Banana Nut Bread

My mom's best friend makes the best banana bread and it always satisfies my sweet craving. When my husband and I first started dating, he would request it frequently. I never had a problem with making it because it was super easy to make and it always turned out great!

I decided to make it today because tomorrow is our physical therapy student's last day at work. I figured it would be a nice treat and a thank you for her hard work. Also, if you are ever looking for a reason to use up ripe bananas this is a great way. When I do not eat my bananas on time and they are super ripe, I stick them in the freezer and save them for making this recipe.

I did make some adjustments from the original recipe to make it perfect for my taste. I halved the amount of sugar from the original recipe, added cinnamon, increased the amount of vanilla, and occasionally add chocolate for fun! I hope you enjoy this delicious and moist banana nut bread as much as we do!

Yields: One loaf

The Players:

• 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar (if you want the bread sweeter you can add more sugar)
• 1 overflowing tsp of vanilla
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 2 cups of self rising flour
• 4 smashed very ripe bananas (if using frozen bananas, make sure they are fully thawed)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbs buttermilk or 4 tbs of the watery part of yogurt
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

The Game Plan:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a mixer, mix up the oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.

Note the color of the egg on the right side. Now that is farm fresh!

Once mixed well add the rest of the ingredients and mix all up until smooth. Do not over mix! 

Place in a greased loaf pan (8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" high). Also, if for some reason this makes more batter than what you loaf pan will hold, do not fill it all the way to the top. You need to leave room at least an inch of room at the top. Otherwise, it will overflow and leave you with a mess! Either toss the extra batter or use it to make mini banana breads or muffins.

Place in oven for one hour and 15 minutes. Poke with a tooth pick in the middle to make sure it is cooked all the way through. Every oven is slightly different, so check on your banana bread after 50 minutes frequently to make sure it does not over bake. Once done, take the banana bread out and let cool completely before taking out of the pan. Enjoy!

Whipped Cream with Berries

I was craving dessert as usual and wanted to incorporate some of the fruit I had in the fridge. I decided to make parfaits but I made it a lot more indulgent than my usual healthy version. I swapped my Greek yogurt for whipped cream and skipped the granola! It was super simple and it totally satisfied my sweet craving!

Serves 4 fans

The Players:

For the whipped cream:

• 1/2 cup cold whipping cream
• 1/2 tbs white sugar
• 1/2 tps of vanilla 

For the berries:

• Roughly 4 cups of berries washed (strawberries (hulled and quartered), blueberries, raspberries, I used strawberries and raspberries)

* Depending on what blend of berries you use, the measurements will vary


The Game Plan:

Place the bowl you will be making your whipped cream in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Once the bowl is chilled, place whipping cream into the bowl. Whisk the whipping cream on high speed with an electric mixture.  The cream will thicken and right before peaks are formed, add sugar and vanilla. Whisk again on high speed until peaks are formed. Do no over whisk.

Place the berries in bowls or glasses.

Top with whipped cream. Garnish! Enjoy!