Bananananana Bread

Life is busy. Busy, I tell you! I'm working and going to school... so far at work, I havn't killed anyone. Yet. But I have successfully started a few IV's! I'm feeling more and more like a nurse everyday.

I had a few bananas lying around, that I decided to allow to ripen fully. I put them in the freezer until I used them today so they wouldn't get moldy. Then I just defrosted them in the fridge before I used them. Then I thought, "What delicious baked good can I make with these lovely ripened bananas?" Banananana bread!


I used a fantastic banana bread recipe from Kristin at The Kitchen Sink Recipes, which I particularly appreciate because it uses egg whites, sour cream, and not a whole lot of butter. I didn't have sour cream, so I decided to use an equivalent amount of greek yogurt; I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular 1% milk. Other than those changes, everything else is the same as her original recipe.


I also used whole-wheat flour, so it makes me feel like this banana bread is kind of somewhat healthier than regular banana bread. Am I fooling myself? Maybe....


Anyway, this banana bread turned out just lovely and delicious! I expected it to come out somewhat dense and chewy, with the whole-wheat flour, but it really came out light and fluffy and cakey and delicious! I am so very pleased with this recipe and how it came out. If you're looking for a healthiER banana bread recipe, this one is it!! Give it a try. You won't regret it.




Banana Bread
from The Kitchen Sink Recipes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
heaping 1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinammon


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your loaf pan.
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, egg whites, milk, yogurt, and vanilla.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinammon.
5. Add the banana mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, combine well.
6. Add the dry ingredients to this mixture, and combine well, but don't overmix.
7. Pour into greased loaf pan.
8. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Turn out onto cooling rack.
9. Slice, and enjoy!

Brunch at Simon Pearce

This weekend, we took a short trip to Vermont for a triathlon that D and a couple of his friends did. On the way back, we stopped for brunch at Simon Pearce, which you may already know is renowned for its blown glass and handmade pottery. It's a retail store and a great restaurant. The retail store sells beautiful items that are all hand-made, but very pricey! One wine glass, for example, runs for about $60.



As you can sort-of read above, the restaurant uses dinnerware, stemware, and flatware that they design and produce. They are also known for utilizing local sources of foods. They also recycle their cooking oil by using it to fuel the chef's car! Their food scraps are donated as chicken feed, and their to-go containers are biodegradable. What I think is really cool is they utilize hydroelectric energy from the waterfall below to power up the glass furnace, as well as electricity for the store and restaurant.


The menu was just lovely, I had difficulty choosing what I wanted!!


Here is an example of their hand-made products they use in the restaurant. Isn't this bread plate beautiful?


Here is a hand-made glass centerpiece... beautiful.


They served us their famous brown bread, along with their freshly whipped sweet butter! Oh, delicious.


We got some house-made granola with yogurt and strawberries. What I loved about this is you can see the vanilla bean specks in the yogurt! It was a great way to start the meal.


We got the creme brulee french toast to share at the table, which was amazing, delicious, scrumptious! More more more! It was so incredibly delicious, there truly are few words to describe.


I ordered the poached Atlantic salmon hash with fried eggs and a creamy dill sauce. It was delightful!


And, check out the vibrant yellow yolk! It was such a dark rich yellow color, and it tasted as good as it looked.


D got the special - ham, red pepper, and asparagus quiche. It had such a nice crusty cheesy crust on top, and the eggs were fluffy and perfect. The greens were fresh and crisp, but a little bit over-dressed. Regardless, it was delicious.


After feeling horribly stuffed after our awesome brunch, we went downstairs to see the glass-blowers do their handywork. It was amazing to see how incredibly talented these folks are, watching them make a piece of stemware right before our eyes. It is truly a dying art, but thankfully places like Simon Pearce are keeping it alive.


Here is a pottery demonstration... very "Ghost"-esque.


If you're ever in Vermont, you must stop by Simon Pearce! You will pick up some amazingly well-crafted blown glass and pottery items, have a fantastic meal that is environmentally conscious, and witness the craft of glassblowing and pottery. A fantastic experience I won't soon forget.

Chicken & Spaghetti... with a healthy fun twist!

Generally speaking, I attempt to eat healthy (i.e. lean meats, low carbs, high fiber), but sometimes I just want a big bowl of pasta! When my guilt does not allow me to fulfill that craving, I turn to wonderfully creative recipes like this one. Meseidy from The Noshery has this really cool recipe for Chicken Parmagiana with Zucchini Noodles. Does that sound cool or what?!

