Hearty & Healthy (HH) Banana Bread

I beyond love banana bread - anyone with me?

I make a semi-traditional recipe adding chocolate chips fairly often as my hunny loves banana bread, too.

I’ve been wanting to make a recipe I could feel better about eating - and today’s healthier version is a homerun. It is HEARTY, SWEET, RICH, SATISFYING… so DELISH. Definitely GOOD for the SOUL!

HH Banana Bread

Wet ingredients:

1/4 cup organic coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup stevia

2 T. dark brown sugar

1 T. vanilla

2 large organic cage-free eggs

3 extra ripe bananas*

Dry ingredients:

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 T. cocoa nibs (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and lightly flour bread loaf pan.

Mix melted, but cooled coconut oil, applesauce, stevia, brown sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl until well combined. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Add mushed bananas* - hint: mush the bananas while still in the peel and mush em out right into the mix, as pictured above! In separate bowl, whisk all dry ingredients. Add 1/2 of dry ingredients into wet; mix lightly. Add remaining; mix just until combined - you do not want to over mix! Pour batter into previously prepared bread loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Slice, serve and ENJOY — if you are anything like me, it will speak directly to your SOUL!

Next, I will try substituting berries - we’ll let you know how that goes!

Nutrition Facts

coming soon!

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Scarlet Farro Salad

I love beets. Seriously, my closest friends know this about me. I love that this recipe has BEETS!

Farro - ever heard of or tasted farro before? If not, literally run to the store right now to buy some. It is so, so good. The texture is somewhere between rice and barley. It cooks in 15 minutes and you can’t mess it up like you can (like I always do) rice.

An essential tool to cooking farro: a wire strainer — the little morsels may fall right through your average plastic strainer.

This grain is not only healthy, but it is delicious, filling and satisfying — and, what I like most about it, it is DIFFERENT! Most people don’t use it, therefore most people are seriously missing OUT! When I cook and eat something like farro, I swear it just speaks to and fills my soul (and my belly!) Beets also speak to my soul - you should allow this recipe to speak to yours!

The varieties can really be endless — You could make a cold salad out of farro just like you can pasta. Today, allow me to introduce the stunningly delicious Scarlet Farro Salad.

Scarlet Farro Salad

Farro

1 cup farro

3 cups water

1/2 t salt

Salad ingredients

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup cut beets

1/2 cup quartered artichoke hearts

2 T lower sugar dried cranberries

Dressing

Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cook Farro according to package instructions - super easy: Add water, farro and salt to small stock pan and bring to medium boil for 15 minutes then drain residual water (make sure to use wire strainer!). Let cool and add to mixing bowl.
Add red pepper, onion, artichoke, beets, cranberries and 1/3 cup Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette - fold lightly to combine. Chill in fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
Then, FEED. YOUR. SOUL... because this is just wholesomely, soulfully GREAT eats!

Makes about 4 generously heaping and delicious 1 cup servings.

Nutrition Facts per serving

Calories: 300

Fat: 9g

Sat Fat: 1g

Sodium: 300mg

Carbs: 46g

Fiber: 8g

Sugar: 6g

Protein: 8.5g

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Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette (Whole30 approved!)

I am historically a pre-made dressing kinda gal. They are quick and easy and tempting.

Sure, you can find premade’s with low calorie counts and even fat free. It has always been super tempting to purchase the lowest calorie dressing and then use 2-3 times the serving amount of 2 T.  I felt no guilt using them. HOWEVER, I started to think: What could they possibly put in here to make it seemingly a vinaigrette if it only has 20 calories per 2 T??? It can’t be oil, but it looks like oil… what the heck is in there?

Have YOU ever thought about what they are putting in those mixes to make them taste good WITHOUT those calories and fat (et cetera)?

Have you ever looked at the labels of some of those bottles?

Plenty of sodium, soybean oils, high fructose corn syrup, other sugar, sometimes a TON of BAD fat, preservatives and words I can’t pronounce nor understand.

Nutritionist Keri Glassman cautions that what "light" dressings save on calories and fat they often more than make up for in sodium and sugar. So true.

Personally, I am a vinaigrette gal almost always. I love the tang of vinegar in my salad! If you are with me and want an easy, quick homemade version that is delicious but also healthy without a bunch of junk, allow me to introduce you to my Simply tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette!

Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette

3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 T good balsamic vinegar (I used Publix Organic - it is affordable!)

2 t spicy brown or dijon mustard

1 T water

1/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t basil

1/4 t oregano

1/8 t onion powder

1/8 t garlic powder

pinch (or 3) of crushed red pepper (option - but I love spice!)

Add all ingredients to small tupperware - put on the cap (tightly!) and shake, shake, shake. There you have enough for 4 generous 2 T servings.

Nutrition Facts per recipe

Calories: 460

Fat: 42g

Sat Fat: 6g

Sodium: 700mg

Carbs: 15g

Sugar: 6g (no added sugar - from Balsamic vinegar)

Protein: 0g

Nutrition Facts per serving (4 total)

Calories: 115

Fat: 10.5 g

Sat Fat: 1.5 g

Sodium: 175mg

Carbs: 4g

Sugar: 1.5g

Protein: 0g

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IG: @TheSoulWorx