If you have been following this blog, perhaps you have already noticed that majority of my recent posts were actually food related.  It is not because I'm trying to be a culinary expert nor a kitchen guru (that's way too impossible to happen), but because I have been working a lot on my cooking/baking skills, trying to find delicious yet healthy kitchen recipes.

I was not health conscious like this when I was younger, but my perspective on food and diet changed the moment I started to have a family of my own.  I felt that as a mom and wife, it is my responsibility to feed my family nutritious food to keep them healthy so they may enjoy and live a long life.

Currently, I am obsessed with preparing healthy dishes and desserts, but not so much to the point of becoming a vegan.  My goal is to serve mains that are low in fat and cholesterol (since my husband and my sister have high LDL) and desserts/snacks that are low calorie, low fat, and sugar free as much as possible.

So today, let me share with you my banana bread recipe.  For me, this recipe is perfect not because it is the MOST delicious banana bread you'll ever taste but because it is low in calorie, fat free, and sugar free, yet yummy enough to be enjoyed by the whole family.  (Believe me when I say the MOST delicious dessert you'll ever taste is also the MOST sinful one because what makes it tastes so heavenly is actually MORE fat and MORE sugar -- say hello to hyperlipidemia and diabetes!)

2 cups over ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup skim milk

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts (optional for topping)

Preheat oven to 180C and prepare loaf pan (preferably oven safe glass pan). In a large mixing bowl, whisk first three ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour dry into wet, and stir until evenly combined. Transfer to the loaf pan and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press down.  Bake for 35 minutes, then turn off the oven but DO NOT open the door!   Let it sit for 10 more minutes before removing and slicing.

It was my first time to bake a cake and I was a little bit worried of failing on this first attempt.  I've been baking (cupcakes, cookies, and banana bread) for several weeks already, but sometimes I still tend to mess up on a few recipes.  I admit, I am still on the learning curve and there are still a lot of things that I have to learn.  I just hope I won't have to learn from disastrous kitchen experiences because that would be really, really, really sad (and embarrassing)!

Anyway, I got this recipe from Deliciously Ella's Triple Layered Chocolate Cake with Thick Frosting and Fresh Raspberries.  I just replaced the raspberries with strawberries because they're my husband's favorite.  And I wasn't able to source the exact ingredients required so I ended up making a few alterations with the original recipe like:  

(1) I fell short of avocados so I used banana as a substitute; 

(2) I didn't have vanilla bean paste so I used the commercially available vanilla extract;

(3) I used cocoa powder in lieu of the raw cacao powder (which has more anti-oxidant content) because I wasn't able to find one in the supermarket; and

(4) I used only 2 cups of sweet potatoes instead of the recommended 4 cups because I decided to make only two layers of cake instead of three.

Aside from the few alterations with the recipe I mentioned above, the other challenge I had to face in making this cake is the non-availability of a food processor.  We didn't have a food processor at home, so I had to use the chopper as an alternative.  The chopper actually worked well and the end result went exactly just fine.  The only thing is, it's a little too small to hold the entire mixture so I had to make everything by batch.  In short, it was too time consuming!  It actually took me four hours in the kitchen to finish this strawberry chocolate cake.  It was tedious but definitely worth every effort because I made it for the most special person in my life.  That's what you call "labor of love."  (Ewww... I'm getting cheesy!  Pardon my ka-cornihan.)

This cake is super healthy and nutritious!  It's loaded with vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber -- making it a super perfect dessert for your loved ones.  Honestly, I never have imagined that such vegan dessert can actually taste this good.  Try it and you'll never have to feel guilty indulging over a sweet dessert ever again!

2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed

1 cup almonds, ground

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup dates

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup of maple syrup or honey

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4 avocados

2 ripe bananas

1 cup dates

3 tablespoons cocoa

3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

1 cup of strawberries

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them into chunks.  Steam for twenty minutes or until soft.

Place all dry ingredients – ground almonds, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt into a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Make the icing.  Peel the avocado and banana.  Remove the avocado and date stones.  Place all ingredients into food processor and blend for a few minutes until a smooth, thick, creamy mix forms. Place into a new bowl and store in the fridge.

Transfer sweet potatoes into the (empty) food processor with the dates, vanilla extract, water and maple syrup and blend until smooth.  Mix this into the bowl of dry ingredients until well blended.  Pour cake mixture into two separate cake tins and bake for twenty minutes or until you can put a fork in and pull it out clean. 