I started with the chicken breasts, which I pounded out to about 1" thick, and soaked them in some lowfat buttermilk. Thick and creamy, yum.


Meseidy says to soak them for 5 minutes. I ended up leaving them in the fridge for a few hours (eek!). Turned out okay! I put 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs on a dish, along with S&P, and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning.


I coated each piece of chicken on both sides with the breadcrumb mixture, and placed them in a baking dish I sprayed with cooking spray. You can see I ended up with two big breasts, and a couple small nuggets. Don't ask me how I ended up with the little guys.


I threw them in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through. While those were baking, I washed my zucchinis and squash. Look at them, lined up and ready to go!


I used a zester to make the "noodles". I cut each zucchini length-wise, then used the zester to make strips of zucchini. You'll see it gets more difficult to do this as you get closer to the core, since it is softer at the core. When you get to this point, move on to the next zucchini. Meseidy says to discard the cores; I sliced them up and kept them in the fridge for a little stir fry next time!


I ended up using 5 of the zucchinis, and the 1 yellow squash, to end up with about 2 cups total.


I then sliced a shallot, and minced 4 cloves of garlic.


I also prepared my vine-ripened tomato and roasted red peppers by dicing them.


I cooked the shallot and garlic in a hot pan with olive oil, until they were translucent.


I added 1/4 cup tomato sauce, and some freshly chopped basil.


Then I added the diced tomato and red pepper.


It is coming together! I let this simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.


Time for the noodles! I added these to the tomato sauce.


And mixed it all around to coat the zucchini. I let it cook for just a few minutes, because I did not want the zucchini to get mushy.


As the chicken was reaching completion, I pulled out the dish and put some shredded mozzarella on top. Then I turned on the broiler to melt and brown the cheese.


Once the chicken was done, a delicious meal was ready for me to enjoy!! I am very very very pleased with this dish, for many reasons -- its creativity, nutrition, and taste. Who would think of making noodles out of zucchini? The noodles ended up being perfectly cooked, not too crunchy, not too soggy, and added such a lovely flavor to the dish. The tomato sauce is subtle and light, and the shallot and garlic add the perfect amount of flavor. I highly recommend you try this one out! It is a lot of fun, and a guilt-free way to enjoy pasta!



Chicken Parmagiana with Zucchini Noodles
from The Noshery
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
S&P
1 tsp Italian seasoning
6 small zucchinis
1 large yellow squash
1 shallot
4 garlic cloves
1 vine-ripened tomato
1/4 cup roasted red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 shredded mozzarella
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts in a large ziptop bag. Pound out breasts with a heavy object until they are about 1" thick.
2. Fill a shallow pan with buttermilk. Place chicken breasts in buttermilk, ensuring they are completely coated. Let soak for at least 5 min.
3. Fill another shallow pan with panko breadcrumbs, and add S&P and Italian seasoning. Combine.
4. Transfer chicken to breadcrumbs, coat on both sides.
5. Transfer chicken to a greased baking sheet/dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, turning once halfway through.
6. Cut each zucchini/squash in half lengthwise. Using a zester, run it down the length of the zucchini, until you reach the core. You should end up with about 2 cups. (Slice up the cores and save them for a stir fry!)
7. Thinly slice the shallot, and mince the garlic. Dice the tomato and roasted red pepper.
8. Heat olive oil in large pan. Add shallot and garlic. Saute until translucent.
9. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce, and half the basil. Cook at medium heat for 2 minutes. Add tomato and roasted red pepper, cook for 5 minutes.
10. Add the zucchini noodles. Toss with the sauce, and saute at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Try not to overcook the noodles.
11. When the chicken is just about done, pull out the dish and sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Turn on the broiler, and allow top to brown.
12. Serve the chicken over the zucchini noodles, and garnish with fresh basil. ENJOY!

Remembering Dad.

Three years go, my cool awesome funny loving doting dad passed away from cancer. The anniversary of his death was about a week ago, and with Father's Day being here, I wanted to share my father with all of you to honor and remember him! He was truly an amazing man, and I am tremendously lucky to have had such a wonderful father for 24 years of my life. He is the primary inspiration for my nursing career, having witnessed what he went through with his battle with cancer. More specifically, we had hospice services to keep him as comfortable as possible at home until he died, and having these services deepened my passion for end-of-life and palliative care. Having witnessed his decline, and being at his side at his last breath with my family, was truly an honor and a privilege, and now I know that I will (eventually) be a nurse practitioner in the world of end-of-life care/hospice.

