Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites

In keeping up with my low-fat and low-calorie diet, I still need 2 things: (1) SUGAR and (2) CHOCOLATE! There are a few things I won’t give up because, well, I LOVE FOOD and that won’t change! But the reality is you don’t have to give up foods you enjoy to lose weight. Moderation is key. When I say moderation, I mean moderation sometimes in small amounts. You are giving yourself the satisfaction to please your tummy, mind and soul without having to feel like you blew your day’s workout or the progress you’ve made in losing weight thus far. With all that in mind I came up with these banana bites with chocolate, fruit, & even sugar in combination with fiber and protein  seriously this is a WIN-WIN if I ever saw it!

INGREDIENTS
3 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup sweetened apple sauce (I use Tree Top pre-packaged for convenience in measuring each cup is 1/2 cup)
1.25 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
3 tbsp Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread (YUM!)
Mini Chocolate Chips (optional to sprinkle on top and is not included int he nutritional value of this recipe)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a non-stick loaf pan, or muffin tin, or brownie pan ( I used brownie pan) with a non stick spray. IF your pans are non stick no need to do this.
2. Mash bananas and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce, Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread, and vanilla. Beat with mixer until well combined.
4. Add flour mixture, then blend at low-speed until combined. Do not over mix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serving Size: Makes 18 Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites at 1.75 oz each

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 18
Calories: 92.1
Total Fat: 2.1 g
Cholesterol: 1.9 mg
Sodium: 197.6 mg
Total Carbs: 18.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
Protein: 2.0 g

Gingerbread Pancakes with Molasses Butter

gingerbread pancakes (Photo credit: emdot)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups pancake mix
1.25 cups (10-oz bottle) sparkling apple cider
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tsp Gingerbread Spice Mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake into a lightly buttered skillet.
2. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Serve warm with Molasses Butter.

Molasses Butter

• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 1 tbsp dark molasses
• 1/4 tsp Gingerbread Spice Mix

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined and dollop on top of pancakes.

Related articles

• Rosemary & Garlic Infused Oil (sweetheatchefs.com)
• Candy Brandy Pecans (sweetheatchefs.com)
• Gingerbread Pancakes for One (collegiateculinaire.wordpress.com)

 

Cornbread Toaster Bites

This is it…all the ingredients needed for this recipe, only 9 of them! Love easy, love convenient, love quick & YUMMY!

Do you remember the days when your mom was making homemade cornbread and as it was baking away in the oven and the odor of that sweet corn traveled through the house and made its way to your room? You emerge from under a pile of clothes that has been strewn about your room for weeks even though your mom has asked you to pick it up every time she walks by, to see what was for dinner. I love cornbread in many things and with many things. Now that the weather is getting cooler I can’t think of anything better than to get cooking on finding a new use for them.

I have had cornbread for lunch and dinner…how about breakfast? I can’t remember a breakfast that I have had that included fresh-baked cornbread. The vest part about this recipe is it is quick to assemble and a quick bake for the morning. You can get up throw everything together and bake. When you make you can eat it right as it is out of the oven with melting butter and drizzled honey and a few sprigs of freshly toasted rosemary leaves! You will not be able to stop at 1 piece!

Since this makes an entire sheet pan, you most likely will have left overs. Pop these in the toaster in the morning and repeat the process of butter, honey and rosemary. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea and you are in sweet cornbread bliss.

NOTE TO SELF: If possible get a plate, put your feet up and zen out!

INGREDIENT LIST

1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c + 2 T sugar
2 eggs
1.5 t vanilla
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 c + 2 T cornmeal
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 c milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. and
In a medium-sized bowl mix together the melted butter & sugar.

Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

Add the baking powder, cornmeal, flour & salt. Mix until everything is moistened. 

Add milk & mix until smooth

Line a 10″ x 15″ baking sheet with 1/2″ sides with foils and a piece of parchment paper. Spray a little non stick cooking spray on the parchment and throw a small handful of cornmeal over the top (this is optional) Pour your batter onto the parchment paper and spread it out over the entire sheet, getting it in each corner. If the mixture is uneven just give the cookie sheet a couple shakes to even it out.

