Happy Wednesday!  Ever just feel that there is one food that is so versatile for any meal?  I think for me it has to be the banana.  Whether it is breakfast, lunch , dinner or dessert - the banana can make you happy.  High in potassium and fiber (9 grams for one), bananas are a no-brainer when it comes to eating your five a day quotient of fruits and veggies.

I was contacted by the folks at Endless Simmer and was asked if I would mind if they featured zesty in a post titled “100 things to do with a banana”.  Of course I said yes and always more than honored when fellow bloggers choose to feature my recipes and posts.  The one that was chosen is my use of banana on the super star toast.  Here is a snap shot of the toast if you never saw it before.

Below are a few more banana recipes that I have feature in the past on zesty.

Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Monkey

Super Star Toast II

Banana Walnut Bread

Triple Decker Peanut Butter Sandwich

There you have a quick summary on the fabulous food called “BANANA“.  Tell me what your favorite ingredient is for anytime throughout the day and feel free to plug your blog if you have one and link to the recipe in the comments.

Have an amazing mid week Wednesday!  It is going to be sunny here… finally.

Take care

zesty

Ok, so I have to confess a little bit here. I totally forgot to post yesterday being Monday and all do to the holiday. My apologies for that. To make it up to you I think I have a pretty tasty recipe that you can try at home and I think you even may be impressed at the fact it is “HEALTHY“. Whole grain oatmeal raisin cookies with a couple of unique ingredients that I have been dying to try for a while now.  Agave nectar and apple juice in cookies really keeps them on the healthy and lighter side by avoiding the heaviness of the oil and the sugar.

Let me know what you think of the recipe but I think they turned out quite good. They are chewy in texture as well as being soft. They are nice right out of the oven or slightly warmed in the microwave.  I like 18 seconds of warming time depending on your microwave of course.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 Cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 Cup organic unbleached white flour
• 2 Tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 Cup raisins
• 1/4 Cup flax seeds
• 1/2 Cup low Fat Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 Cup Apple Juice
• 1/4 Cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
• 1 Tsp. pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, raisins and nuts.
3. In another bowl or blender combine remaining liquid ingredients.
4. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, about two inches apart, on to the baking sheets.
6. Press each cookie with moisten fingers or a spoon to flatten.
7. Bake 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
8. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.



9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For an even softer cookie, I like to slightly under cook the cookie as it will continue to cook internally after you take them out.  The apple juice and yogurt will also aide in the moisture department.

So there you have it, a fun healthy recipe you can try at home.  I had to test the cookies out of course as I watched the Olympics.  They turned out just as I hoped.  Is anybody else following the Olympics closely?

Stay tuned for a post that you will not want to miss tomorrow.  It is all about Zesty and Opensky giving back to all of you.  Have a fantastic Monday Tuesday and I will talk to you bright and early in the morning.

Take care

zesty