Banana Raspberry Bread
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients:
- Vegetable-oil cooking spray
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large ripe or overripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
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Heat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8" loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix to blend well. Make a well in center; set aside.
In a bowl, combine bananas, milk, egg, and vanilla; fold in raspberries. Pour batter into center of dry ingredients; fold together until combined. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into pan; bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.
Instead of raspberries, add or replace blueberries. For an even healthier version, try whole wheat or flaxseed flour. A pinch of cinnamon and/or nutmeg could add a nice twist For a sweeter taste, you could use brown sugar instead, but this would yield more calories.If your children want, this recipe could easily be converted into muffins!
* Recipe courtesy of Epicurious
Dried Pear Crisps
Use a mandoline slicer, or V-slicer
Makes about 20 crisps
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 20 paper-thin pear slices (from 1 pear)
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Preheat oven to 275°F.
Mix sugar and spices in a small bowl.
Leave on peel and slice the pear with mandoline or V-slicer
Place pear slices on rack set over baking sheet. Sprinkle with spiced sugar.
Bake until almost dry, about 1 hour. Cool. Store airtight up to 2 days.
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Bosc pears have a dense flesh which makes them ideal for baking. They also have a buttery and nutty flavor.
For a bit of fun in the kitchen, try a couple different kinds of pears. The different textures, colors, flavors, and aromas can be fun for the children to look into.
*Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit
Mini Fruit Fondue!
Makes 6- 8 kabobs
Ingredients:
Summer fruit version
- Toothpicks
- 1 cup strawberries, hulled (leaf part removed)
- 2 peaches, cut in half, pitted, and cut into chunks
- 1 small cantaloupe, skin removed, seeded, and cut into small chunks
Winter fruit version
- Toothpicks
- 1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks or 1 can of pineapple chunks
- 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into small chunks
- 2 bananas, peeled and cut into small chunks
Sweet dips
- Thick low fat yogurt and honey mixed to taste
- 8 oz milk chocolate melted with 1 teaspoon of corn syrup
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Thread 3 pieces of fruit onto each toothpick. Chill for 1 hour.
Make sweet dip: mix yogurt and honey, and mix melted milk chocolate with corn syrup as the other dip.. Sprinkle with nonpareils and serve with fruit.
Instead of corn syrup, you could also use honey. This is great recipe for a play date, snack with family and siblings, and not to mention an excellent source of vitamins from all the fruit
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Three Apple Applesauce
Makes six to seven 1-pint jars
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 pounds
- 3 pounds Granny Smith apples or other tart apples
- 3 pounds Jonathan or Rome Beauty apples or other soft-textured apples
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Combine 2 cups water and lemon juice in 10- to 12-quart spot. Peel, core, and cut apples into 3/4-inch pieces.
Mix apple pieces into lemon water as soon as apples are cut, to prevent browning. Add sugar, coarse salt, cinnamon, and allspice;
Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until apples are soft and almost translucent, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Using potato masher, mash apples to chunky consistency.
Ladle or spoon applesauce into hot clean 1-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch space at top of jars. Remove air bubbles if possible. Wipe jar threads and rims with damp cloth. Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands. Process jars in pot of boiling water for 20 minutes. Cool jars completely. Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.
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To prevent over sweetness, add half the amount of sugar first, and add to taste after the apples have softened and cooked through. This also depends on which apples you might use, but a medium size of each one of these kind of apples are hold about 17g of sugar.
The
Granny Smith apples are best for snacks, baking, and salads, and are available year round.
Rome Beauty apples are best for pies and sauces, they are mildly tart and good for freezing.
Jonathan apples are green and red, with a tart taste, good for snacks and cooking.
Children love applesauce at school, why not make it a special activity!
* Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit
