Whole Grain Fat Free Banana Bread AND Muffins

One of my bloggy friends Lori, has a great blog and she shares a lot of great recipes too.  This one caught my eye the other day and it was one of those moments where I just knew I had to make it. 

Banana bread is one of those things for me that I honestly have to say, I've had a hard time finding a good recipe and it's kinda turned me off it.  But I figured, what's one more recipe to try and it's healthy and low calories and low fat, I may as well give it a go....and give it a go I did and it's delicious.  I think I may have just found my Banana Bread recipe.  Yay!

Lori got the recipe originally from Vickilynn at What's Cookin' Today?

WHOLE GRAIN FAT FREE BANANA BREAD

Recipe By :© 2001 Vickilynn Haycraft
Serving Size : 24

3 cups whole wheat flour — or Kamut
1 cup honey
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 medium egg whites (or 2 whole eggs)
2 cups banana — mashed
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup organic dried fruit (optional) We like raisins, apricots, dates and dried cranberries.

**For chocolate version,  omit fruit and add 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to flour and 1/4 cup malt-sweetened carob chips — or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 8×4 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Place egg whites, bananas, honey and applesauce in a mixing bowl and mix well until thoroughly mixed.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Divide batter evenly between the 2prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Turn out onto cooling rack and allow to cool before slicing.
Each loaf makes 12 slices

Also can be made as one bundt cake. Bake same amount of time. Each bundt cake yields 30 slices

OR you can turn the second loaf into muffins, which is what I did.

And these only add up to 117 calories per muffin

Per Serving: 117 Calories; trace Fat (2.7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 136mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Banana Cream Pie

Aside from Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, I'm really not a pie fan.  I know, shocking!

But, Banana Cream Pie has to be one of my exceptions, I don't know what it is about this pie that makes me so deliriously happy, I just want to grab a big slice and go hide in the bedroom so I can enjoy it with no interruptions whatsoever.



Now the way I remember making this pie is to sit at the stove for what seemed like an eternity, stirring and stirring and then some more stirring and by the time it was ready I didn't feel like making the darn pie anymore LOL

BUT, the girls at Our Best Bites found a shortcut and let me tell you, this is like one of the best banana cream pies I have EVER tasted....goodness gracious.

One little thing though...I froze mine because we like frozen pie LOL And I didn't make two pies, I bought one of the large pie crust and made a big one, you'll probably have some filling left over.



Banana Cream Pie

1 4-serving size box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding
1 c. cold water
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 cookie crusts. You can use anything–graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, shortbread, even Oreo.
Lots of bananas
1 pint whipping cream
1/3 c. powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. In another bowl, whip 1 c. of whipping cream until soft peaks form.

Slice the bananas (probably 4 small bananas or 2 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts. Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts–you’ll need them later!



Set aside. Remove pudding from the fridge and gently dollop the whipped cream on top of the pudding. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture until well-combined.
Now divide the mixture between the two pies.

Make sweetened whipped cream with the remaining whipping cream (1 cup) and 1/3 c. of powdered sugar and spread it on top of the two pies. Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours.



This is actually really important–I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn’t banana-y at all and the moisture hadn’t absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
And there you have it–the best AND the easiest banana cream pie you’ll ever have or need!

Chocolate Chip and Banana Pancake Squares

Pancakes, who doesn't love them?

But how many times do you sit there flipping pancake after pancake and by the time you get to the last one the first ones are cold and yucky?  And if you're making them for a crowd, forget it, there never seem to be enough and by the time YOU sit down to eat everyone is done and off doing their own thing.



While making a big batch of pancakes for breakfast one morning and for freezing for mid week quick breakfasts, I realized that I didn't want to sit there in front of the griddle forever and a day, so I made the pancake mix and then dumped it all into a 9x13 and popped it into the oven.

Once it was cooked all the way through, I removed it and cut it into squares, as if I was making brownies.  The kids loved it and so no more flipping pancakes, unless I'm making a very small batch.

Chocolate Chip and Banana Pancake Squares

Pancake Mix (just follow the directions for the amount you want)
Chocolate Chips
Banana slices
Parchment Paper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I like using sheets of parchment paper and I make them longer than the pan so that I can use the sides to lift it off the pan when done.

Prepare the pancake mix as usual. Add the chocolate chips, then pour half of the batter into the pan. Depending on the amount of batter you have you may need to use a smaller pan like an 8x8.

Add the banana slices.



Pour the rest of the batter over the bananas, slowly cause you don't want to disturb the bottom layer of batter, if it does mix a bit, it's ok.

