March | 2012 | My Foodie Call

Monthly Archives: March 2012
- Healthy chocolate banana bread
  
  Posted at 6:28 am by myfoodiecall
  
  Mar 30th
  Chocolate banana bread. Breakfast? Snack? You decide.
  
  The My Foodie Call house buys bananas 4 bunches at a time. With all of the blending, baking, and banana-soft-serving that goes on in this household, we go through them. Most of the time. On occasion, we have a few bananas that are ready to meet their maker. Here is an option for what you could try with those bananas that have sat a little too long.
  
  Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread
  
  Ingredients:
  - 3 super ripe bananas (medium-sized)
  - 1 ripe avocado (medium-sized)
  - 1/2 cup brown sugar
  - 1 tsp baking soda
  - 1 tsp baking powder
  - 3 TBS canola oil (or coconut oil for a healthier option)
  - 1 TBS applesauce
  - 1 tsp lemon juice
  - 1 tsp salt
  - 1 egg
  - 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  - 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  - 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
  Directions:
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan. Blend (or smash) together bananas and avocado until smooth. I use a food processor for this step, but you could use a hand-held masher if you are feeling ambitious. Add in brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, oil, applesauce, lemon juice, salt and egg. Process in food processor or mix REALLY well (until your hand hurts).
  
  In separate bowl, mix together pastry flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Gradually add in banana mixture and mix well. The batter will be thick and sticky. If it is too dry, you can add a tad more applesauce.
  
  Spread into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle will come out clean when its done.
  
  Or top with applesauce….
  
  Unsweetened applesauce, of course.
  
  Avocado+Chocolate+Banana= Winner
  Posted in Breakfast, Desserts | Tagged avocado, banana, breakfast, chocolate
- Blueberry banana soft serve. Because it’s March 22nd and it’s hot out.
  
  Posted at 9:14 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Mar 22nd
  Blueberry soft serve. Guilt free, baby!
  
  Do you know how creamy bananas can be when frozen? The consistency is amazing. Years ago I would slice, freeze, and then snack on frozen bananas. Until I discovered this dessert. Gone are the days of my sucking on frozen sliced bananas. This dessert is amazing. A satisfying, dairy free soft serve from a banana base. I discovered this on a blog that I follow called, Choosing Raw. http://www.choosingraw.com. Since then I have made 1,000,001 variations of this. Chocolate soft serve, peanut butter soft serve, pumpkin peanut butter soft serve…. All with the frozen banana base, and a couple of add-on ingredients. The possibilities are endless. You just have to be willing to dust off your food processor.
  
  For today: Blueberry Soft Serve.
  
  About the ingredients
  - The bananas– DO NOT THROW OUT THOSE OLD BANANAS! I never waste bananas in this house. Brown bananas need love too. Honestly, the most ripe bananas are the sweetest, am I right? Slice them up, freeze in a freezer bag and keep them on hand for smoothies, and this yummy soft serve recipe.
  - The blueberries– Do you keep frozen berries in your freezer? full-time? Give them a home, in your freezer, permanently. Not just for summer!
  - Truvia– Optional healthy sweetener. Toss your Splenda, this is a better choice.
  Looks like this.
  
  On to the recipe:
  
  Blueberry banana soft serve
  
  (makes 2-4 servings…how hungry are ya?)
  
  3 frozen bananas (sliced and peeled beforehand)
  
  1 cup frozen blueberries
  
  3-4 tablespoons milk (I use almond milk to keep it dairy free)
  
  1-2 packets Truvia (optional…depends on your need for sweets!)
  
  Toss all ingredients into your food processor. Process until desired consistency, scraping the bowl down as needed.
  
  Blueberries and frozen bananas. A match made in heaven.
  
  Getting there….
  
  You will be hooked…
  
  A few Sundays ago we even had soft serve for our family breakfast. Living on the edge.
  Posted in Desserts, Snacks | Tagged banana, Snacks
- SNACKS for “those” days….
  
  Posted at 9:02 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Mar 19th
  I realize some days, carrots and hummus just will not cut it. If you can’t take another celery stick, here are 3 good snack choices from a standard grocer, Wal-Mart, and Trader Joe’s. No excuses. First things first, when buying chips or other snack items, try to find some that have 3 grams of fiber (or more) per serving. Plenty of snacks out there that have this promise. You just have to be willing to flip the bag. Remember, these do not equate to “healthy”, these are HEALTHIER than their standard counterparts.
  
  Regular Grocery Store
  - Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips– Can you step away from the Lay’s chips? I challenge you. Try this ~~healthy~~ healthier alternative.
  These have vitamin A and C. Not too shabby for a chip.
  - Food That Should Taste Good Chips– These are fantastic. Meet the fiber requirement and are made from a blend of stone ground corn, flax, sunflower seeds…. Just good, clean stuff. These are in the Wild Harvest section at Shaw’s. Venture out of the microwave popcorn/cheese curl aisle. You’ll survive.
  These Multigrain chips are the base for the My Foodie Call household “Healthy Nachos.”
  - Kellogg’s All-Bran Crackers- Multi-Grain– The first ingredient on the side panel is actually “whole wheat”. Why does this matter? Well, sometimes these companies try to trick you with the whole wheat angle and plastering the words “multi-grain” on the front . Don’t believe it until you check the ingredient list.
  Love these. Better and healthier than Wheat Thins. 5 grams of fiber? Score.
  
