Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

These cookies are not going to win any awards for beauty, or taste for that matter. But, if you are on a diet, or want to give your kids something healthy these are good cookies. I enjoyed them, and the kids would eat them if they were hungry, but Scott was done with them after his first cookie.

I made them to take on vacation so I would have something to eat while everyone else ate the more fattening (fun) food. I might experiment with the recipe to see if adding some baking soda or something would make them bake up a bit bigger. They pretty much just stayed exactly the same glob of dough on the pan, only baked.

Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

(recipe from food.com formerly known as recipezaar.com)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

5 tbls. softened margarine

1 cup mashed bananas

1/4 cup orange juice

(I also added 1/2 cup of raisins)

---Process oats in food processor or blender until finely ground.

--- Combine first six ingredients

---Use a pastry cutter to cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles crumbs

---Add banana and orange juice and mix well

--- Chill 20 minutes in the freezer

--- Drop teaspoon sized cookies on well greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes

Wonderful Whole Wheat Waffles

I an unashamed to admit I love waffles. I could eat them for every meal. And dessert.

This is a really fast and simple recipe that works every time.

Favorite Waffles

Adapted from "Favorites" the Ivory family cookbook

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (you can use white if you must)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil (I have substituted applesauce with great results!)

2 tsp cinnamon (more or less, I just dump some in)

1 tsp vanilla (more or less)

Mix ingredients well and bake in a hot waffle iron. Top with something yummy. (My favorite is half a banana sliced up, sugar-free syrup, and some light redi-whip)

Enjoy!

Healthier Banana Bread

I was trying to find a better alternative to my favorite banana bread recipe which is scrumptious, but contains a whole stick of butter.

I found a muffin recipe that I thought might work. I also reduced the sugar in it, substituted wheat flour for part of the white, and added vanilla. Really there wasn't a noticeable difference from my other banana bread recipe as far as taste or texture go, and my family ate a whole loaf in one sitting.

Healthier Banana Bread

(adapted from a muffin recipe in the Favorites cookbook)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and oil well. Add eggs and mashed bananas and beat. Add flour, soda and salt. Pour into greased pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes for small loaves (it baked 3, 7x3 1/2)

(It would probably make 2 medium loaves or 1 large loaf. Increase bake times accordingly.)

(also makes 18-24 muffins, bake for 18-20 minutes.)

(UPDATE: I just made this again the other day and substituted applesauce for all of the oil. It was a little more dry, but still very yummy.)

Banana Butterscotch Cake

The kids had already dug in before I could get a picture.

This is an adaption of a recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. That recipe uses cinnamon chips and I had butterscotch. The results were scrumptious and you won't believe how moist it is without any oil or butter.

3 bananas

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar (I reduced it to 3/4 cups of sugar the second time, and nobody noticed.)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup butterscotch chips, divided

I also added 2 pinches of salt the second time I made it.

Topping:

cinnamon sugar, or if you don't have it already:

3 tblsp sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease and flour an 8x8 baking dish.

Mash bananas, add eggs, and vanilla.

Fold in sugar.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Mix into banana mixture.

Add 3/4 cup of butterscotch chips.

Pour into pan.

Sprinkle with leftover butterscotch chips and cinnamon sugar to make a crispy top.

Bake 35-40 minutes.

Cool on wire rack 15 min. before serving.

DIG IN!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

These were very simple and very yummy. I made them mini-muffins because I love smallness. I got the recipe off of recipezaar because I had some bananas that were past their prime.

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 2 bananas)
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 egg

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 400.

2. 2

   Grease a muffin pan.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda.

4. 4

   In another bowl stir together oats and yogurt, stirring in banana, oil and egg.

5. 5

   Stir mixture into flour mixture and stir until moistened.

6. 6

   Put in muffin pans and bake for 20- 25 minute until done.

Banana Cake

"Coming Soon" is a relative term. Within a year. (It is July as I am posting)

Here's the recipe I used for Ian's birthday cake because I had some bananas to use.
I got it off of Recipezaar

BANANA CAKE
125 grams of butter (I looked up the conversion online, I don't remember it right now.)
1 Cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in the milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch salt

1. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and soda thats been dissolved in the milk, then add bananas and dry ingredients and vanilla.
2. Mix well.
3. Bake in 8 inch square pan, 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until skewer comes out dry.
4. Ice with favorite icing.
5. I used chocolate buttercream.