Pop into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Insert a toothpick into the center to make sure it's done, if it doesn't come out clean just cook for a little longer.

Lift the pancake off the pan by using the parchment paper.



Cut into squares and serve drizzled with syrup.

{ Banana Jam }

Hello friends, I am coming by today to bring you the recipe for what will become one of your favorite things on earth.  I'm not even kidding, you will be addicted and will find yourself dripping this delicious velvety goodness all over everything.....toast....peanut butter sandwiches....pancakes.....waffles....and ice cream.  ICE.CREAM drizzled with this amazing banana jam.

I'm just going to stop talking now and tell you that this jam will change your life.  Seriously!!!

I know Banana Jam is not something you often hear about, to be quite honest, I has never heard of it until about a year ago and then I knew I had to try it since I love bananas and banana flavored anything.

Give a try, really, just do it, you'll be so happy you did.

Banana Jam

Makes 6 Half Pint Jars

4 cups mashed bananas
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used about 1 tablespoon and a half)

Sterilize your jars and lids as recommended.  I just boil them in a big pot of water for about 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let them hang out in there until ready to fill with the jam.  When ready, I remove them carefully, pour out the water and let them sit on a kitchen towel right side up for about a minute.

Now, for the jam, combine the bananas, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a big pot.  Bring to a boil and turn the heat to medium, stir occasionally until nice and thick.  The way to know when the jam is done, is to take a teaspoon and put on a small saucer, run the spoon through the jam, it will separate and not run back together.

Pour into the jars, and then process in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Make sure the jars are covered with water an inch to 2 inches above the lid.

Remove with the jar lifter and carefully set on a kitchen towel.  Let cool completely and listen for the beautiful pop, pop, pop as the lids seal.

Enjoy!

Once opened, refrigerate.  It will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or keep in the pantry for up to a year.

Jamaican Banana Bread

Banana Bread!!

We all love it (or the majority love it, I'm sure there are those that don't), we've all made it, and we are all pretty familiar with this well known banana yumminess.

But just imagine taking that good ol' banana bread and kicking it up a couple notches, and by that I mean a GOOD couple notches, like rum and coconut kinda notches.  You get where I'm going with this?

I was on Pinterest a while back, just browsing, you know doing what we all doing when we get bored or have a few minutes hours to kill.  I landed on this recipe quite by accident, and the minute I saw it I knew I had to make it.  Much as I love a typical banana bread, I'm always up for a variation and this one provided just that.

Super easy to make, but the combination of the banana, rum and coconut, works really well.  I think all that was missing was a cold glass of pina colada and a gorgeous beach.

The recipe is from Recipes Yummy.

Jamaican Banana Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or pina colada flavored!!)
• 3 tablespoons dark rum OR apple cider
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended.

Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.  Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. 

Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.

Good Ol' Banana Bread

When I have bananas that are starting to go mushy, I either make muffins, or whip up some banana bread loaves.

My children absolutely love them, they can easily go through a whole loaf just by themselves.

One of the other things I love about it is that this bread freezes beautifully, so I can make quite a few and pop them in the freezer for when we need it again.

There are so many variations out there, seems that everyone has their own true and tried recipe.  I have tried a few over the years, but there is one that I always go back to, it's written in a scraggy piece of paper filled with grease marks and fingerprints.

Good Ol' Banana Bread

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup toasted coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup of buttermilk
3 ripe bananas, smashed (use a fork to break it down)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a bread/loaf pan well.  I like to do it like my greatgrandma taught me, which was to use a bit of butter, and then flour.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, walnuts, baking soda and salt.   In a separate bowl combine the smashed bananas and the rest of the ingredients.  Add to dry ingredients and fold in until everything is well combined.

Pour into the prepared pan, spreading the mixture evenly.  (I either make two normal size loaves, or 3 mini loaves)

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars are not only delicious, but a great way to use up over ripe bananas.

My family tends to go through phases, there are the months where I can't seem to buy enough bananas to keep in the house, and then there are the months were not a single banana is touched.  We are in one of the latter months and so I ended up with a bunch of bananas going so ripe, that they started turning to mush.

I usually will make banana bread, or banana streusel cake, and even chocolate chip banana muffins, but when I saw this recipe over at Butter with a side of Bread, I just knew I had to try.

They are great for breakfast, for a snack, for a mid afternoon treat or even a late night movie watching munchie.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

Source:  Butter with a side of Bread

5 very ripe bananas about 1 2/3 cup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil any type- I use coconut
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mini chocolate chips divided



Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 15×10.5 (I used a 13x9)  pan with non-stick spray.

