is a healthy muffin, you won't notice a difference. I promise!

Baked Donuts

The donuts look good, don't they? I've been anxiously trying to find time to make some donuts with my babycakes maker. While mini donuts are the cutest thing ever, my biggest question was whether the cakes actually tasted like donuts. What makes donuts distinctive is the fact that it is fried so I was curious to see whether this healthier and quicker version would do the donuts justice. So, the result?

To my surprise, the donuts turned out well. Granted, the donuts are not your full fat indulgence but it has the flavor, texture, and satisfaction you would get from a donut. An extra plus? The donuts cook within 3-5 minutes. No  need to fuss with the hassles of frying or waiting over double the time for donuts to bake in the oven. I used the batter recipe in the book provided but made slight modifications by incorporating cinnamon and nutmeg to ensure the donuts had an authentic cake donut flavor. Feel free to use your own recipe but you will have to conduct some test trials to see how the donuts turn out. With a different method of cooking, the donuts might turn out differently than the oven. Worth the investment? Yes. I can't wait to try different varieties of donuts. Don't worry, I will definitely share my babycakes donut adventures with you!

Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins

This recipe is a play off of my Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins. With my recent obsession and likeability for pumpkin, I've created a healthy pumpkin spiced muffin. Granted it's not perfect yet; however, it is satisfying for those with a subtle flavor palette. These muffins are moist, simple to make, and easy to eat!. Also, these muffins last longer than than Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins because I omitted the applesauce and replaced it with pumpkin puree, which has a longer shelf life. Personally, I don't mind either recipe because I freeze the muffins after baking. This way, I can have a muffing whenever I want to. 

Additionally, I incorporated a bit of wheat bran to the recipe. You cannot taste it nor do you notice a difference in texture or taste but it is just another way to pack more nutrients into the muffins. The chocolate chips are optional but are highly recommended because the muffins are not sweet so the chocolate chips adds enough sweetness to balance the muffin. I typically use dark chocolate chips because it is not as sweet as semisweet chips and has a richer chocolate flavor. 

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Pancakes

Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast foods! Not the ones that come from a box or a bag, but the ones made from scratch! I believe there is a huge different in the taste, texture, and overall satisfaction when it comes to homemade pancakes. The great thing about pancakes is that they are super easy to make! Also, you can add any type of flavoring, whether it's vanilla, cinnamon, almond, chocolate, fruit, butter, or syrup. So versatile, so delicious, and so satisfying! I like this recipe because the pancakes are flavorful. There is a great balance of flavors from the wheat flour, vanilla, and buttermilk. Additionally, these pancakes are healthier than other pancake recipes but you won't even not notice which means you can eat a little more without guilt.

How are these pancakes, exactly? Well, here I go on my healthy rant. These pancakes incorporate many healthy components like whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and egg whites. I am not saying adding whole wheat flour makes everything healthy but it is a factor in making these pancakes healthier. As deceptive as the name sounds, buttermilk is relatively healthy ingredient. Yes, it has fat but most of the fat is removed to make butter. Also, it is lower in calories than whole, 2%, and 1% milk. Buttermilk also helps to create light and fluffly pancakes. Lastly, this recipe uses one egg and one egg white. The fat of an egg comes from the yolk so using the egg whites of one egg significantly reduces fat and calories in the pancakes.

Got to have my ingredient list!

 

Oat Crazy: Zucchini Oat Bran Muffins

Yes, I'm on an oat bran craze...and a healthy craze. I have finally baked enough to understand what is needed in order to make a successful bake good. So my newest obsession is making recipes tasty and healthy at the same time. This recipe is similar to my oat bran muffins but I incorporated oat bran into a zucchini muffin recipe instead of a incorporating zucchini in an oat bran muffin recipe...if that makes sense. I used a calorie counter website and after calculating, each muffin is 134 calories! How did I do it? I used a minimal amount of fat (oil) and replaced most of it with applesauce which will keep the muffins moist. Also, I incorporated oat bran to give you additional nutrition like fiber. While the zucchini provides moisture and flavor to the muffins, the cinnamon makes the muffins tasty and a little addictive. I love this recipe because not only is the calorie count low, the muffins didn't taste healthy. My sister asked me what I put in the muffins to make them healthy because they didn't taste "healthy" to her. That only means one word: success!

Next time, I will modify is the amount of sugar because it is too high for a healthy muffin like this. I might also play with the baking powder proportion because I felt like the muffins could be fluffier. Also, my zucchini was not fine enough. I didn't mind because I like the chunks throughout the batter but I think I will make it finer just to compare.

Healthy Sweet Treat: Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffin

I go through phases of baking healthy items and baking not so healthy items. For example, I was into cinnamon rolls and pound cake a few weeks ago but I have opted for a healthier option today. I have been looking how to optimize grains and different healthy foods into my daily nutrition. These muffins are an excellent choice. Want to know why?

