Fruit-filled Banana Bread

Sometimes in life, our good intentions drive us to over-buy on produce. Then we have cabbage rotting in the crisper, wilted kale and celery, oranges drying out on the counter, or brown-spotted bananas on the table. But this is not always a bad thing. Wilted veggies can be put in the freezer to become vegetable stock at a later date. Fruits that aren't moldy can be juiced or put into smoothies. And my favorite thing to do with mushy, old bananas is to make banana bread. This is why I never worry about buying too many bananas, because I know the ones that get old and turn brown are going to be made into a delicious breakfast or anytime treat! If I only have one, I put it in the freezer until I accumulate 3 or 4 bananas. Then it's game on. For this version I got the basic recipe from Simply Recipes and added some extras of my own.
Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or blackberries)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Step 1: Mash the bananas in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients: egg, butter, vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, blueberries and cherries. Pour the wet into the dry and mix well.

Step 2: Spray an oven-safe bread pan with oil, and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until browned on the outside and a fork comes out clean in the middle.

This bread is soft on the inside with a perfectly crunchy top crust. The blueberries and cherries are chewy sweet surprises in every bite! I think this bread is perfect for adding all sorts of fruit goodies, you could use any berry you like. Healthify it with whole wheat flour, or add flax seeds. Use splenda or nutrisweet instead of regular sugar. Use applesauce instead of an egg to make it totally vegan. The possibilities are endless!

And for only 228 calories a slice, this is a great grab-and-go breakfast or evening snack to ward off a sweet tooth without breaking the calorie bank.

 

	Nutrition Facts   12 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 228.3   Total Fat 5.8 g       Saturated Fat 3.4 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g       Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g   Cholesterol 29.1 mg   Sodium 147.7 mg   Potassium 167.5 mg   Total Carbohydrate 42.1 g       Dietary Fiber 1.7 g       Sugars 22.2 g   Protein 3.2 g   Vitamin A 4.3 %   Vitamin B-12 0.8 %   Vitamin B-6 10.9 %   Vitamin C 6.1 %   Vitamin D 1.7 %   Vitamin E 1.4 %   Calcium 0.9 %   Copper 3.6 %   Folate 11.8 %   Iron 6.5 %   Magnesium 3.9 %   Manganese 10.4 %   Niacin 7.3 %   Pantothenic Acid     2.1 %   Phosphorus     4.1 %   Riboflavin 9.3 %   Selenium 10.7 %   Thiamin 12.1 %   Zinc 1.8 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

 

Peaches & Banana Cream Pie

This was inspired by what I had around the house. I bought a pie crust cheap a month ago, and we had some fruits that were getting to the mushy use-me-soon stage. All the pie recipes I found were for banana cream pie, some more complicated than others. One suggested just using banana pudding, so I thought, why not just add the peaches to it? Turns out pudding takes a long time to solidify, so maybe use less milk...

Ingredients:
1 pack vanilla pudding
1 pack banana pudding
5 cups skim milk
2 ripe bananas
2 ripe peaches
1 pie crust
Handful raspberries (because I had them)

 Step 1: Line the pie crust with sliced up banana.

Step 2: Mix the pudding and milk. Blend up the peaches (I used 1 1/2 and saved half for garnishing the pie) and add to the pudding. Since I'm lazy I just blended all of it. Also threw in a few raspberries for color.

 Step 3: Pour the fruity pudding mixture over the banana slices. Any extra pudding just refrigerate for later.

 That's it! Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until the pudding sets. Garnish with pieces of fruit if you like.

We waited over 2 hours and it was still rather liquid, so we put it in the freezer. Bad idea, defrosting it the next day lead to total mush, plus the crust was now mush too. I'd definitely recommend using maybe half the milk suggested next time... Still tastes delicious! Use whatever fruits you like, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, pears. You could play with pudding type, maybe try butterscotch or chocolate too.