Peel bananas and mash well. Stir in brown sugar, oil, milk and eggs until combined. Add in dry ingredients and stir. Fold in 1/2 the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips on top. Bake 18-22 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Yields 24 bars.

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake

Basically, I have a ton of bananas that I bought for baking.  Some of them are going to make some Banana Jam, and if you've never tried that you don't know what you're missing.  Go check out the recipe over here.

I didn't want to make banana bread, I think that's been done to death.  No offense to banana bread, but if there's one thing this quarantine time has taught me, is that everyone and their mother is currently eating and baking them, and I'm a bit sick of seeing it everywhere LOL

My 17 year old son loves caramelized bananas, and any kind of banana cake, so I figured a caramelized banana cake would be the way to go.

I used the recipe for my grandfather's simple vanilla cake, and just made a quick caramel to hold the bananas in place.....if that makes sense.

Let's just bake and I'll show you.

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake

Simple Vanilla Cake
Sliced bananas
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water


In a small saucepan, mix the water and the sugar until sugar is dissolved.  Turn the heat to low, and let the mixture turn into a syrup.  I don't stir it, I just let it sit until it starts turning a nice golden brown.  Don't turn the heat too high or it will crystallize.

Once done, pour into a spring form pan.  Mine was a 9 inch.  Take the sliced bananas and make a layer over the caramel.

Take the vanilla cake batter, and slowly pour over the bananas and caramel.  Bake at 350 for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pull cake out of the oven, place over a cake plate and carefully invert.  Remove the side and bottom of pan.  If any bananas stick to the bottom, just scoop them out and pop them back on the cake.

That's it.  Simple, easy and soooo yummy.

Banana Beignets

So when I went grocery shopping, I found some cheap bananas at the commissary.  I always buy them when they're on sale because whatever doesn't get eaten by the kids, will end up in banana bread or banana jam.

I decided to make something a little different this time, just to change it up a bit, so these banana beignets happened.  I've had this recipe saved for a while, I think actually since the last time that I had bananas that needed using up.

The recipe is simple to follow, easy to make and well worth the time, which truth be told is not that much at all.

They are delicious on their own, or enjoyed with a cup of coffee.

Banana Beignets

Source:  Taste of Home

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

BEIGNETS:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
Oil for deep-fat frying

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix sugars and cinnamon until blended. In a large bowl, whisk the first five beignet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk egg, bananas, milk and 2 tablespoons oil until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.

2. In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry about 45-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar mixture while warm.

Yield: about 3 dozen.

Banana Crumb Coffee cake

 

I have a very similar recipe, already here on the blog. But can we ever have too many banana cake recipes?   I don't think so. 

 

Well bananas are my favorite fruit, right up there with strawberries.  When it comes to dessert though, I am not a huge fan of strawberry anything, I much prefer banana flavored.  I guess that's a good thing because bananas are one of those foods in my kitchen that go bad really quickly, so I'm always on the lookout for a good way to use them up.

 

If you're looking for a few recipes to make using your ripe bananas, just do a quick search here on the blog, I have a quite a few waiting for you to try.

 

 

 

The trick to this amazing coffee cake, is to layer the batter and the topping. 

 

Ask me if I did that this time? 

 

No, no I didn't.  I was quickly getting this recipe together, in the middle of cooking dinner, and proceeded to dump the whole batter in.  When I realized what I had done, I grabbed a spoon and just stirred it all up, then added the topping.

 

Not what it is supposed to be, at all, but you know the taste is still there and that is what matters.

 

Besides, who has never made a mistake in the kitchen?  Cause this girl right here, still makes quite a few to this day.  You would think that with as much as I cook and bake, and how much time I spend in the kitchen, I would be an expert, but nope, mistakes are still made.

 

Anyway, this is the perfect coffee cake for a breakfast, a brunch, an afternoon dessert or a family get together.

 

So good!

 

 

 

Banana Crumb Coffee Cake

 

 

Ingredients

Crumb Layers 

1/2 cup cold butter (8 tablespoons), cut into small cubes  

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 cup packed light brown sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

 

Cake 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

3 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp salt 3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed 

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature 

1 cup granulated sugar 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup milk 

 

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar 

1-2 tbsp 

 

 

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with butter or cooking spray; set aside. 

 

In a large bowl, use your hands or two forks to crumble together the cold butter cubes, flour, sugars, and cinnamon until the mixture resembles a crumbly topping. Set aside the crumb mixture. 

 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, mix softened butter on medium until creamy, about 2 minutes. 

