I had some too-ripe bananas around the house this weekend so I decided to make some banana muffins.  I also had some frozen blueberries and some pecans, so they then officially became Blueberry Banana Nut Muffins and they turned out delicious!  A perfect snack for the big and little people in our house.

I decided to play around with my grandmother’s banana bread recipe and try to take it from good old southern high-fat, high-calorie goodness to a lighter, but still yummy treat.  It worked!

This is the original recipe:

My Grandma Hattie’s Banana Nut Bread

1 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)

2 large ripe bananas

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup pecans

and this is my lightened version…

Blueberry Banana  Nut Muffins

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup white whole wheat flour (sifted)

1 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)

2 large ripe bananas

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup skim milk

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

So, I cut the sugar in half, added in some whole grain by using white whole wheat flour, cut the butter in half, but kept the moistness by adding in applesauce, and added in some blueberries for their nutritional content and really just because they are good.  I also used skim milk instead of buttermilk, but only because that is what I had on hand.  Either one will work and be perfectly healthy.

These are the directions in case you want to try these for yourself…

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Fill muffin tin. (I use an ice cream scoop for this and it works perfectly).  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.

You can easily make small changes to your favorite recipes while still retaining their taste and flavor without all the extra fat and calories and with some extra nutrition thrown in.  You just have to get creative.  Add extra veggies or beans in with a soup, stew, or casserole or use half the fat or oil called for in a recipe.  Small changes really do add up!

Here are some other tips for lightening up your favorite recipes:

Instead of	Use	And SAVE on Calories and Fat
		Calories Saved	Fat Saved (g)		Per Serving Size
Whole milk	Skim milk	60	8	1 C (8 fl oz)
Whole milk	1% milk	45	5.5	1 C (8 fl oz)
Sweetened condensed milk	Fat-free sweetened condensed skim milk	200	27	14-fl-oz can
Sweetened condensed milk	Evaporated skim milk in the same amount plus ¾ C of sugar   substitute	782	27	1 cup (8 fl oz)
Evaporated milk	Evaporated skim milk	191	24	12-fl-oz can
Heavy cream	Evaporated skim milk	600	80	1 C (8 fl oz)
Whipped topping (regular)	Whipped topping (fat free)	10	1.5	2 Tbsp
Mayonnaise (regular)	Lite mayonnaise	90	11	1 Tbsp
Sour cream (regular)	Lite sour cream or lite nonfat yogurt or greek yogurt	20	3	2 Tbsp
Cream cheese (regular)	Lite cream cheese	40	5.5	1 oz
Cheese, American (regular, single slice)	Cheese, American (2% milk, single slice)	20	2.5	1 slice
1 egg	2 egg whites	42	6	–
1 egg	¼ cup egg substitute	50	6	–
Ground beef (regular)	Ground turkey (93% lean)	180	22	4 oz
Ground beef (regular)	Ground beef (80% lean, 20% fat)	70	9	4 oz
Ground beef (regular)	Ground beef (92% lean, 8% fat)	180	22	4 oz
Hot dog (regular)	Hot dog (fat free)	140	16	1 link
Hot dog (regular)	Hot dog (turkey)	80	8	1 link
Sausage (regular pork)	Sausage (turkey)	130	17	3.5 oz
Bacon	Bacon (turkey)	250	20.5	3 oz
Oil in baked goods	Unsweetened applesauce	750	160	½ C
Oil in baked goods	Baby pureed prunes	110	13.5	1 Tbsp