My Banana Bread Mistake

Happy Holidays!

I know I haven't blogged in quite a long while, so I thought I would get back in the groove with a healthy and delicious recipe - banana bread. I LOVE bananas, and I LOVE bread. So... what could be better than a warm slice of banana bread for breakfast?

A few weeks ago, my mom asked me to whip up some banana bread for breakfast. I was more than happy to help, and I began pulling out the ingredients. Now whenever I cook/bake, I always try to modify the recipes and make them as healthy as possible. When my mom suggested I make a banana bread, I immediately thought of a banana bread that Taralynn had made. (You can find her recipe here: Healthy Gluten Free Banana Bread.)

Taralynn's Banana Bread

I explained to my mom what the basic ingredients were, and she said that I could base mine around that. Well, Taralynn uses a flax & whole grain, gluten-free flour in her recipe. I thought we could use some milled golden flaxseed in ours. Apparently my mom said to use 2c. of whole wheat flour, and 1/2c. to 1 c. of milled flaxseed. I completely misunderstood her, and put 2 c. of milled flaxseed and 1 c. of whole wheat flour, thus resulting in a whole new creation - Flaxseed Banana Bread.

My mom was shocked when I told her what I had done. She said that she could taste a different flavor in the bread, but that it wasn't too bad. She said it was good, but she prefers the original recipe. I guess I added too much flaxseed for her liking. :)
However, my dad really liked it, and I LOVED it! I was very pleasantly surprised by the unique flavor of the flaxseed, and I actually prefer this recipe to the other. This one is not as sweet, but it is delicious and filling. I especially enjoyed eating this with a bit of peanut butter spread on top. Yum! :)

I hope that you will give this banana bread a try and love it as much as I do - or more! Please remember to comment below and let me know how you like this recipe if you happen to try it. Thanks!

Healthy Flaxseed Banana Bread

• 2 c. milled golden flaxseed
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 - 1c. sugar
• 1/4. oil
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 c. almond milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut (optional)

You will first need to assemble your ingredients, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using frozen bananas, make sure that you allow time for them to soften before making this recipe. 

In a large bowl, add in your flaxseed, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.

Next you will need to add in the oil, applesauce, eggs, bananas, milk, and vanilla. 

Stir very well, then add in the raisins, walnuts, and coconut. I didn't add any walnuts this time, but they are sooo delicious in this bread. If you can add them, I highly recommend that you do.

Once thoroughly mixed, pour batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, or until light brown/golden. It should feel firm to the touch. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then slice and enjoy!

I recommend topping your slice of bread with a teaspoon of peanut butter. The peanut butter really compliments this bread. In fact, I actually prefer the bread with some peanut butter on top. Also, I enjoyed my banana bread with a steaming cup of chai tea. It was the perfect breakfast for a cool winter morning. I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to the Fit2Be Blog, or follow through BlogLovin'. I hope you have a fabulous day and may God bless you always!

Question of the Day:

Have you ever made a cooking/baking mistake? If so, was the result a masterpiece or truly a mistake? :)

Love & Grace,

Mariah

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of my very favorite snacks.

They are satisfying, delicious, healthy, and easy to grab when you're in a rush. Granola bars can be extremely basic and quick, or they can be sweet and flavorful. There is so much you can do with a granola bar. You can eat them just as they are, or crumble them over your yogurt or ice cream. They are the perfect complement to a steaming cup of cocoa, coffee, or tea. Granola bars are also fabulous snacks for the road because they aren't too messy, and are really filling. Overall, I love granola bars.

However, I must clarify that I am not a fan of all granola bars. I have found that many granola bars contain high fructose corn syrup or other harmful ingredients. Besides that, why spend money buying granola bars, when you can enjoy the experience of making your own healthy bars at home?

Not only will you be saving money, but you will also be sparing your body of all those unhealthy ingredients. I have an awesome granola recipe for you to try today. I have tried a variety of granola bar recipes in the past, but this one is by far my favorite.

Have some fun with this recipe and experiment with your favorite flavors. You can really get creative and customize this recipe to your preference. As a peanut butter lover, I would recommend adding that heavenly goodness to this recipe. If you are a choco-holic, you can add chocolate chips/chunks, or you could even try adding cocoa powder. I'm sure you could even make these into pumpkin granola bars if you like.

Granola Bars

• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 c. all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/4 c. crispy rice cereal
• 1 c. mixed nuts
• 1 c. raisins

In a bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, vanilla, and egg. Next add in your dry ingredients.

When they are thoroughly combined, add in your raisins and nuts. If you are adding chocolate chips, now would be the time to add those in. Next press the granola mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

This recipe should yield about 24 granola bars. When your granola is done baking, let it cool for about 5 minutes, and enjoy!

I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do - or more! Please let me know how you liked it once you tried it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment and let me know. I am so eager to hear how you guys liked it, so once you make these granola bars, please remember to tell me how they turned out. Thanks!

These granola bars would make a lovely gift. You could make them a bit sweeter - maybe add some chocolate chips - and wrap them up beautifully and tie them with a ribbon perhaps. These are great for packing in your school lunch-box, or as an after-school snack. When and where do you like to eat your granola bars?

