Week 7 & 8 Recipes - Banana Bread & PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, the last post I had was for week 6. Yes, this is technically week 9, but I am a bit behind due to travel for work & vacation. I will make two extra recipes this week and next week to make up for the missed weeks.

Banana Bread

Having just come off a vacation with very delicious (and very caloric) food, I wanted to make something on the lighter side. Pinterest to the rescue! A popular recipe being pinned by several friends is Banana Bread made with honey and applesauce instead of sugar. Sounds good to me!

Recipe adapted from http://www.8weekstoabetteryourecipes.blogspot.com/ for Banana Bread, 8 Weeks Friendly!

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup applesauce (I used no sugar added)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten (I used egg beaters)
• 3 mashed overripe bananas

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl mix together applesauce and honey.Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.
5. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture. Stir just to moisten.
6. Pour mixture into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Results
It's good! You can tell that it is not the full fat/sugar/etc. version, but it does taste good. I would definitely make this again!

Nutrition via My Fitness Pal recipe calculator
Per serving = 200 calories*48 carbs*1 g fat*5 g protein
Recipe makes about 10 servings

PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This is one of those weeks where my hubby and I aren't going to see each other because on the day he flys home, I fly out before he lands and on the day I fly home, he flys out before I land. So, I have decided to leave PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies (hubby's favorite) waiting for him. :)

Recipe from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/ for Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg (I used 1/4 cup egg beaters)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. (About 3 minutes)
4. Add the egg and beat to combine.
5. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined.
6. Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.
7. Drop dough onto cookie sheets about two inches apart.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden.
9. Cool completely on baking sheet and then store in airtight container.

Results
So, confession time, I only used half a stick of butter instead of the whole stick. Not sure where I got confused, but I just noticed my mistake while writing this entry. That explains why the mixture was a little bit dry. The good news is...they still taste good! Bonus=they are slightly healthier with less butter. haha :)

Enjoy!