Rachel Zoe-Inspired

(If you are confused by the reference, you need to watch Bravo now, because you are most certainly missing out on some fabulous, even if it does subtract from your intelligence, television)

So since you have had your Bravo tutorial, here we go….This recipe is simply “Bananas!” I cannot take much credit for this, because it is stolen from Cooking Light, but I do believe that I picked a keeper. There are only few food items that I dislike, and unfortunately, plain/raw bananas are one of them. Believe me, I have tried to enjoy them! But, I DO love a great dessert or carb-filled treat with bananas. Typically I choose to eat produce the natural, healthy way, but not in the case of bananas. Anyway, here is great banana bread recipe that is much lower in fat and sugar!

Tip: This makes a great pre-workout snack. I made a “sandwich” for Todd with this as the base, some almond butter, and a little honey before we took Kenan out for some exercise!

Tip 2: Make sure your bananas are extra ripe. I used bananas that were too ripe to eat plain, so this is perfect for bananas that would typically be wasted.
Classic Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

3 mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray- I use Pam Baking spray - it has flour in it, and everything I've baked with it comes out of the pan smoothly.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 187 (21% from fat); FAT 4.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 40mg; CALCIUM 20mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.4g; SODIUM 198mg; PROTEIN 3.3g; FIBER 1.1g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003