Banana Nut Bread

I cannot say this is better than my moms famous banana bread, but it is a healthier version that stands up pretty well. You can really modify most recipes, and doing so to your favorite family favorites allows you enjoy them more often without the guilt.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 TBS ground flax seed
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBS organic milk
• 1 cup mashed ripe organic bananas
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

I used walnuts for this bread, but you can use any nut you prefer, or no nuts at all. And to be honest, I probably used more than 1/2 cup.

Preheat oven to 350. Stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In your mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until light in color, scraping sides often. Add eggs, one at a time, then the milk, making sure the batter is smooth after each addition. Now add the flour and mashed bananas alternating 1/3 of each mixture until smooth and incorporated. Scrape down bowl one more time and mix again. Fold in nuts.

Pour batter into lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. Make sure to check after 60 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, remove from oven. If not, bake 5 more minutes and check again.

Let the loaf cool in pan for 10 minutes before cooling on rack.

Love,

Sam

Simple Garlic Hummus

Tonight I am cheating and using a pre-marinated curry chicken from Trader. I have never tried it before and am not sure how I feel about pre-marinated meats, but I will let you know.


So I have decided to make some simple homemade hummus to go along with it. Hummus is so quick and so simple to make at home if you have a blender. It is literally 4 ingredients, tastes better than anything you will buy, and is probably a lot cheaper too!

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2-4 cloves of garlic (depending how spicy you like it!)
• 2 TBS good olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on top

Blend all ingredients together, put into lovely little dish, drizzle with olive oil, and WA-LA! Your friends will be so impressed and you will love it.





Love,
Sam