On a Cinnamon Roll: Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I must confess my little current little obsession with cinnamon. There is something addictive about the smell, especially when it is basked in the oven. I could not wait to make these pancakes when I came across this recipe. These pancakes are great without the ciing because it's essentially a cinnamon pancake but the icing makes it taste like a cinnamon bun. Why is that so great? Because it tastes like a cinnamon bun without all the guilt. I love a cinnamon bun every once in awhile but this recipe will definitely satisfy my cinnamon bun cravings. It's not like I have these cravings that often but when I do, I know what to do. Even if you are not addicted to cinnamon, this is a great change of pace from your typical breakfast pancake. But for all you cinnamon lovers out there, I dedicate this one to you!

French Toast

I love food! Despite this understatement, there is one food staple that I absolutely cannot stand...eggs! I know, it may seem impossible considering baking involves using lots of eggs but I greatly detest the test, smell, and texture of eggs. Eggs are the one food item that shivers down my spine when I was little and the feeling just persisted as I grew older. Off that tangent, I made french toast today for the first time (*round of applause*)! I never made french toast because I do not like eggs and it never really appealed to me but I had an urge to make it.

Now, I'm no french toast expert but I have learned/observed a few things from the Food Network, my mom, and recipe researching. I'll share some of those things with you!

Tips for good french toast:
1. Using day old bread is important because it soaks up the egg mixture.
2. French toast shouldn't be soppy. This is easy to do if you opt using regular white sliced bread.
3. Building a custard is the key to good french toast.
4. French toast should taste eggy with a hint of sweetness, not the other way around.
5. French toast is to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The recipe I used for this post was an experiment but I think it turned out well. In my opinion, this is a healthier version of typical french toast because there is nothing overpowering in the recipe but it achieves all the tastes in french toast. Having said that, let's make some french toast!

Waffles

Growing up, I always made waffles from the box. I'd like to think at the time, my palette was not refined enough to know any better. I'd make waffles on the weekend all the time for my family and my mom  always complain about how she did not like the Bisquick mix but I had no problem with it. As time went by, I learned that my mom was right, aren't they always. Since then, I made a few waffles from scratch but nothing that satisfied my waffle hunger. I finally found a recipe worth blogging about. I did not realize until I made the waffles that there was no milk but I had buttermilk and almond milk. So...I used mainly buttermilk and a little of the almond milk but the buttermilk was too overpowering. Next time I will add half buttermilk and half milk. I just have to make sure I have milk at home! Other than the lingering aftertaste of tangy buttermilk, everything else was great! The texture and flavor was exactly what I was looking for in a waffle.

I did not realize how much of a difference whipping the egg whites does to the waffle. It makes a significant difference. It's a little time consuming but worth every minute. It is essential to fluffy waffles (in addition to the buttermilk). This is important step and this will make good waffles be great waffles.

Going Bananas for Banana! (Banana Bread)

I love banana bread for many reasons! If you know me, you're probably thinking I love banana bread because I love bananas! While that is true, it's only partly true. Side note: I have been obsessed with bananas for the past two year and haven't gone more than two days without eating a banana. I eat one for breakfast everyday and if I don't eat it for breakfast, I find some other time in the day to get my daily banana intake. It's a horrible obsession but at least it's a healthy one! Continuing on my banana rant, I only eat bananas at a particular ripeness. The idea banana is a vibrant yellow that is slightly green towards the end (see Oatmeal Banana Streusel Muffins). I don't pick bananas that are all bruised on the bottom. When I go to the grocery store, I only buy enough bananas so I can eat them at their ideal state which meant I bought bananas every three days. I am that picky!

Last summer, I was talking to my friend and she was telling me how she puts bananas in her smoothies and how it is tastier when they are riper. I started trying it out in my own smoothies I made for breakfast and she was right! I slowly became okay with eating riper bananas (deep yellow with speckles) in my peanut butter banana sandwiches, smoothies, and of course...banana bread! I am proud to say that I can buy a week's worth of bananas (one a day) and be okay with eater riper bananas by the end of the week!

Anyways, back to the focus on this blog entry: banana bread! The key to tasty banana is using really ripe bananas. I'm talking mushy and practically brown. I know, it's strange to hear me say this but it is true! This is my favorite banana bread recipe because it is full of banana flavor and it's not too sweet nor too heavy. Also, you can create your own variation of banana bread from this recipe. I have added chocolate chips to make chocolate chip banana bread and I have made whole wheat banana bread where I used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. Don't worry, the bread did not turn out dry, it was still moist and I felt better about myself after ingesting it!

Buttermilk Pancakes

What is a better way to start off you day than eating a nice stack of buttermilk pancakes? I can't think of anything better than these light and fluffy concoctions. I like this recipe because it has great flavor and turns out to be everything you expect in a buttermilk pancake!

Cinnamon Bun Shortcut - Cinnamon Bun Bread

I stumbled upon this recipe from the blog Baking Bites. I'm a huge fan of cinnamon buns but not so much when it comes to dealing with yeast. Making bread from scratch is most definitely rewarding but can be quite time consuming. This recipe attracted me because it requires less time than regular cinnamon buns despite the fact that it requires yeast. Even though this recipe can be made in less time than regular cinnamon buns, the taste and satisfaction is not compromised in any way. Granted, this recipe does not yield individual spirals of cinnamon buns but it is still satisfying nonetheless. The bread reminds me of a coffeecake and the topping is bit reminiscent of a pecan pie. Don't get me wrong, it still tastes like a cinnamon bun.