HEALING FOODS: BANANAS

God has given us many foods to enjoy.  Not only do they make our taste buds sing, many of them heal our bodies of various ailments.  


Today's healing food is bananas.  Here are just a few things bananas can help with:
*diarrhea
*cholesterol
*prevention of pancreatic cancer
*stomach upset
*has antibiotic activity


While most people can enjoy bananas on a regular basis, there are a few people who have unpleasant side effects from eating bananas.  Bananas can cause gas in some people and also migraine headaches in a few.  

One of my favorite ways to eat bananas is in a smoothie.  Here's an easy recipe.

FRUIT SMOOTHIE

1 cup juice (I like orange)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 banana

1/2 container vanilla yogurt

1 cup frozen fruit or ice

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth.

Baked French Toast

I made some seed bread a few days ago.  It had a good flavor but I'm still working on getting the texture right.  After the first day, it seemed to get stale quickly.  It was also a little more dense than I liked.  When I get the recipe improved to my liking, I will post it here.  Meanwhile, this is what I did with the  leftover stale bread.


BAKED FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf sliced, slightly stale whole grain bread
5 eggs, beaten slightly
1 cup milk
2 cups blueberries
3 T. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
3 T brown sugar


Lay half of the bread slices in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Mix the eggs, milk, syrup, and vanilla extract together.  Pour half of the egg mixture over bread slices.  Sprinkle blueberries over this.  Lay the other half of the bread slices over the blueberries.  Pour the rest of the egg mixture over bread slices.  Sprinkle with brown sugar. 
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, take pan out of refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake at 350* for one hour, turning the top bread slices about halfway through baking.  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Irish Soda Bread

This is the recipe I used for Irish Soda Bread last week.  It was really good just plain, but I think it would be even better toasted with butter.  The recipe is from the Taste of Home Baking Book.


IRISH SODA BREAD
4 C. flour
1/4 C sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
6 T shortening
1/2 C raisins
1 T caraway seeds
1 1/4 C buttermilk
1 egg


Combine flour,sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.  Cut in shortening until crumbly.  Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.  Combine buttermilk and egg.  Stir into the crumb mixture.  Knead gently 5-6 times. 
Divide dough into two balls.  Shape until round. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut a cross into dough about 1/4" deep.  Bake at 375* for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Light, Fluffy Lemon Pancakes

Yesterday we tried a new recipe for pancakes.  The whole family raved about the new recipe so I figured it was a good one to share.


LEMON PANCAKES
3 eggs, separated
2 C.  buttermilk
3 T sugar
1 C. ricotta
1 1/2 C. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 t. lemon extract


Mix together egg yolks, buttermilk, sugar, and ricotta.  Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon extract.  Stir until smooth.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.  Fold into pancake mixture.
Cook on oiled, pre-heated griddle.  I like to use a 1/4 cup measure to pour out the batter and spread it a little thinner.  Cook the first side until the edges dry out a little and bubbles appear on the top.  Flip and cook for another minute or two.
Serve with butter and syrup.

Date Nut Bread

Every fall and Christmas I make date nut bread. I have been making this since the first year I was married. My mother-in-law gave me the recipe. This is something she has always made during this season. My family loves it with cream cheese spread on top.

DATE NUT BREAD
2 pkg sugared, chopped dates
2 tsp baking soda
2 Cups hot water
Mix together; let cool

Add:
2 Cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
4 Cups flour (I used half whole wheat)
1 Cup walnuts

Grease and flour 3 loaf pans (or small coffee cans)
Bake at 350* 45-50 minutes

Doughnuts Yum!