  WAL-MART
  - Snapea Crisps– These things are awesome. My youngest calls these the “long green things” instead of Snapea Crisps and yes, asks for the “long green things” as a snack. These are a crunchy green pea snack that well…taste nothing like green peas. Calcium, Iron, Protein, and my 3 grams of fiber requirement? Yup. Best part? These are $1.50 a bag. For real.
  Great as a snack, or as a soup or salad topper.
  - Annie’s Bunny Grahams-Honey–Did you know that Walmart has Annie’s products? Make Annie’s your new brand to look for. The Bunny Grahams are my go-to Teddy Graham replacement.
  The kids do not even miss those other guys.
  - Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate Granola Bars– Kashi. Another brand to seek out at Wal-Mart. These granola bars actually have real cherries, fiber and 5 grams of protein per bar. Take that Quaker Oat bars.
  Cherries, chocolate, and chewy? Yay, me!
  
  TRADER JOE’S
  - Raw Almonds– Protein packed. Grab these handfuls of heaven. Choose raw when possible for the best nutritional benefit.
  0 mg sodium in these. Can you say that about your go-to snack?
  - Roasted Seaweed Snack– Huh? Seaweed? No, not as scary as it sounds. Sea vegetables are true gold mines in terms of health. Lightly salted. Just enough to keep you reaching for another. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, try these.
  These are $1.00? Seriously? Can you even get a candy bar for that price these days?
  - Crunchy Curls– These are probably my favorite snack of all that are listed. Lentil potato chips. These are so good, it’s worth seeking out a Trader Joe’s for these. Even if it’s 100 miles away. Stock up.
  The curly shape makes them kind of fun and you feel like they are junky. But they aren’t.
  
  What snack do you reach for most afternoons?
  Posted in Small changes | Tagged Snacks
- Healthy, Breakfast Apple Crisp
  
  Posted at 6:50 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Mar 14th
  Apple crisp. I love dessert for breakfast.
  
  Another family favorite.
  
  This has been known to make an appearance for dinner. (insert gasp) Ok, I’ll skip the drama, but seriously, it is that good. And super easy.
  
  The only problem is, I never seem to make enough. I end up picking at lonely cinnamon crumbles off the pan. (insert sigh)
  
  A few things about the ingredients:
  - The apples– If possible, try to buy organic. These are the highest sprayed fruit of all the bunch.
  - Truvia– I gave the option of swapping out the sugar for Truvia. Do you know about Truvia? A natural, SAFE sugar alternative. Sold everywhere.
  Looks like this.
  
  On to the recipe….
  
  Healthy Breakfast Apple Crisp
  
  Ingredients:
  
  8-10 small apples, sliced (I do not peel. Fiber baby! I used a 2 lb bag of organic gala apples)
  
  1 cup rolled oats
  
  4 tablespoons sugar (health boost? substitute 3 packets Truvia)
  
  4 teaspoons canola oil (or coconut oil)
  
  8 teaspoons whole wheat flour
  
  2 heaping tsp. cinnamon
  
  Directions:
  
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 9×13 in baking dish with cooking spray. Place apples in baking dish.
  
  2. Mix together the oats, sugar (or Truvia), oil, flour, and cinnamon until it forms a nice crumble. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the apples.
  
  3. Bake until they are cooked (40-45 minutes depending on your preference)
  
  Bonus feature: Your house will smell amazing.
  
  Serves: 3-4. Depends on who is eating it!
  
  Add topping of your choice, and you are good to go.
  Posted in Breakfast, Desserts | Tagged apple, breakfast
- Mason jars have taken over my kitchen.
  
  Posted at 8:37 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Mar 11th
  Gogi, baby.
  
  These are only a fraction of the jars that take up some serious cupboard space in the My Foodie Call kitchen.
  
  Key staples for any health nut. Pun intended.
  
  Here is the breakdown of the items that should take up permanent residence on your shelves.
  - Gogi berries– Considered a top antioxidant and “Superfood”, these babies store easily and no spoilage. Strawberries out of season? that have been sitting on a produce truck for a week? Meh. I’ll pop some gogi and call it a day. Also, these can be sprinkled on oatmeal, greek yogurt, or mixed into baked goods. The My Foodie Call header? Gogi berry and oat cookies.
  - Sesame seeds– More calcium than milk. Bet ya didn’t know that, did ya? Milk is not the golden ticket to bone health, as once thought. Old school thinking.
  - Raisins– Natural sugar? Yes, please.
  - Dark chocolate chips– Love the Ghirardelli dark chips. 60% cacao, bittersweet, large. They rock.
  - Pepitas– AKA: pumpkin seeds. Popular in Mexico. Super yummy toasted. Awesome source of zinc. Who cares about zinc, right? Here’s why: For out-of-this-world immunity.
  - Almonds– Protein source that doesn’t result in heart disease (sorry steak, I am talking to you) . Highest source of vitamin E and fiber of all the nuts. I was to hand out a “top nut” award, it would go to the almighty almond. The biggest bang for your buck.
  - Walnuts– You want to be a smarty pants and impress your friends? Eat walnuts. High omega 3’s. Shaped like a brain for a reason.
  - Sunflower seeds– Super source of Manganese. Meaning…it calms your nerves and muscles.
  - Cashews– Lower fat content than most nuts. Also can be soaked and pureed into some incredibly creamy sauces.
  Oh and let’s not forget my chia jar. This deserves its own picture because these are the Queen Bees of all .
  
  Sad, empty chia jar. I'm off to cry in my pillow. Actually, no. I am waiting on my 5lb replacement bag to be delivered. Hurry up, Amazon.
  - Chia– Omega’s, calcium, fiber. Yes, all of those. But what is most important is that they absorb 10X their weight in water. So what, right? Well, imagine what a spoonful can do in your breakfast? Make you feel full, for longer, that’s what. Oh, and they are way easier for your body to digest than flax seeds.
  Makes one heck of a trail mix, too. Mason jar shopping, anyone?
  
  What item is a permanent fixture in your cabinet?
  Posted in Random stuff | Tagged chia, nuts
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