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite granola bar? 

(I like Nature Valley peanut butter crunch.)

Zucchini Muffins

Today I have one of my favorite muffin recipes to share with you!

When the weather gets cool and fall begins to arrive, I love sipping on chai tea and eating warm muffins. My favorite types of muffins are corn, pumpkin, and zucchini. I thought I'd share my delicious zucchini muffin recipe today, so let's get baking!

You will need:

3 c. all purpose flour (or whole wheat)

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. applesauce

1 c. water

3 eggs

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. shredded zucchini

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. raisins

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, water, eggs, and spices. Mix together thoroughly. 

Next you will add in your raisins, walnuts, and zucchini. Stir till everything is equally combined. Using a large spoon, scoop your batter into your muffin tins. Be sure to spray them! This recipe makes about 18 muffins. When the oven is ready, just pop them in and let them bake for 20 minutes or until done. I usually touch them to feel their firmness and test them with a knife or toothpick.

Let them cool and then enjoy!

I hope that you like this recipe. I absolutely love it! The walnuts make these extra delicious. You can have fun with this recipe and add some chocolate chips, maybe replace walnuts with pecans or do a mixture. I've heard of zucchini carrot muffins before. Perhaps you could use 1 cup of zucchini and 1 cup of carrots.

Please let me know how you liked these muffins, and if you made any adjustments.

I bet they would taste fabulous with some semi-sweet chocolate chips! If you add those please tell me how you liked them.

Thanks! Have a fabulous day and may God bless you exceedingly and abundantly.

Lots of Love,

Mariah

Gluten Free Corn Muffins

Hello!

This morning I made these delicious corn muffins with my sister, Mariah. :) We decided to try a new recipe, and were  very pleased with how these turned out. We chose a gluten free recipe from the blog Chocolate Covered Katie. It was really neat trying out a new recipe and snapping pictures along the way.

Corn Muffins:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups fine or medium cornmeal
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 more tbsp sugar (this could've been omitted)
• 11-oz can corn, drained
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce

Mix the vinegar and the milk, and set aside. Combine dry ingredients and mix really well. In another bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, corn, and milk-vinegar. Then pour the wet into dry and mix.

 You can make muffins or bread. We chose to make muffins because they are a favorite in our family. :)

                                                     I had sooo much fun snapping the pics!

Bake on 420 F for 11 to 15 minutes. The recipe originally called for 25 minutes, but ours were already crispy and browning on the top. Just check them while they bake. :)

And they're done! Make sure you let these cool for at least 10-15 minutes. The original recipe warned that otherwise, they might be a little crumbly. These were not too crumbly, but were definitely more so than other corn muffins I have made. This recipe made exactly 16 muffins - like the recipe said it would. There are 100 calories per muffin. We had these muffins with chili for lunch, and they were delicious. They taste great with a bit of butter - of course. You could serve these muffins fresh and warm with chili, soup, or some other type of meal, or they make a great snack.

I hope you found this recipe helpful! If you make these muffins/bread, please comment and tell us what you thought! Have a wonderful weekend, and God bless.

Love,

Olivia

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Yesterday morning I made oatmeal cookies for my family.

I found this recipe in the "400 Calorie Fix" cookbook, and thought it looked really good, so I decided to give it a try. My dad loved them, and everyone else thought that they were super good as well. I was really pleased with this recipe and will definitely be making these again. They were a perfect snack.

When I saw this recipe I was really excited because these cookies were really healthy and low-cal. However, this recipe didn't make too many. I come from a family of eight, and a batch of these cookies made sixteen. It was perfect - two for everyone. However, I was hoping that these might last us longer than one day. Besides that, my version of these cookies had more calories. I'm not sure how big the recipe wanted me to make these, but their recipe is supposed to yield forty-two, and mine yielded sixteen. A serving size - two cookies, according to their recipe - is 110 calories. Since I only got 16 cookies, my sister calculated that these cookies were about 124 calories each. That was a bummer.

Anyway, they were still really good, and if you can figure out how to get more cookies from the batter - go for it! Below is my version of oatmeal cookies. They were quick and easy to make, with little clean-up involved. I hope you enjoy them! :)

Here are all of my ingredients and cooking utensils spread out. You will need a large mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, and a wooden spatula. Now, if you have all of your equipment together, let's get baking!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. raisins

I made some slight adjustments to the original cookie recipe. I was out of whole wheat flour, so I just used 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Also, the original recipe calls for mini chocolate chips and cranberries. I omitted the chocolate, and substituted the cranberries for raisins. Lastly, I had to replace  the honey for our homemade syrup, because we didn't have any honey. Just a side note - next time I make these, I will reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup. They were just a bit too sweet for our family, and 1/2 cup of sugar doesn't seem necessary.

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and ground nutmeg.

Then in a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, honey, egg, and vanilla.

(I did use two bowls this time, but I usually mix everything together in one bowl. It saves me from washing extra dishes.)

