I went to the grocery store the other day and they had bananas on sale 3 pounds for a dollar. That seemed like a good deal, so I picked out the over-ripe ones and put them in my basket. When I got to the check stand, the checker remarked that they looked a little past prime, and I happily went into my explanation of banana cubes. “How bout 50 cents?” she replied. Yeehaw! A chance to try out a few new recipe ideas before they even became banana cubes!
That vegan banana nut muffin I got from Vicky the other day was delicious. I remembered that I had bought some brown rice flour a while ago, and I wanted to give these a try. I googled ‘vegan banana muffins,’ and after comparing recipes, this one was the most innocent. Some had twice the amount of sugar and oil in them! I followed this recipe exactly, except I (don’t you hate it when I say ‘exactly’ and then proceed to list how I DIDN’T exactly,) EXCEPT I used 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup granulated splenda. I used 1 cup of spelt flour and 1 cup of brown rice flour, and I used coconut oil. The calorie count is pretty high (240c/muffin,) mostly owing to the large amount of walnuts in them (yumm.) And they are still WAY too sweet. I’m gonna have to quiz Vicky about the ratio of sugar to flour in her recipe. (edited to add: I checked with Vicky and she was nice enough to share her recipe with me. Interesting, because I thought it tasted “richer” than the recipe I made, but it does indeed have less sugar AND less oil in it, and it has some almond milk in it as well.)
The other banana recipe was just to try making my banana frozen yogurt idea in my real ice cream maker, and to get down the right ratio of banana to yogurt. This was absolutely perfect for me. It is the just right combo to make a sweet/tart frozen yogurt. Much healthier than the store version, I’m sure. And a little easier for me to control myself on volume and toppings…
The oops was yesterday. First day since I started The Hunger Game 10 days ago that I ate when I was not hungry. Disappointing. I also ate some not-so-stellar choices while I was out and about with a friend. Oh well. We are not going to be perfect, as I read recently somewhere. And I am very glad that I was able to get right back on track today. Started out a little rocky, as I ate two of those banana muffins for breakfast. But then I didn’t eat until 1pm, so that was okay after all.
And Sharon asked the other day if I plan ahead or just wait until I get hungry to figure out what I am going to eat. I’m pretty much doing what I did before I started this. I am usually pretty well-stocked with quite a few healthy food choices. I batch cook, so many times I have whole meals pre-cooked. I am trying to pay attention to what my body actually needs, so sometimes my choices will change from what I originally thought I was going to eat.
Some examples of pre-planning:
- Today I took an already-cooked salmon fillet out of the freezer to have in a salmon salad tonight (presuming I am hungry tonight.) Since that will be a heavier dinner, I had a lighter lunch when I got hungry. I had a smaller bowl of cottage cheese/pear spread/walnuts, and some roasted butternut squash. Yumm on the butternut squash. I got a package of it already cut up at Costco. I really love butternut squash, but I really really hate cutting it up, so this is a great find for me. (BTW, butternut squash people, can I just enjoy the wonderful buttery nutty taste of the squash all by itself? Do you have to include that recipe that adds apples, butter, honey, and pecans to the squash on the lid?)
- A couple of days ago, I had just gotten a LOT of veggies at the store, and I finally remembered to pick up a package of that shredded cabbage, so I wanted to make a batch of my fried rice. I took a piece of pre-cooked chicken and about 4 ounces of pre-cooked shrimp out of the freezer in the morning. BTW, that cabbage worked wonderfully well in this recipe. You don’t know where the rice leaves off and the cabbage starts. Such a taste treat. Anyway, even though this is a recipe that requires a little more chopping and prep time, I just waited until I got hungry to start preparing it. It really only takes about half an hour. That’s not too long to be hungry, is it? And now, the next time I get hungry, there are three pre-portioned servings of fried rice just waiting for me!
debby weighs in 
The tart banana froyo sounds good. Lately I’ve been mixing tart and a little of a flavored yogurt together, and your homemade concoction sounds similar. Plus yes, I like the control you’re giving yourself with it. 🙂
Cut up butternut squash??? Man, I wish we had a Costco. Sam’s Club just does not cut it.
My regular grocery store sells cut up butternut but I won’t buy it unless it’s on sale. I like to eat it just roasted with salt and pepper and olive oil. So good.
You know Vegan does not equal low fat or low sugar necessarily. Neither does Paleo or Vegetarian or Primal. Those “diets” are more a lifestyle way of eating rather than trying to cut fat or calories. Not that people don’t lose weight following those lifestyles because they do. But they do it the same way a WW member, a low-fat eater, or a low carb eater does: by not eating as much food.
Yes, I’ve seen it before at the grocery store and at TJ’s, but I agree, it was too expensive. I thought it was pretty reasonable at Costco. Now to see if one person can eat that much butternut squash before it goes bad!
Oh, of course. I just find it interesting, eating different ways. Not as an ‘excuse’ to overeat. As someone who loves to bake, I find it interesting that you can make a very tasty muffin without any eggs or dairy products.
Still love the banana cube ideas although I do mine a little differently. Sam’s often has overripe bananas at .50/3 lbs so I always have quite a stash and use them for lots of things.
Sharon, have you tried making a pumpkin version of the 3M muffins? Vicky made them yesterday!