"Banana Bread" Baked Oatmeal

During the long and humid Tokyo summer, bananas wouldn't last two days in my kitchen without going brown and mushy. My way to salvage them was to peel them, puree them in the food processor, and then freeze the goo for later baking purposes. The great thing about these extra ripe bananas is that they have a strong flavor and produce an excellent result in terms of the flavor profile. Be sure to use very ripe bananas for best results.

I've got a lot of baked oatmeal recipes which have been a hit with my husband and this one is currently at the top of his list. He believes that it actually tastes better than real banana bread, though it could be that he has been off of sugar and white flour for so long that he has forgotten what the real deal tastes like. Nonetheless, this is a delicious version of baked oatmeal which satisfies both a sweet tooth or the need for a quick, delicious breakfast or snack which is also nutritious. I usually double the recipe and make two loaves at once and slice each loaf into 6 bars, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze. With tea or coffee, they really satisfy and are easy to grab and take with you. If you tend to buy nutritional bars as snacks, these make a cheaper substitute (and are tastier).

"Banana bread" baked oatmeal (sugar-free, whole grain, low-fat) 

1 egg
1/2 granular Splenda
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup pureed banana
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 tbsp. whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. (175 degrees C.).
2. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
3. Whisk the egg, applesauce, milk, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, banana puree, Splenda, and salt together until well mixed.
4. Sprinkle the oatmeal over the liquid. 
5. Sprinkle the flour and baking powder over the oatmeal.
6. Stir with a wooden spoon until well moistened.
7. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to underbake this as it will come out too moist.
8. Cool in the pan until it can be handled comfortably (about 30 minutes). Loosen the edges with a spatula and gently remove the cake.
9. Cut into 6 pieces.

Nutrition calculations courtesy of the Sparkrecipes calculator:

Chocolate Muffins

Have you ever bought one of those big chocolate muffins from Costco? They have chocolate chips and are huge and sweet. Well, this muffin isn't going to rival that type of muffin, but I think it comes pretty close. To get a muffin like that, you need lots of sugar and fat. If that's what you want, I'm afraid I can't deliver something precisely like it in a whole wheat, reduced fat, sugar-free format. Of course, I'm also not going to offer something which is nearly 700 calories as the Costco muffins will provide.

Since the flavor of chocolate is carried across more effectively by sugar and fat (hence the reason it is often delivered in the form of a candy bar), it's a tall order to make a chocolate muffin without those fattening aspects and it took a few tries to get this just right. The results of my baking are a muffin which has a somewhat greater chocolate intensity than a plain chocolate cake. It's moist and the texture is excellent. As is often the case with whole wheat baked goods, these are better the next morning as it allows the moisture to balance out and the "wheaty" flavor vanishes entirely.

You can make 6 quite large muffins or 8 medium-size ones. Nutrition information is given for both at the end of the recipe. Note that this delivers a nice amount of protein for a baked item due to the whole wheat flour and cocoa powder.

picture lightened to show detail - these are actually very dark in color

Chocolate Muffins (sugar-free, reduced fat, whole wheat):

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium egg
3/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup Splenda granular
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Van Houten)
2 tbsp. Canola oil
2 tbsp. espresso or very, very strong coffee
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder

1. Scald the milk, add to the cocoa, stir until dissolved, and allow to cool.
2. Whisk the applesauce, egg, milk, cocoa mixture, vanilla, salt, espresso, oil, cinnamon, vinegar, and Splenda together. Mix until everything is smoothly incorporated.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the liquid mixture and gently stir just until the flour is moistened. Allow this to rest for 15-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (190 degrees C.). Spray the bottoms of 6 large muffin cups with cooking spray.
5. Sprinkle the baking powder over the mixture and stir until just mixed evenly.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups. They will be about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center comes out with sticky crumbs, but not wet batter. Do not overbake (a skewer should not come out clean) as it will dry out the muffins.
8. Allow to cool in the tins for at least 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges to loosen, pat gently if they stick to the bottom. Place on a rack for cooling.