 

Add the sugar and mix for another minute, until well incorporated. Then add the eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and mix just until ingredients are incorporated (do not overmix!) 

 

Turn the mixer down to low, and alternate mixing in milk and flour until all ingredients are combined. 

 

Pour half of the cake mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with ⅓ - ¼ of the crumb mixture. Then pour the remaining cake mixture on top of that layer and finally, top evenly with the remaining crumb topping. 

 

Bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

 

 

To make the glaze: 

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Add more milk as needed until you get the glaze consistency you prefer. Set aside. 

 

Cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the top, slicing, and serving.

Mango Banana Green Smoothie

I've mentioned Skinny Taste here on my blog, quite a few times.  I love her recipes, they are healthy, they are low calorie and they are delicious.

I've always believed that you don't need to eat flavorless, bland, yucky foods to still enjoy healthy, and Gina over at Skinny Taste is living proof of it.

If you've never heard of her blog or visited, you don't know what you're missing, go check it out.

I haven't been feeling very well, I can tell that I'm seriously lacking vegetables and fruit, and clean eating, and mostly water.  I've kind of let myself go in that sense, and even though I still enjoy delicious meals, I feel that when I drink just water and up my veggie and fruit intake, my body feels so much healthier.

With that in mind, the past two days I have drank just water flavored with lemon, or orange and grapes.  Love it.  I've also started having a green smoothie at day, either for breakfast or lunch, so I've gathered all my green smoothie recipes and am going to try a few.  The first one on the list was this Mango Banana Green Smoothie from Skinny Taste.

I didn't add the Hemp seeds, not because I didn't want to, but I am having a hard time finding them in my little town, but it's still delicious without them.

Give it a try...and by the way, my children love these smoothies too which is a huge plus for me, it means I'm giving them yummy healthy good stuff, and in this day an age where our lives are surrounded by processed food, it's a good thing.

Mango Banana Superfood Green Smoothie

Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 2 • Size: 16 oz smoothie • Old Points: 3 • Weight Watcher Points+: 4 pt
Calories: 173.5 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 4.5 g • Protein: 5 g • Sugar: 15.5 g
Sodium: 171 mg • Cholest: 0 mg

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana
1 packed cup baby spinach
2/3 cup fresh mango, diced
2 tbsp raw hemp seeds, shelled
1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup ice
sweetener, to taste (I used a few drops of Nu-Naturals liquid stevia)


Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, adjust sweetener to your taste.

Banana Nut Cake with Caramel Icing

Oh my.....ooohhhhhhhh myyyyyyy!!!!

Ok so you all know Miss Kay from the Duck Dynasty series right?  Remember I shared her Honey Pecan Pie a while back?  And that was like, so good.

Well going through her cookbook earlier, I came across this recipe for banana cake, and what do you know, I actually have a bunch of bananas that are going bad and need to be made into bread, cake, smoothies etc.

THIS though, oh my goodness, it's so good.  Moist, flavorful all on it's own, but then throw in some caramel icing and it takes it to a whole other level.

If you have to make just one cake in the next week or two, let it be this one, you won't be disappointed.  And trust me when I tell you that Miss Kay's Duck Commander Kitchen is one cookbook every kitchen should have.

Banana Nut Cake with Caramel Icing

Adapted from:  Miss Kay's Duck Commander Kitchen

2 cups all purpose flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 medium ripe bananas
2 eggs
chopped almonds

Caramel icing
1 stick butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour the cake pans or bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the shortening, buttermilk and bananas.  Mix with the electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the eggs and beat 2 more minutes.  Fold in the almonds.

Pour the batter into 2  9-inch pans, or a bundt pan.  Bake until the layers start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of a layer comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let the layers cool in the pans for a few minutes, then run a spatula around the sides and invert the layers onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the layers are cooling, make the frosting.  In a saucepan on medium heat, bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Add the milk and bring back to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Stir in the powdered sugar.

When the cake layers are cool, frost the top of one layer.  Put the other layer on top and frost the top and sides.

Note:  I used my bundt cake and did not frost the inside or all around the cake, just the top.

Blueberry Banana and Oatmeal Smoothie

I have been on a smoothie kick lately, especially enjoying experimenting with spinach, kale and other greens.

They are not only healthy, as I've said before, but can be very tasty.  I don't know why so many are scared at the thought of mixing fruits and leafy greens in a smoothie.....but I can understand because I was somewhat apprehensive at first.

Never fear, the wonderful Gina at Skinny Taste has tons of amazing, tasty smoothie recipes for us.

This is another one from her and I love it.

