What I've Been Up To...

I'm pregnant! 

It's been a pretty crazy few months which is why I've been a little slow on the blog.  My life has been turned upside down with a crazy toddler and having very bad morning sickness.  It's been a struggle to even get through the normal day-to-day when I'm so sick.  But now that I'm in second trimester, things are starting to calm down.  The other big change is that I've been in transition to a new job!  I'm still at the same company and still doing graphic design, but I've switched to product design and product management.  The last few months have been a big blur to me, but I hope to have my life back to normal very soon.

As always, feel free to read my baby blog where I post way too many photos of my son and my pregnancy-related stories as things progress.

I wish all of you and your families a wonderful holiday!

Lisa

Low Fat, Sweet Banana Bread

Bananas.  

 They're healthy, they taste good, and they're super cheap. But I hate how they go bad so quickly! If I have very ripe bananas that I haven't eaten yet, I hate to throw them away. That's why I make banana bread!

Adapted from here

Ingredients:
• non-stick cooking spray
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 T brown sugar
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1/3 c skim milk
• 1 t vegetable oil
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 3/4 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Spray a bread pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add liquid ingredients in and mix well.

In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Combine with liquid ingredients.

Pour batter into bread pan and bake for about 60 minutes or until inside is completely baked.

Fabulous! I love it!

Healthy Zucchini Raisin Bread

I avoided buying a food processor for years.  I hate having too many appliances clutter up the kitchen and I feel like they never get used enough.  But after struggling without one for way too long, I finally gave in.  I actually bought it with this recipe in mind and I was really impressed with how amazing it worked!  I had no idea how easy it would be to shred zucchini!  My goal is to use the food processor at least a few times a year, so this is a good start!

Adapted from Healthy Seasonal Recipes

(Makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients:
• non-stick cooking spray
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3.5 cups shredded zucchini (I used four zucchinis in a food processor to make this much)
• 1 pound zucchini, shredded (about 3 ½ cups)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray loaf pans with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, whisk flours, spices, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4.  Mix in eggs, oil, honey, vanilla, and zucchini. Add in the pats and raisins and stir gently.

5.  Pour mixture into loaf pans and bake for about 50 minutes or until baked throughout.  (I also made one batch in a 9x9 pan and that only needed to bake for about 35 minutes.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Shortbread Bars

Here come the pumpkin recipes!  I'm not such a big fan of fall, but I do love me some pumpkin!  I made these for a party recently and may or may not have consumed all the leftovers myself very quickly!  So amazing!

Adapted from All Recipes
Ingredients:
• 1 package pound cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 2 T butter
• 4 t pumpkin pie spice (will be separated in half for 2 different parts)
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 14 oz. can of condensed milk
• 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, 1 egg, butter, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.  The mixture will be crumbly and that's perfect.  Press onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan coated with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In another large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, condensed milk, 2 eggs, pumpkin puree, the rest of the pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  The original recipe suggests using a mixer, but it worked just fine to use my husband instead!

3. Pour liquid mixture over the crust.  Sprinkle pecans on the top.

4. Bake for 35 minutes or until set.  Store in the refrigerator and serve chilled.