 Nutrition information courtesy of the SparkRecipes calculator:

For 6 muffins:

For 8 muffins:

Peppery Vegetable Puree

Most of the posts I'll be making will be about baked goods, but occasionally, I'll be sharing a savory dish or two. This recipe is one of my recent favorites and it was born of the union of between the scorching hot Tokyo summer (temperatures in the mid to high 90's for weeks on end) and my love of soup. I wanted something soup-like, but I didn't want to have a pot on the burner for about an hour.

Incidentally, pureeing your vegetables may help you lose weight. It may seem illogical to conclude that eating them at the consistency of applesauce will fill your stomach better and longer than eating whole vegetables, but it's true. British researchers conducted a study in which they fed workers at the same factory identical lunches except that one ate the contents pureed together and the other as whole foods. One group was given chicken, carrots, rice, and a glass of water. The other group was given the same foods in exactly the same proportions pureed into a soup. Those who ate the pureed food had full stomachs longer and didn't get as hungry for 45 minutes or longer after those who ate the whole foods. Drinking water with your food is less helpful in keeping your stomach full than adding that water to your food and making a puree as it slows digestion to have a large mass of thick liquid in your stomach.

Peppery Vegetable Puree:

1/2 cup water
1 chicken consomme soup cube
1/2 medium tomato, roughly quartered
1 medium slice white onion, roughly diced
1 small carrot, sliced thinly
4 broccoli flowerets
coarsely ground black pepper, garlic powder, parsley (to taste)

Pour the water into a microwave safe dish with a lid. Glass is preferable because it is inert and won't release chemicals during cooking. Add the consomme cube, tomato, onion, carrot slices, and the broccoli. Microwave on high power for 6 minutes. Remove and stir. Sprinkle the black pepper, garlic powder, and parsley on top. The black pepper makes it slightly hot and adds a nice kick. Cook for another 5 minutes if necessary to cook the carrots (check at 90 second intervals). I use about a quarter teaspoon of each of them. Puree with an immersion blender.

Nutrition information courtesy of the SparkRecipes calculator:

Peanut Butter Muffins

The Japanese are said to prefer their sweets less sweet than Americans, and this is reflected in their bakery's baked goods. They tend to put less sugar in them, and that has given me many years of experience with what happens when there isn't "enough" sugar in a cake or muffin. The other side of the Japanese baking method is that they use a fair amount of fat. This may surprise some people because most Japanese people have fairly trim figures.

The combination of fat with little sugar creates dry baked goods that rise well and look fine, but the texture and mouth feel are disappointing. When I first experimented with a peanut butter muffin, I found that my early results to produce a sugar-free version resembled the average Japanese muffin from the neighborhood bakery. It looked good, tasted fine, and smelled great, but was too dry. On the next experimental round, I doubled the applesauce to add heft and moisture, and got a good result.

These muffins have a bit of a peanut butter cookie taste going for them. They're not too sweet, and are great with a bit of butter or margarine or, if you'd like to have a PB & J feel, spread them with jam. If you'd like to go into peanut butter over-drive, spread them with peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Muffins (whole-wheat, sugar-free, low-fat)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium egg
2/3 cup low-fat milk + 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup Splenda
4 tbsp. peanut butter
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

1. Add the vinegar to the milk, stir, and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
2. Whisk the applesauce, egg, milk, peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and Splenda together. Mix until the peanut butter is smoothly incorporated.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the liquid mixture and gently stir just until the flour is moistened. Allow this to rest for 15-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (190 degrees C.). Spray the bottoms of 6 muffin tins with cooking spray.
5. Sprinkle the baking powder over the mixture and stir until just mixed.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups. They will be quite full.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake as it will dry out the muffins.
8. Allow to cool in the tins for at least 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges to loosen, pat gently if they stick to the bottom. Place on a rack for cooling.

Nutrition information courtesy of the SparkRecipes calculator: