Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:

Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.

½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to largebananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Carpet deodorizing with essential oils

Tip:   Carpet deodorizing with essential oils Pour one 16-ounce box of baking soda into a mixing bowl. Add 20 drops of lavender essential oil and 10 drops each of lemon and tea tree essential oil to the bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle mixture on areas of carpet that need deodorizing and allow to sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Vacuum mixture. Save any unused mixture in a glass jar for later use.

oils for pink eye

Tip:  Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) For older children and adults (those that can resist touching the area): Apply 2 or 3 drops each of melaleuca and Purify around the socket of the eye. Put drops in palm of hand and apply oils from palm to eye with tip of your finger. For younger children: Using a hard shell eye patch (available at the pharmacy) apply 2 drops each of melaleuca and Purify to 1/3 of a cotton pad and then place the cotton pad in the eye patch. Place the oils side of the cotton patch to the outside, where it will not contact the eye or eyelid directly. Place the eye patch over the affected eye. Repeat the above procedures 2 to 4 times during the day. At the same time rub eucalyptus oil on the feet (reflexology points are the big toe and the next two toes). At night repeat the eye treatment and rotate from eucalyptus to oregano for the feet. Repeat the daily protocol until redness disappears and two days following. Caution the child not to rub or scratch the eye and place socks on the feet so that oils are not transferred from the feet to other areas.

healthy snack ideas

Yogurt and granola

Yogurt in the big container my favorite brand is Cascade Fresh, however Mountain High is a good brand. Look at the ingredients. Avoid brands that have gelatin, high fructose corn syrup, and aspartame. Granola, is cheapest in the double bag at Costco. I make my own and it is way better for you. And as always tastes way better too. It is really easy.

Granola

Dry - mix in a big big bowl

4 cups Reg rolled oats

4 cups quick oats

4 cups puffed rice (like rice crispies)

1 cup oat flour

1 cup wheat germ or flour

1 ½ tsp salt

1 Tbs cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

Wet - blend together.

½ cup agave and 1 cup honey or 1 ½ cup honey

½ cup applesauce

1 TBS v-nilla

1 splash of almond extract (optional)

Stir together till evenly coated.

Put in a jelly roll pan and any other pans that will fit in your oven with it.

Bake @ 250 for 35-45 min stirring every 10 min.

Take it out and let cool completely

Once it is cool add nuts and dried fruit and coconut as desired.

My favorites are

Macadamia nuts, pineapple, coconut flakes,

Cranberry, almonds, pineapple, coconut flakes, cashews

Apricots, cashews,

Strawberries (freeze-dried) almonds

Toast and hard boiled eggs

I boil an 18 count carton and just mark it HB

In a big pot fill water to cover the eggs. Bring to a fast boil and boil for 3 min. take off heat and cover for 15 min. immediately rinse in cold water and refrigerate

Cheese sticks – cheapest at Costco

Cliff bars for kids – They are called Z- bars. They are pretty good for you and are yummy. My favorite is the chocolate brownie. But the chocolate chip and honey graham are good too.

Cottage cheese and Crushed Pineapple.

The Daisy all natural brand is the best. Look at the ingredients Daisy has like 3 and the others have like 15. As a rule the thing with the fewest ingredients is the best one.

Cheese hog -  it sounds weird but Wes named it.

When making Bread or pizza or rolls save some dough and shape it like a hot pocket. Inside you can put any kind of lunch meat or diced chicken or turkey. With any cheese you want. I use Italian cheeses and a bit of cheddar. Sprinkle with garlic salt and then pinch the dough around it. Brush with oil, cover it, and let raise for 20 – 30 min and bake for 15 min at 350 until golden brown on the bottom.

Veggies and ranch

I buy the little condiment cups with lids and put ranch in it.

For veggies like carrots and broccoli and celery you need to wash it and cut it and put it in a little baggie and make it easy to grab and eat or you just won’t, cuz it won’t look good.

Apples and Peanut butter

I buy the natural peanut butter, but to make it taste better I add salt and a bit of honey when I stir it. There is a natural brand of peanut butter that you do not need to stir but it is expensive. If you just can’t bring yourself to buy the natural peanut butter then just get one that does not have any partially hydrogenated oils or corn syrup.

Smoothies

You can freeze quart size bags of fruit and ice ready to go in the blender and all you have to add is juice and yogurt.

Popcorn

I have an air popper the kids can make their own now it is a bit messy but popcorn is a good snack. You can control how much butter is on it so it is better for them. And you can make it a little sweet with honey and v-nilla cooked in the microwave for 3 min.

Cheesy Chips

I always have organic all natural tortilla chips on hand. The kids melt cheese in the chips on the microwave and it is a fast snack. Not the most healthy for you but it is simple there are worse things they could be eating. Also if you throw chips and salsa on a salad all of a sudden it is a taco salad and that is a good way to mix things up.

I like to have some kind of baked good on hand. Like corn muffins, blueberry muffins, biscuits, pancakes, cinnamon rolls (healthy style)

Fruit of course.

Some fruit cannot be pre washed but the ones that can it is a good idea to do this a head of time. Wes will sneak into the fridge and grab a bunch of grapes and run out of the room like a bandit. Little does he know that I washed them just for him.

Applesauce -  cheapest at Costco

Cheerios

I mix up 1 box of honey nut to 2 boxes of plain and then put them back in the boxes. This is just the right amount of sweetness for us but you might want to try 1 and 1 at first and work your way up to it. You can make snack bags with raisons and cheerios.

Frozen Go-gurts

I buy the healthiest ones I can find. Stoneyfield is a pretty good brand. There is a simply natural kind also. Freezing them turns them into a treat not just a snack.

Fruit leather – cheapest at Costco also.

croupy cough

try marjoram and thyme

Spring Time Allergies

Tip:  Spring Time Allergies Spring can cause some people to have a seasonal allergies. Try these three oils together in about 1 ounce of water and take internally. You will notice a great relief and nasal clearing. 2 drops Lavender 2 drops Lemon 2 drops Peppermint

fighting a cough, try this...

Tip:   A Mixture to help fight coughing To make a mixture to drink to help coughs, combine the following: 2 drops Eucalyptus Oil  2 drops Lemon Oil mixed with 3 tablespoons honey Use 1 teaspoon of the above mixture in half a glass of warm water and sip slowly.