Healthy breakfast and a great workout!

I recently had the pleasure of being a part of a "tweet-up" (a meet-up organized through Twitter) sponsored by Fitness Magazine. The magazine invited a handful of their twitter followers to a swanky New York gym for a morning workout with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson.



He is the go-to personal trainer for Hollywood elite and is said to train "The entire front row of the Oscars....except Jack Nicholson." Gunnar led us through a great workout and offered some great tips and tricks.

Ever get a sore neck while doing crunches or sit-ups? Gunnar recommends lifting your tongue to the roof of your mouth to stretch the area and relieve tension. Hate lunges? (I sure do...) Get a better and safer leg workout by modifying the exercise. Gunnar said a lunge movement should be more along the lines of stepping forward, leaning over and picking up a laundry basket rather than a giant step and your legs at a 90 degree angle.

The event was co-sponsored by Silk Soymilk and they provided a delicious breakfast after our workout. The "Straw-Nana Smoothie" is a healthy yet sweet treat that is packed with muscle building protein.



INGREDIENTS:

1 Banana, sliced then frozen
1⁄2 c Strawberries, frozen and diced
1 c Silk Original, Vanilla or Omega-3 DHA
2 T Sweetener of choice (optional)
1⁄8 t Vanilla (optional)


PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and give it a whirl.

Thanks to Fitness Magazine and Silk Soymilk for such a great start to my day!



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When Good Bananas Go "Bad"

I have always loved banana bread. It makes a great breakfast on the go, and a delicious snack.

Banana bread is great for a "Budget Diva" because it actually tastes better with super ripe, days old, brown bananas. The kinds of bananas you bought a few weeks back, never got around to eating and suddenly look completely unappealing. Don't throw them away - make banana bread!



The bananas on the left are perfect for your morning cereal or a snack. The skin is thick and the banana is sweet yet still somewhat firm.

The ones on the right have become less appealing to eat. The skin has thinned and become shriveled. They are almost completely brown and the banana itself has shrunk in size.

Now is the time to make bread! The starches in the banana have changed and developed into delicious sugars as they have ripened and browned. These sugars bring out a stronger "banana" flavor and will make your bread just wonderful.



Banana Nut Loaf

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Sift flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg and bananas until creamy. Add dry ingredients, slowly blending well. Using a greased loaf pan, bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. When done, spread butter on top of bread and cool 30 minutes before slicing.



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Leftover holiday ingredients

Here we are, the day after Christmas and this can only mean one thing - Clearance Sales! Woo-hoo!!

Well, ok, it also means that we all probably have a bunch of leftover holiday ingredients in the pantry and refrigerator. I came across some unused gingerbread flavored coffee creamer and a box of little gingerbread cookies and decided to find a creative way to use of these products as the holiday spirit still lingers in the air. The result was this recipe for Gingerbread Banana Pudding.



Aren't those little gingerbread men cute! And with all the holiday flavors, it tasted great. Give it a try with some of your leftover ingredients. The recipe is also flexible and you can easily swap the coffee creamer, cookies and spices with your favorite flavors or with whatever you find in your pantry and fridge!

Gingerbread Banana Pudding


1 cup gingerbread flavored liquid coffee creamer
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 3.4 ounce package instant banana cream pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 13 ounce box gingerbread men, about 2 inch size
3-4 bananas sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
Nutmeg for dusting

In a large mixing bowl, place coffee creamer, 1 cup heavy cream, pudding mix, vanilla extract and ground ginger. Whisk 2 minutes until thickened and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, place remaining heavy cream, mascarpone cheese and confectioners sugar. Whip at medium speed until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Fold mixture gently into pudding mixture until well combined. Begin layering pudding by spooning a few tablespoons of pudding mixture into a 2 quart glass serving bowl. Stand several gingerbread men around perimeter of bowl so they can be seen through glass. On top of pudding, place a flat layer of cookies, then a layer of bananas, followed by a pudding layer. Repeat layering process ending with pudding on top. Dust top pudding layer with nutmeg and garnish with additional gingerbread men, if desired. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.



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