Foodie Friday-Healthy Banana Bread

 

A year or so ago I would have thought that ALL banana bread is healthy.  I mean it IS made from bananas and bananas are healthy right?  Well yes, the bananas are healthy but the white flour, all that sugar, and oil sure aren't! 

But this bread is, it is made with whole wheat flour, no sugar, and no oil.  Oh and did I mention it tastes great?  My kids who would choose to eat Hot Cheeotos over just about anything else in the world actually gave it a thumbs up.  In fact they didn't even notice a difference between this and any of the other banana breads I have made in the past.  

You will need:

2 Cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (replaces the oil)

3/4 cup honey (replaces the sugar)

2 eggs, beaten 

3 mashed banana 

Preheat oven to 350 

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another

Combine the wet and dry into one bowl and mix until just moist

Pour into a prepared loaf pan

Bake for 60-65 minutes 

I only used 2 bananas cause that was all I had and it still worked out just fine!  I hope you all enjoy this new take on banana bread!

Original recipe found at 8 Weeks to a Better You

Embroiderd Bookmarks

 

Here are two bookmarks I made for the March Birthday Swap.  The person I chose to craft for had these in the Pinterest and I thought they were just too cute!  I had never thought of using elastic to mark pages.  No way to lose your place since your marker can't fall out!  

I embroidered on felt using designs from my Doodle Stitching book.  Since it's hard to transfer designs on felt I actually traced what I wanted on tissue paper then pinned it on to the felt. It's a little bit harder to work with but still turned out okay.  See the raccoon eyes?  Those are my first successful french knots!!! After the embroider was done I cut out a backing then sandwiched the elastic between the two pieces and sewed it all together.  I have come to the conclusion that I am not very good at sewing in a circle...Adds charm right?

Manic Monday

San Gennaro Feast 2012

Foodie Friday-Parsnip Fries

So I saw this post about Parsnip Fries on Delighted Momma and I thought to myself "What the heck is a parsnip and how the heck can they be fries?"  Well since I am attempting to eat better and try some new things I gave it a try.  

I found a package of parsnips at Walmart and they look like large white carrots.  Let me tell you, while they bake they smell SOOOO good.  As for the taste, they were good but there is no way that I could pass these off as regular french fries to anyone.  The parsnips have a very distinct almost spicy flavor to them.

So if you want to try them yourself you will need:

Parsnips

Olive Oil (I use olive oil spray rather than actual olive oil most of the time and it always works just fine)

Salt & Pepper

Garlic Powder

Preheat the oven to 400

Wash and peel the parsnips then cut into fry shapes

Put them in a bowl and spray with the olive oil once, toss then spray again

Add the remaining seasoning and toss again

Lay the parsnips on a prepared baking sheet

Bake for 20-30 minutes turning once

Enjoy!!!

Adapted from recipe found at Delighted Momma

Shared at Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou

Celtic Hoopla

I have been in an stitchy mood lately.  All I want to do is embroider things!  I bought the book Doodle Stitching and I seriously want to make EVERYTHING from it!  It has some really good tips and how to's in it, everything from different stitches to transferring patterns.  

This is obviously not from that book and I apologize, I have no idea why the photo of this hoop is so bad.  I made this for a partner in the Ongoing Wish Swap on Craftster.  I used a stem stitch on the dark blue parts and a running stitch and back stitch on the light blue parts. 

P.S. Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Manic Monday

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Foodie Friday- Roasted Cauliflower

I am still on my healthy/weight loss journey and am really trying to cook things that are much healthier for myself and my family.  I found this cauliflower recipe on Pinterest that looked really intriguing and decided I had to try it out.  This cauliflower is so good.  Roasting it really brings out flavors I didn't know this bland veggie could have!   

You will need:

1 head of cauliflower, cut up

Olive Oil Cooking Spray 

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Preheat your oven to 400

I like to line my baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easier clean-up

Spray the bottom of the pan with the olive oil

Spread out the cauliflower and spray again

Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and paprika

Bake for approximately 1 hour turning the pieces 3-4 times during baking

Attempt to share with your family but actually end up eating 3/4th of it yourself!

This is seriously so good.

Recipe adapted from Delighted Momma who has some awesome low carb recipes on her blog.  Next week I will tell you about the parsnip fries I made from one of her recipes.

Paper Airplanes

This paper airplane hoop was made for a swap. It is a simple yet super cute little hoop.  I used a back stitch and a running stitch on a plain white background.

Manic Monday