Once you have your two bowls of ingredients mixed properly, combine the two mixtures together and stir well. It should look like this -

Okay, now grease a baking sheet and drop your cookies onto it. As I said before, this recipe made 16 cookies. You could make them smaller if you want more, but I felt like these were the perfect size for me. While you get your cookies ready, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then pop them in and let them bake for 15 minutes.

When the cookies are done they should be golden and slightly firm to the touch. Let them cool for about five minutes and then you can enjoy these yummy treats. After they have cooled for a bit, they will be crisp, warm, and delicious.

These are really scrumptious and filling, and you can enjoy these with milk, coffee, cocoa, or tea.
I had a cup of green tea, and two of these yummy oatmeal cookies for my mid-morning snack. They were so good. I hope that you like these too! 

If you try this recipe, please let me know how you like it. Comment below to share your tips, other cookie recipes, or random thoughts on this post. Thank you! May God bless you abundantly now and forever. :)

LOVE,

MARIAH

10 Healthy Snack Ideas

Happy Monday!

It's the beginning of  a new week, and another chance to live a healthy happy life.
I love when a new week begins. I find it really exciting to make my meal plan for the week, prepare healthy snacks, and to plan my workout schedule. My family usually makes the meal plan on Sunday, and then we start cooking on Monday. This week's snack is oatmeal cookies. I just popped them in the oven and will be posting the recipe and some pictures soon. Until then, I wanted to share with you some snack ideas that you can enjoy this week.

I haven't tried all of these snacks, but here is just a basic list you can have some fun with. Some are really just ideas, and some have links to where you can find the recipe.  I hope you enjoy them!

(Photo: courtesy of Taralynn McNitt)

No-Bake PB and Oat Bars 

This yummy snack is from one of my favorite healthy bloggers - Taralynn McNitt. This recipe can be found at her blog "Undressed Skeleton." I made these one week and they were a perfect snack. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Carrot Straws 

My younger sister made these a few weeks ago. I wish I could say that ours looked like this photo. ;)

She added a bit too much oil, and her version of carrot straws/chips wasn't very successful. However, they tasted pretty good, and I know that when done properly, they will be fantastic. This is the perfect snack for when you're craving something crunchy and crisp, but want to keep it healthy.

Hard boiled eggs

Hard boiled eggs are some of the best snacks. They are so delicious and filling. I love angel eggs (our family's name for the more commonly known - deviled eggs), and they can be a great afternoon snack.

(Photo: courtesy of Taralynn McNitt)

Fruit & Yogurt

What is better than sweet juicy fruit with cool, refreshing yogurt? I love fruit and yogurt for breakfast, or a mid-morning snack. Actually, it's perfect for anytime of day and any sort of occasion. This is good enough to be desert. You could throw in 2 tbsp. of chocolate chips, a sprinkle of cinnamon (I love cinnamon on yogurt!), and/or some coconut flakes. It's a perfect snack any way you eat it.

Popcorn

I have yet to try this delicious snack. I have always wanted to, but something always seems to prevent me from tasting this chocolate and cinnamon popcorn. Oh well, you try it and tell me how it is. This looks amazing! You can find the recipe by clicking the link beneath the photo. :)

Zucchini Chips 

I love zucchini, so I'm sure these are fabulous. Zucchini chips are on my list of recipes to make, I just haven't made them yet. They look amazing though, so try them out and tell me what you think.

Homemade Goldfish Crackers 

I made these last month for my eight-year-old brother as a little birthday gift. He loved them, and everyone thought they were really tasty. I was so pleased with this recipe. It has a cheesy taste, even though there is absolutely no cheese in them! I'm sure kids will love these, so if your looking for kid-friendly snack ideas, try this one. 

Heavenly Greens Shake

I love Heavenly Greens shakes. They are healthy, delicious, and easy to mix together.  Here is a video of how I make mine. Now, this how-to video is really basic, and you can really change it up to your liking. These are delicious with frozen berries, apple juice, and a banana. Also, try this with mango, pineapple, banana, orange, grapes, and so forth.

Heavenly Greens is an amazing powder, and I always use it when my pH is a bit low. After only a few days of drinking these shakes, my pH is right where it should be. If you make this shake and change it up a bit, please share your recipe in the comment section below. I would love to hear how you made your shake.

(Photo: courtesy of Taralynn McNitt)

Strawberry Banana Cocoa Smoothie

I was so pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of this smoothie. This was one of the first smoothies that I tried from Taralynn. It was super easy and delicious. My shake didn't look nearly as good as this one, but it tasted great! I didn't have any chocolate chips or chunks to garnish mine with, but it was still fabulous. It's the perfect smoothie for a summer's day. Enjoy! :)

(Photo: courtesy of Taralynn McNitt)

Peanut Butter Banana Shake 

I love peanut butter banana shakes! They are one of my very favorite shakes ever! I could seriously have them for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. I love bananas, and I LOVE peanut butter! Peanut butter and banana is the best combination for yumminess. :)

Well, hopefully you found this list helpful. Thanks for reading! Please comment on your favorite snacks from this post, or tell me about some of your favorites that weren't included here. May God bless you and may your day be one of victory and joy.

"This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

Love,

Mariah