Blueberry, Banana and Oatmeal Smoothie

Source:  Skinny Taste

1/2 cup raw quick oats*
2 cups water
1/2 cup Almond Breeze vanilla unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 ripe medium banana
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp raw sugar
1/2 cup ice

Directions:

Cook oats and water in a small pot for about a minute or two, stirring often until it becomes thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and let it cool a few minutes.

In a blender add almond milk, blueberries, banana, cooled oats, vanillas, sugar and ice. Blend on high until very smooth. Pour in a glass over ice. Enjoy!!

Makes 3 1/2 cups.

*Use gf oats to make this gluten-free.

White Chocolate Chip, Almond, Banana Cake

So I was looking through my refrigerator and cleaning it out in preparation for grocery shopping.  I found 4 bananas that were needing to be used up or thrown out, and I never throw anything out that I can use.

What came to mind?

Banana bread, but I didn't want to just make plain banana bread, I wanted to kick it up a little.  I've used chocolate chips before but again, I wanted to change that up some, so I grabbed a few things and got to work.  I used my Banana Bread recipe just changing it slightly by adding two different ingredients.

If you want to make this cake, follow my recipe for Good Ol' Banana Bread but add in White Chocolate Chips and some Almonds.  I didn't measure, I just poured in a bit, I would say a cup of the chocolate chips and maybe half a cup of the almonds.

Bake in a loaf pan according to the directions on the recipe.

Remove from pan and let cool, slice the loaf into thirds so you'll end up with 3 layers and let cool completely.

Sandwich them between layers of Cool Whip and dust with powdered sugar.

Your family will thank you for this.  I promise.  It is so good, and all those amazing flavors meld together to create an out of this world delicious cake.

Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread

Today, I am sharing the recipe for a copycat Starbucks Banana Bread.  It is so good.  What I love about it, is that it's just the perfect combination, it's not overly sweet,  and it's also really easy to make.

If you have bananas that you need using up, this is the perfect recipe.  Now I know we all have a ton of banana bread recipes, I think it's probably one of the most made recipes all over the world.  I myself have quite a few, even posted here on the blog, but it never hurts to have one more right?

Give this one a try and let me know what you think, it's become my go to banana bread.

Recipe comes from My Frugal Adventures.

 

 

Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread

Source: My Frugal Adventures

Ingredients 

 

2 cups flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

 ¼ teaspoon salt 

1 egg 

1⅛ cup sugar 

 ½ cup vegetable or canola oil 

 2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk 

½ teaspoon vanilla 

3 bananas mashed very well 

 ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

 

 

Instructions 

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add flour, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and set aside. Mix egg, sugar and oil and stir until well combined 

 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. The mixture will be thick and dry. Next add milk, vanilla and bananas and stir until incorporated. 

 

Mix in walnuts and pour into a loaf pan. 

 

Cook 50-75 minutes, checking regularly until a knife comes out clean. 

 

 

Refrigerator Oatmeal

I recently started purging my facebook of all the crazy pages I have liked over the years, and have been replacing them with things that make me smile.

I love seeing my news feed, filled with homemaking, recipes, farming, gardening etc.



This morning, one of new favorite FB pages posted a link to this Refrigerator Oatmeal.  Refrigerator Oatmeal!!!

Now I've tried overnight oatmeal in the crockpot, but I honestly had no idea you could make it in the refrigerator and then to be able to go crazy with all the flavor combinations.  Oh boy.

I bookmarked the page and this afternoon while doing my usual Sunday replenishing of cookie jars, canning, lunches for the week etc, I made a few jars of this oatmeal to enjoy for breakfast this coming week.

These are SO SO easy to put together, I'm just in awe.  Can't wait to try the first one tomorrow and see how it turns out.

Monica from the Yummy Life gives us a bunch of different flavors to try such as Mango Almond, Blueberry Maple, Apple Cinnamon,  Banana Cocoa....as well as the basic recipe, which is....

old fashioned rolled oats (not instant, quick, or steel-cut)
Greek yogurt (regular yogurt is thinner; if you use it, you'll need to reduce the amount of milk); read my post for easy instructions for straining regular yogurt to make Greek yogurt.
milk (I used skim, but any kind will work)
chia seeds; I bought mine at Whole Foods; available on
half pint (1 cup) mason jars

I am not using Chia seeds, so had to change it a little.  The recipes below are adapted from Monica's.

Refrigerator Banana Chocolate Oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Milo chocolate drink
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 a banana or enough to fill jar

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, milo and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

Refrigerator Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 a banana or enough to fill jar

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, peanut butter and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

Refrigerator Strawberry Oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup strawberry Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

Refrigerator Blueberry Oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup blueberry Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.