Date and Banana Slice -- Mother's Day Special

So it is Mother's Day this weekend. It is always difficult isn't it? To think of something special for someone equally as special. I cheated this year though and asked dear mother herself exactly what she wanted :P After running through her list I realised there was only one option for me. Since winning lotto, buying a trip to Europe, and funding a new and entire wardrobe for her (by the way, these were just some of the things she listed as presents) were out of my league it had to be cooking.
Cooking something sweet and special is an easy task you might say ... but not when the person you are cooking for is trying to lose weight and demands it to be a) filled with nutrients b) has lots of fiber, c) is also sweet and delectable, d) is an original recipe and of my own making.
So off I went to brainstorm and experiment, and came up with a Banana and Date Slice:




My mother absolutely loves a date and banana loaf, so the challange here was to make her favourite food with a new, healthier recipe! It took a couple of tries to make. I had to wait till dear mother was out of the house to do my experiments, but I finally got there. And, to me, it fits the criteria fine enough: is healthy with wholemeal flour; has lots of fiber in the dates and banana; is sweetened with the fruits and a little honey; and is of my own making. Good enough for me :D



Since I am working on Mother's Day, I decided to make and give it to her today. She was very happy and, as we sat down to have a slice with our cups of tea, rambled on about how "great it was to have a daughter getting into cooking." I smiled under her praise ... but yelled "What are you doing?!" when I saw her reaching for the butter. "Well, it is healthy isn't it? That means I can afford to be a bit naughty and add a little extra to it ..."
Well, she does love her butter ... and after all, Mothers are meant to know what's best for us, right?




Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

1 cup of wholemeal flour
1 cup of cornmeal (cornflour)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup of skim milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon prune juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of honey**


Fruits

1 cup of dried dates, chopped
2 bananas, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 210 degrees. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients; whisk well
2. Combine, in another bowl, the wet ingredients; whisk well
3. Add the fruits to wet ingredients; stir well
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
5. Spray or brush a loaf tin with a little bit of oil or butter. Pour the mixture into the tin
6. Bake for 40 mins, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out relatively clean

**You can add more honey to the mixture once the dry and wet ingredients have been added together; it just depends on how sweet you want the end product to be!

Sending this to Mother's Day Special Event by Easy2cook recipes :)

Apple Cinnamon Goodness

Alright, I think the general opinion is that everyone loves muffins! From the moment the ingredients are mixed (with the mixing bowl being licked clean of course) and transfered to the oven there is a moment of intense excitement. For me, this excitement intensifies as soon as the smell of the baking muffins fills the air ... a smell good enough to eat, almost. I could go on forever; but that would cause me, and you, to become extremely hungry :)

I don't know the exact origins of the recipe but over the months I have changed it around a little to suit my taste buds. To tell the truth, this recipe also holds a special place in my heart. After numerous health issues I realised the crux of my problem was the little amount of food in my diet. I love fitness and working out, but my diet wasn't up to scratch; hence, the sudden health decline. While trying to gain a balanced yet very healthy diet again were my reasons for taking up cooking, nothing can displace my passion for it now. And these muffins were just the start of this love. So, without further ado, here is my own relatively healthy take of apple and cinnamon muffins mmmmm...


Ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of white sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon***
3/4 cup of apple juice
1/2 cup of skim milk
1 tablespoon of canola oil
2 cups of apples, cored and finely chopped (this takes approx. 2 apples)
Brown sugar to sprinkle (optional)


Method:
1. Heat oven to 205 degrees. Grease the bottoms of only 12 muffin cups
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix well
3. Combine, in another bowl, the apple juice, milk, and canola oil; blend well
4. Add the dry ingredients all at once into the liquid mixture; stir until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy).
5. Stir in the chopped apples
6. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full; sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top
7. Bake for 18 – 22 mins

***sometimes the cinnamon that is used for the mixture isn't enough – if you want a really cinnamon flavour to the muffins sprinkle (as much as you like) extra cinnamon into the mixture when you stir in the chopped apples.

Everytime I make these muffins, I always seem to end up making another batch soon after. My friends and family gobble them up so fast. I absolutely love to have a nice cup of tea every night before bed, and nothing is better than having a small and sweet muffin to go with it ... that's if, by the time it is night, there are any left!