"A healthy...

...attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others.  Be a carrier."
-Tom Stoppard


DA #6:  Healthy Baking Attempts

Not too long ago I came across an image that contained healthy substitutes to be used in baking.  So naturally, I had to try these suckers out.  In search of new recipes, I found one for Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  The original recipe looked beyond amazing, but I decided to test these things out.  It took 2 tries to get something edible.

Attempt 1:
-3 ripe bananas
-1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-3 tbs avocado (butter substitute)
-1/2 cup chocolate soy milk (egg substitute)
-juice from 1 lemon (egg substitute)
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1.5 cups blackbean/garbanzobean flour (flour substitute)
-1/4 cup ground flaxseed
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1/8 tsp allspice
-2 tbs chopped dry roasted peanuts

So basically, I took everything up to (and including) the sugar and put it into the Kitchen Aide.  Turned it on, and let it become a big bowl of liquid mush.  For the bean flour, I took a bag of each of the dry beans and threw them into a food processor...house sounded like it was under attack.  And the beans weren't finely ground (maybe because I gave up too early).  I don't suggest ever doing this.  Anyway, I added everything else into the pile of liquid mush and mixed it for a little.  Poured the mixture into a lightly sprayed loaf pan and threw it into a 350degree oven for 65minutes.  When I took it out, it looked nice and solid.  Inserted a toothpick and it was clean.  Let it cool for a couple of minutes and then flipped the pan over to let the cake cool on a cooling rack.  The cake proceeded to seep through the cooling rack and onto the counter (ie, very much not solid).  I quick grabbed a spatula, scooped everything up, slopped it back into the pan, and shoved the pan back into the oven.  It never did solidify.  In any event, I dumped it onto a plate and squished it together so it kind of resembled a cake shape.  Until we finally threw it away, it was referred to as "the poop chillen' on the counter."


Attempt 2:
-a heaping 1/3cup of peanut butter
-1/3cup chocolate soy milk
-juice from half a lemon
-1 16 ounce can of chickpeas, attacked by the food processor
(everything else stayed the same)

Additionally, I used a 8"x8" pan instead of the loaf pan so it would cook more evenly.  Put it in the 350degree oven for 65minutes, and then lowered the temperature to 250degrees for 10minutes.  When it came out you could tell the center was still not solid, but I let it cool in the pan where it continued to cook.

This sucker came out SO much better than the first try.  And it even looked appetizing!  We had "ladies night" yesterday and everyone loved it.  I'm quite pleased.

Side by side comparison:

I went online and found a recipe calculator to determine the nutritional information.  In 1/16 of the pan, there is 163 calories, 4.8g fat, 256mg sodium, 206mg potassium, 30.2g carbs, 3.2g fiber, 19.1g sugar, and 4.1g protein.  I compared it to the original recipe.  Fewer calories and grams of fat (and no cholesterol vs. 29g in the original).  More potassium and fiber.
Not too shabby.