Low Fat Banana Muffins

I've been making this low fat banana muffin recipe for years every time I have bananas that are beginning to turn. For about 150 calories per full muffin, or under 40 for one of these mini muffins, you can't really go wrong! Mini muffins will yield a large batch, over 3 dozen muffins. As you can see, I made some small banana breads as well with the extra batter!

 

2 bananas, mashed

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine or butter spread

2 eggs

1/8 cup water

1 1/2 cups flour

1 Tsp baking soda

1/4 Tsp baking powder

1/2 Tsp salt

 

In a stand mixer, cream the margarine or butter until soft and then add in the bananas, mashing completely. Add in the eggs and water, mixing gently. While the mixer is turning, add in the sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Lastly, fold the flour into your batter.



 Fill up muffin pans or paper liners about 1/2 to 3/4 full and bake in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine usually take about 20-25 minutes for regular muffins and 15-20 minutes for mini muffins. You can also make banana bread loaves with this batter. Baking time will be about an hour.

Cool and store in a Ziploc bag on the counter for several days or in the fridge for a week or more.

Monte Cristos

 If you've never had a monte cristo, I'm afraid you are missing out. I am not a person who mixes foods at all. If they made separated plates in fine china, I would own them. This is one of these dishes that "it's ok because someone else did it and it's accepted". That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

A monte cristo is basically a sandwich made of ham, turkey, and various cheeses that is coated in a pancake like batter, pan fried, and served with a fruit jelly! This would surely wow any brunch guest. You can serve them cold as well but, they are better warm and melty. 

The first batch, I made for some guests and used leftover hamburger buns. Traditionally, it's made with bread and there is an extra piece in the middle, kind of like a Big Mac. I preferred the thickness of hamburger buns. The second time I did it (above), I used some cinnamon raisin bread. Use your creativity because mostly anything can go here. The only thing I wouldn't do is use condiments on the sandwiches. 

Layer the cheese closest to each slice of bread. I used cheddar and American but, again use Swiss, Monterrey Jack...whatever you like. Then layer turkey and ham on each side and close the sandwich. Press down hard on each sandwich to squish it. Then stack them and press down hard again to get them nice and thin. 

They should be refrigerated as long as possible. It's best to assemble the sandwiches the day before if you can! This helps seal them together. 

When you are ready to fry them up, heat up a nonstick skillet on low. The popular way to cook these is to use oil and fry them but I just can't cook like that. A bit of spreadable butter will do well pan frying them for me. 

Mix up a pancake like batter. This is what I use:

1/2 cup flour
3/4 Tsp baking powder
1/8 Tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 Tsp vegetable oil

Your batter should be runny, so you want to thin it out with water or milk. It should coat the sandwiches without allowing you to see the meat and cheese but not be as thick as batter. Then, carefully dip the sandwiches and fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown. 

While still hot, dust them with some sifted powdered sugar. They are mostly served dipped in raspberry jam, but strawberry or blackberry work as well. Enjoy the eewy gooey breakfast goodness!

Banana & Egg Flourless Pancakes

This is another recipe that I came across again and again, trending on Pinterest and it caught my attention. Who wouldn't want to try flourless diet pancakes? Well, as usual, I tweaked the recipes I found and came up with my own winning combination because I really didn't think that there was much pancake in the original "pancakes". I also like flavor, which I thought they lacked, even with adding some maple syrup.

 

2 bananas

3 eggs

1 Tbsp flour (if you want it gluten-free then don't use it, but I find that this tiny bit went a long way!)

1 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

1 packet of sweetener (Splenda)

 

Recipe Adapted from Blogilates



Mash the bananas well using a blender or mixer and add eggs, whisking them. Slowly sprinkle in flour and add in the spices. I used a batter dispenser to form my pancakes and cooked them on a non-stick pan with a spray from my Misto. The batter is pretty runny! I did manage to cook two silver-dollar pancakes at once in a large pan, but I wouldn't go much more than that. They cook fast, about a minute or two only on each side.

Banana and egg are still the predominant flavors in these, not pancakes. In the future, I would forgo the maple syrup route and have them with butter, a small amount of peanut butter, some caramel, or a bananas foster topping that I make sometimes (will share at some point). All in all, it was a different thing to try but I wasn't totally sold on them. Give me my flour I suppose...



Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf

 Who doesn't love blueberries? ...and I love anything with lemon in it. The greek yogurt makes the loaf in this recipe that uses the poke method of making sure you always get a moist cake. It's great for breakfast or dessert.
 

Loaf:

1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tsps baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 Tsps grated lemon zest
1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries

 

Glaze:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

 

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with shortening. Add the 1 Tbsp of flour to the pan and flour the sides, tapping out any excess flour. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. If using frozen blueberries, thoroughly rinse them in a colander to prevent the loaf from turning purple. Gently fold them into the mixture and pour into the loaf pan. The loaf should bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Let the loaf cool for 10-15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Using a knife or toothpick, trace edges of the loaf and place upside down on a paper towel. The loaf should fall out with little help. Completely cool on a wire rack.



While the loaf is cooling, stir together the lemon juice and sugar in a small pot under low heat. Once the mixture begins to boil, stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup starts to brown. Let the mixture cool. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or large chopsticks, poke holes all over the top of the loaf, about half way deep through it. Once the sugar syrup has cooled, mix in the remaining yogurt and pour over the loaf. Allow it to harden and cool in the fridge.

 

This loaf should be stored in the fridge but, after a few hours, the yogurt glaze will harden and it can travel or sit for a few hours until being served. I personally microwave my slice for about 30 seconds before enjoying it.