Once cool, assemble the cake. Put the thickest cake on the bottom and spread a layer of icing over it before placing a circle of strawberries around the edge and a few in the centre for balance. Then place the second layer on top and do exactly the same thing. 

Serve and enjoy!

My husband and my sister have high cholesterol levels. I was actually surprised when I first learned about it (two years ago).  They were just 32 and 29 years old then.  I was thinking, we were living in the same house and we eat the same food, how come both of them have high cholesterol levels while mine was perfectly normal?  Then I realized there's one food I religiously eat everyday that they don't -- OATS.

I love oats.  Everyday, I eat oatmeal for breakfast and dinner.  It's my comfort food.  But my husband and my sister hate it and I can't understand why.  Oats is considered one of the world's healthiest food.  It helps lower cholesterol, reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, stabilizes sugar, etc.  I mean, if it's that healthy, why wouldn't they want to eat it?  Please, help me understand!

I've been trying to convince them to eat oats ever since to help lower their cholesterol levels, but they won't.  (They're sooo stubborn, I know!)  Sometimes I would even prepare it as their 'baon' in the office but they will just go home with the oats left untouched.  It was disappointing!

I was upset but I can't quit trying and just watch their cholesterol levels shoot up, leading to a more serious health condition.  I can't do that and I won't let that happen.  So we ditched all the unhealthy fat sources in the kitchen and replaced them with healthier alternatives; we became more cautious in preparing our meals, staying away from anything fried as much as possible; and we always take a one hour walk every afternoon for our exercise routine (except during summer when the temperature in the middle east can rise up to 44C or even higher).  Those efforts somehow helped to lower their LDL and triglycerides, but not enough to reach the normal levels.

It was disheartening.  For two years, I've been trying my best to lower their cholesterol levels but I always fail.  It's hard especially when the people you're trying to help is very stubborn -- hates eating healthy and loves to secretly snack on junk foods (especially behind my back).  What to do yanni?  

To tell you honestly, I feel like I've got two more extra kids (my husband + my sister) to look after to, aside from Rafa.  That makes me an instant mother of three!  So whenever I cook, I have to always take into consideration not only the nutritional content of the food, but its ability to please my audience as well (just to make sure they're going to eat it).  And since my two extra kids hate oatmeal, unlike Rafa who loves it as much as I do, I decided to look for recipes where I can incorporate oats without being too obvious just so I can make them eat it (minus the element of force).

So for my first oat recipe, I will be sharing with you a remake of  Deliciously Ella's vegan banana pancakes. The original recipe had a problem though in making the pancakes set.  The first time I cooked it was a disaster because the pancakes kept on sticking to the pan and won't hold together, making it impossible to flip without breaking.  I checked on the comments section of the post and saw that most people who followed the recipe encountered the same problem.  So I made a few alterations with the original recipe and fortunately came up with better results.

This banana, oat, and almond pancake is perfect if you're looking for a deliciously healthy breakfast.  The combination of oats and almonds in this recipe make it ideal for people who want to lower their cholesterol levels.  In addition, this hearty meal is technically and literally good for the heart for having a nutrition grade of A.  Meaning, it's super healthy, minimally processed, and rich in essential vitamins and minerals.  And the taste?  Delicioso!  I'm proud to say that this recipe passed a toddler's taste test.  Actually, my one and a half year old son loved it so much (compared to the commercially available pancake mix he doesn't even want to taste) he kept asking for more!

 BANANA, OAT, AND ALMOND PANCAKES

1/2 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup almonds

3/4 cup all purpose flour (use spelt or whole wheat flour if you want higher fiber content)

1 cup water

2 ripe bananas

2 tbsp honey (use maple syrup to make this dish vegan)

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

olive oil for cooking

For the topping (optional):

1 ripe banana

1 ripe mango

almond pieces

Start by placing the oats into a chopper or food processor, blend for about a minute or two until they form a smooth dusty flour.  Do the same with the almonds and banana. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) into a large bowl, mix until well blended. The mixture should turn quite thick, not too runny.

Place a frying pan on the heat.  Once it is really hot, add a teaspoon of olive oil to grease it.  Put about 1/4 cup of the mixture to the middle of the pan and cover.  After about a minute check the bottom of the pancake.  If it is cooked, flip it over and allow the other side to cook for another minute. 

Garnish the stack with fresh fruits and nuts of your choice and serve!