Bake for about 25 minutes. The edges should be brown & pulling away from the side of the pan & the top should be set and not jiggly.

Allow to rest in the pan 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into. This helps keep the shape you want for making the taster bites. Using a sharp knife cut into individual pieces. 

Store the toaster bites in plastic wrap or in a re-sealable bag in the refrigerator. For longer storage keep them in freezer bags in the freezer.

 

 

Shown on Foodie Friends Friday!

Basic Crepes

 

INGREDIENTS

1 c. Flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. Milk
1/2 c. Water
1 t. Vanilla (if making sweet ones)
Strawberries
Bananas
Nutella

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl
2. Add milk, water, and vanilla (if you are using)
3. Gradually add flour and whisk until smooth
4. In a small non stick saucepan, add about 1/4 c. or less of batter to pan and swirl in a circular motion in pan until bottom is coated.
5. Continue to cook until the moisture is gone on top and flip to other side.
6. Cook for no longer than 1 minute and take out of pan
7. To the finished crepe, add 1 T. nutella and spread around crepe. 
8. Add sliced banana on top of the nutella
9. Roll the crepe up like a burrito
10. Top with additional sliced banana, strawberries, whip cream!

Nutella & banana crepes

 

7 Ingredient Breakfast Nests

INGREDIENTS
1 24 oz. bag of shredded hash browns, mostly thawed
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
4 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup sharp shredded cheddar, jack cheese, or pepper jack cheese
12 pieces Bacon , slightly cooked
Extra shredded cheddar
Fresh chives
Large Muffin Tin 

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Open the hash brown bag and dump contents into a large bowl, mix in the salt, pepper, oil and 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
2. Spray your large muffin tin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners.
3. Divide mixture into the muffin tin cups
4. Bake hash browns at 18 minutes or until desired crispiness. Keep in mind this is not the only baking they will go through so do not over cook.
5. While the hash brown mixture is baking cook your bacon slices until close to being done, but still pliable, in the sense that they will bend without cracking and knowing that they will go in a hot oven to cook more. When finished drain fat on paper towel and set aside.
6. Once the hash browns are finished, take them out, let cool and lower the temp of the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Take your bacon 1 piece at a time and wrap around the hash brown. You can do this 1 of 2 ways. (1) remove the hash brown cup, place bacon around the cup and replace the hash brown; or (2) using a butter knife, gently separate the hash brown cup from the side of the muffin tin and place bacon strip around the cooked hash brown. 
8. Next crack an egg into each of the cups, my kids like to pop the yolk on this part 😀
9. Add more hash brown mixture to the top of the egg covering it entirely.
10. Add a sprinkle of your extra cheese
11. Bake at 400 degrees for an additional 15-20 minutes (or until the eggs are as firm as you like them).
12. Slide a knife along the edges to remove from pan when cooled and garnish with fresh chives.

 

Large muffin tins with hash brown nests

Loving my mini herb garden, my chives inspired this yummy breakfast treat!

who doesn’t love bacon? Ok, vegetarians, but in our house bacon is a staple item! MMMMMM ZIZZLE….

Bacon wrapped around hash brown nests

this is the version of removing the hash brown nest, placing bacon in and then adding back the hash brown nest

Add egg, more hash browns, and more cheese to top, before going back in the oven.

I froze some strawberries a while back because no one was eating them. i didn’t want them to go bad and you can ALWAYS use them for something. I decided to use some of my leftover Friday baking, Banana Coconut Bread to go alongside this breakfast. I used a heart cookie cutter and cut out a heart shape and halved a strawberry and placed on top of the cut out!

After it cools a few minutes, remove from muffin tin

Garnish with fresh chives and serve with a glass of nice cold sparkling strawberry apple juice!

 

Low Fat Monkey Cups aka Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/3 c. Vegetable Oil or Coconut Oil
1/3 c. Low Fat Sour Cream
1 t. Vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 T. Wheat Germ
1 T. Flax Seeds
1 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
3/4 c. Sugar
DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine all wet ingredients except banana.
2. Mash bananas and set aside.
3. In medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.
4. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet mixture stirring just until combined. Do not over mix ingredients.
5. Add mashed bananas at the end.  
6. Fill your muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.
7. Cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.