Banana Berry Bread

Low-fat, healthy and delicious.  It's all here in this Banana Berry Bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 3 medium mashed bananas
• 2 cups frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except blueberries for about 30 seconds.
2. Fold in frozen berries.
3. Pour into 2 greased 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 loaf pans that have been greased on the bottoms only.
4. Bake in 350º oven for 55-60 minutes, til toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Cool slightly, loosen sides with knife from sides of pan, turn out onto rack to cool.

Notes: 

• I used a combination of frozen blueberries, raspberries and blackberries - delicious! 
• Agave Syrup is a natural sweetener, much better for you than sugar.
• I cut my loaves into slices and froze them individually so I can easily grab one for my mid-morning snack.

Entertaining Tips

We entertain quite a bit and really enjoy having people over. I thought I might share a few tips that I use when entertaining a large crowd.  It can be intimidating having a group of people over whether it's family or friends.  With a little organization and advanced planning, you can  have a relaxed enjoyable time and still throw a great party.

• Do as much prep work as you can in advance.  Make things ahead of time such as appetizers or side dishes and freeze them.

• Have a combination of store-bought and home-made food so that you're not prepping and cooking for days on end.  Having people over is supposed to be enjoyable for everyone.  It's not much fun if you're exhausted when they arrive.

• Set your platters, dishes, and serving spoons out ahead of time.  Label them so you know which serving dish is used for what.  That way the giant pot of potatoes don't end up in the little bowl that supposed to be used for corn and now you have no other serving bowls left.  This is a good tip if you people helping you in the kitchen.  Post-it notes work well.

• If you're having a potluck, put out an assortment of platters, bowls, and serving spoons on the counter so that people can easily grab something for their dish if needed.  Some people will bring their serving spoons and have everything ready to go, but others will rely on you to supply things.  This way you're prepared.

• If you're having children over and are out of the "kids stage", have some easy activities for them such as colouring, crafts, etc.  Put together a box of items such as books and toys for them to play with.

• If you're having a buffet, wrap your cutlery (e.g. knife, fork, etc.) in a napkin and place in a colourful container.  When your guests make up their plate, they can pick up their cutlery at the same time.

Whole Foods Cabbage Crunch

So simple, so delicious, and so good for you.  What's not to like?  

Great winter recipe, when vegetables aren't so plentiful, but you still need and crave them.

This is a Whole Foods recipe:

8 cups green cabbage, shredded (1/2 a large head)*
1 teaspoon black sesame seed, toasted
4 scallions, sliced with some green stems
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Honey Dressing:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
salt, to taste
Directions:

Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Honey Dressing: Mix cider and honey together. Pour in oil drop by drop and whisk until emulsified. Chill if not using right away. Before serving, whisk again and pour over salad. Toss to coat.

* I use a Savoy cabbage. You could use a regular green cabbage or napa would work well too.

Hash Brown Potato Casserole (otherwise known as 'Gail's Potatoes')

We've been making this potato casserole for many years, even before my children were born!  However, I hadn't made it in years and then ended up making it 3 times over the Christmas holidays.  It's so easy and delicious.  It also freezes well, so you can make it ahead of time, bake it, freeze it, then thaw it out and reheat it.  What a great timesaver!

It's always a hit no matter when or where you serve it.  A great dish for potlucks.

Yes, those are cornflakes on top!
Don't be put off, they add a great crunch and texture to the dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream DIRECTIONS:

1 chopped onion 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 2-3 cups crushed cornflakes cereal 134 cup melted butter or margarine

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped onion, Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Place mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish.
3.	In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute cornflakes in 1/4 cup melted butter, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole.
4.	Bake covered in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Breakfast Cookies

This healthy breakfast cookies make an easy 'grab n go' in the morning, or a great mid-morning or afternoon snack.  They're chocked full of good for you ingredients, so there's no guilt in eating these babies.

These monster cookies are from Martha Stewart's website:  
http://www.marthastewart.com/892629/breakfast-cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups packed dark-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raisins or currants
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dried papaya
• 1 cup dried banana chips

Directions

1. Preheat a convection oven to 325 degrees or a conventional oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and mix until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix just to combine.
   
4. With the mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, raisins, mango, and papaya; mix to combine.
   
5. Form dough into eight equal portions, about 1 cup each, and form into patties, about 4 inches in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheets. Top evenly with banana chips. Transfer to oven and bake until golden and firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.
   
   Notes:  in place of dried mango and papaya, I used dried cherries and also added 1/3 cup ground flax seed to make them even healthier.

Turkey Chili

Baby it's cold outside.... And with the cold, comes the call for good old comfort food.  Comfort food to me is lasagna, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, soup.....

However, comfort food can be healthy and good for you while still satisfying that need to cocoon.  Here's a healthy alternative to traditional chili and still tasty.

Ingredients:

1 kg ground turkey (2 packages)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
pepper
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 can canellini beans (also known as pinto beans)*
2 cans green chilis
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups corn, frozen is fine


Pour 1 1/2 tsp olive oil into a large pot.  Saute the chopped onion just until tender.  Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, making sure not to brown it.  Add the ground turkey, chopping up the turkey with a spoon.  Fry in the pot until the turkey is cooked through, making sure it's broken up into pieces.  Remove some of the excess drippings from the turkey (approx 1/3 cup or so).

Ad the spices, tasting along the way.  Add more or less to taste.  Add the canellini beans, the chopped tomatoes, and the green chilis.  Cook on a low heat for 1/2 hour or so.  Add the corn and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Can be frozen or reheated the next day.

Serve with shredded cheese and crushed up nachos, if desired.  You can also spoon a little light sour cream over top if you wish.