My father had liver cancer, which he developed due to chronic Hepatitis B infection. Many of you may not know this, but according to the American Liver Foundation, one in ten Asian Americans is chronically infected with HepB, and many of these people develop liver cancer, which has one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers. What is worse is that few Asian people are educated on HepB (what it is, how to get it, what the complications are, what the treatment options are, that there is a vaccine available for HepB), which fuels the already existing stigma toward it, which in turn prevents people from seeking the treatment they need. Please check out www.thinkb.org, which presents information about HepB in Asians.

It saddens me that his death could have been prevented. Who knows how he, or any of the many many other Asians, got HepB, but what I do know is that he was not properly educated by his healthcare providers about the vaccine, how to prevent its spread, etc. But regardless of whether his death could have been prevented, it is now my duty as a nurse (and future nurse practitioner) to serve as an educator and prevent further deaths from the same cause, in my dad's memory and honor. It is the least I can do to preserve his memory and ensure his death was not in vain.


This is my dad and I when I was little... he took us to the swimming pool every week!

This is the last photo I took with my dad, one month before he passed away.

One of his absolute favorite things was Cherries Jubilee ice cream from Baskin Robbins. He loved everything cherry, but this ice cream was the one thing he CRAVED during the last weeks of his life. When the body is preparing to die, the need for food and drink diminishes as the body focuses on basic needs. During this time, my father asked only for Cherries Jubilee ice cream, which my brother would buy by the gallon! I think he liked how it was soothing and smooth in his mouth, which must have been a comforting feeling. Not to mention, he just loved the flavor! I'll have to visit a Baskin Robbins and have a cone in his memory.

photo courtesy www.baskinrobbins.com

He not only loved cherry-flavored items, but actual cherries as well. Everytime I buy a bag, I always think of him, and eat them with a smile knowing he's eating them in heaven.

photo courtesy www.thedailygreen.com

Anyway, thank you all for listening, for allowing me to share my father with you.

My Dream Job: Spokesperson for FiberOne

First, I'd like to say "Thanks" to all of you for your support! Even with my sporadic postings, you are all so kind to encourage me nonetheless. My job is going well, I havn't killed anyone (yet!). I realized the key to being a new nurse is to ACT like I know what I'm doing. Confidence is 50% of success. I just made that up right now.

Anyway! Today, I am reviewing a lovely product that my friend, Emily, introduced me to. Emily, like me, deeply appreciates a nice healthy dose of fiber. I am constantly amazed at all the new products that FiberOne is coming out with -- yogurt, poptarts, muffin mix. And I just recently tried their pancake mix, which I was so excited about!! (If anyone from FiberOne is reading this, please feel free to send me products to sample and review! Just kidding! Okay not really kidding.)


One of my dilemmas when I go out for brunch is that sometimes I want something sweet (pancakes, waffles), but these often don't contain anything nutritious -- no fiber, no protein. So I usually opt for eggs and whole wheat toast. But now with this pancake mix, I can get fiber and protein, all in a fluffy pancake!


I decided to make my pancakes in two varieties -- blueberries (frozen) and chocolate chip. YUM!


The mix is super easy to use, just add water! Here they are, cooking away on the skillet:


And here they are, all flipped over and almost ready to eat!


I drizzled some light syrup all over (I wish I could use real maple syrup but I'm poor)... yuumm...


Overall, I am quite pleased with this pancake mix. First, it is extremely easy to use. We all complain that we don't have time for breakfast, other than a bowl of (high-fiber) cereal, but with this easy mix, breakfast comes together in minutes. Second, the pancakes are pretty damn fluffy! Okay, they're not nearly as fluffy as "real" pancakes, but they certainly are not cardboardy and tough. Third, they taste good!! They are buttery and tasty, and I just can't believe there are 5 grams of fiber per serving.


I recommend FiberOne Pancake Mix for its simplicity, taste, and of course, nutritional value. Maybe not the lowest-calorie breakfast option, but certainly they can replace your usual weekend pancake breakfast and provide you and your family with some extra nutrition (and they won't even know it!). Go Fiber!