On Food: Lorraine's Banana Bread

I haven't posted in way too long and I heartily apologize.

BUT
I'm back today to pass along something wonderful.
Something life changing.
Something you will love me for forever.
and that will definitely make you forget that I abandoned you for about 4 months.

Are you ready for this?

LORRAINE'S (LOWER FAT) BANANA BREAD

Now just as a disclaimer, I'm not always all about low fat.
Fat is good. Your body needs it.
Your cells are coated in it,
which sounds gross but is actually a good thing.
Not to mention that in cooking, fat = flavor.
So it makes sense that a lot of times "low-fat" can mean things like extra sugar, artificial flavors and lord knows what else to make what you're eating taste more like the real thing.

This recipe is awesome because it maintains the taste and awesome-ness of regular banana bread, but has none of that extra stuff.
The secret?
Sour cream, greek yogurt and applesauce.

Lorraine (who is my mom and the source of this recipe) has been using applesauce to substitute for butter in recipes for a long time. It might sound gross but it's actually the perfect substitute in banana bread. My mom's version of this recipe calls for sour cream only, but I like to use half and half  sour cream and greek yogurt. If you don't know about greek yogurt yet, you should try it. It's amazing. It's got way more protein than regular yogurt and can be used in smoothies, as a condiment, and as a substitute for sour cream or oil in a LOT of recipes!

Greek yogurt is kind of a miracle.

Anyway, back to this banana bread.
Here, the yogurt/sour cream adds a richness to the batter with way less fat than butter.
You still get a ton of flavor, plus added protein from the greek yogurt, fiber from the applesauce... it's a no-brainer really.

Try this recipe. You won't regret it.

Lorraine's Banana Bread

1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Apple Sauce
3-4 Smashed Over-ripe Bananas
1/8 C. Sour Cream
1/8 C. Plain Greek Yogurt
2 Eggs
1 TSP. Vanilla

2 C. Flour
1/2 TSP. Baking Powder
3/4 TSP. Baking Soda
1/2 TSP. Salt
1/2 C. Nuts (optional)

Mix the apple sauce and sugar on low until combined. Add bananas, sour cream, yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.

Combine dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients little by little while mixer is on low. Once batter is well mixed, add nuts if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees in a greased/floured pan.

20-25 minutes for muffins.
40-45 minutes for a large loaf

Combine dry ingredients

Poems: A good marriage is...

I realize I haven't posted in over a month. I also realize that this probably amounts to about 6.7 lightyears in the blogging world.

I've been wanting to share this poem for a while. Someone slipped it into one of our wedding cards and it now hangs on our fridge, where I often re-read it. I don't know where it came from or who the author is, and a Google search for her name was largely unsuccessful. Apologies to any un-married readers, as it speaks exclusively about marriage- however every time I read it, it strikes me how true it is. Let's see if you other married folks agree:


A Good Marriage is:

A solemn, binding wink.


A hand to hold, on the dark path.


A look that explodes into laughter.


Two heads on one pillow.


Chili without grease floating on the top.


Knowing the lipstick on his shirt is yours.


Knowing the glow she has is from your kiss.


Overlooking apple cores in ashtrays, socks draped on door knobs, doors slamming and words that shouldn't have been said.


Warming sunshine, when the chill winds of misfortune blow across your path


When you stumble, a hand under your elbow.


A fragile thread of discovering love, soon woven 
into a garment of irreplaceable comfort.


The solid bulk of him to lean into.


The shimmering heat of her,


A light in the window.


Going one more mile.


Knowing when you reach- you will touch.


Bed Talk.


A fresh breeze, scattering the storm clouds.


Hearing the pride in his voice when he says,
"I'd like you to meet my wife."


Giving it all you've got, every minute of every day,
to keep that pride in his voice.


Saying "Hello, I'm here, I'm yours," with only a glance.
For always, in all ways.


Remembering a good man any day is hard to find.


Remembering a little tenderness and blarney go a long way.


When she says, "I listen for your whistle coming up the walk, it's the best sound of the day.
Instead of: "What! Are you home already!"


When he says, "You're all woman now, no girl could have your beauty."
Instead of: "Why don't you try dyeing your hair, or something?"


Never saying, "If I had married Harry..."


Never telling her, "I wish you'd married Harry..."
-PADDY NOYES

inMYkitchen: Granola

Yesterday I made something so delicious, easy and amazing that I can't help but share it with you.

It's: GRANOLA!

I had this yesterday on top of yogurt as a snack.

I had it this morning with some milk for breakfast.

How have I never tried this before? IT'S SO EASY TO MAKE! Get ready to have your world rocked.

If you've been reading my blog since the beginning, then you probably remember this post AND this post where I explained how I feel about packaged foods, preservatives and the like. The great thing about making ANYTHING from scratch is that you can control exactly what goes in it. Not to mention, it's usually cheaper than buying it at the store.

To form the base of the granola you will need:

1 C Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

2 TBS Honey (I used local honey)

3TBS Vegetable Oil (not olive oil- it has to be a light oil, otherwise the granola will have a weird taste)

As for other ingredients, granola is totally customizable! It's part of what I love about it. 

Here's what I put in mine:

1/3 C Chopped Dates

1/4 C Chopped Almonds*

3 TBS Flaked Coconut

*Just because I always have them in the house, I used almonds roasted with dark cocoa powder in this. I think that the cocoa powder worked really well with the coconut, but I'm sure any kind of chopped nuts would have worked equally well. Also, none of these measurements in the second half are exactly exact, so feel free to play around with them.

What else could you use?

Chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds... the list is really endless.

In fact, I have a second batch in the oven right now with raisins and a hint of cinnamon.

Let your creativity run wild!

Toss all ingredients together, spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes (or until mix turns golden brown (stirring occasionally)

If you are using dried fruit of any kind, you can either add it to the mixture before baking or right after the mix comes out of the oven. Cooking the dried fruit will bring out the sugars but will also dry the fruit out more giving it a chewey texture. If you'd rather, you can stir any dried fruit in when the granola comes out of the oven, while it is still warm.

Enjoy!