A Recipe

I decided to share a recipe I discovered the weekened before last.  I spent some time with my friend of mine and she had this book called Power foods which you can get on Amazon.com.  After going through a few of the recipes I decided to copy two of them, Banana Bread with Walnuts and Flaxseed and Spiced Nuts and Seeds.

So, far I've only tried out the Banana Bread with Walnuts and Flaxseed recipe and thought I'd share it with you.  Again, I got the recipe from the book featured on the left.  I didn't have walnuts and didn't want to go out and buy them so I used pecans.  I also didn't bother to toast them because I was lazy, haha.  Finally, I didn't have a 9x5x3 pan so I used my 8x5x3 pan (basically a normal loaf pan).

I hope you enjoy the recipe and I highly recommended this book if you're looking for ways to improve your health through eating right.  Best banana bread I've ever eaten.

Banana Bread with Walnuts and Flaxseed

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 teaspoon softened, for pan
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Brush 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with softened butter.  In a bowl, whisk together both flours, flaxseed, coarse salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

2.  With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat whole eggs and egg white until thoroughly combined.  Add melted butter, the sugar, vanilla, and bananas, and mix until combined.  Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Stir in walnuts by hands.

3.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.  Let cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out onto rack to cool completely, top side up.  The bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 1 loaf; serves 8
per serving:  263 calories; 3 g saturated fat; 7.5 g unsaturated fat; 35 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 6.2 g protein, 231 mg sodium; 4/3 g fiber