Caramelized Banana Bread Muffins

When I came home from work yesterday, there was already a memorial set up for the young man who lost his life a few blocks from our house.  There were probably 20 kids there?   Flowers were strewn across the base of a tree and a big cross was nailed to the tree that said R.I.P.  I didn’t even know the kid, but I can’t ever imagine how Tony and I would handle losing our kids – so give a shout out or extra hug to your kids today, mkay?

Yesterday I had breakfast tostadas – my store sells a 15 count bag of tostadas for .99 cents – each one is only 45 calories.  I scrambled 1/2 a cup of pinto beans with 2 eggs, baby spinach, then topped it off under the broiler with my new favorite cheese:  buffalo wing cheese!

Lori was the first one to talk about this cheese, although she found Cabot’s brand, which I am still looking for in my neck of the woods.  This is spicy and delicious – each slice is only 1/2 an ounce – so each slice is about 55 calories.

Breakfast comes in at 418 calories, 21 fat, 31 carbs, 5.5 fiber and 23 protein.

Since I didn’t work out over the weekend, I really have to up my mileage if I am going to meet my 170 mile challenge!  I ended up doing the exercise bike at the gym.  I do the random hill setting – you never know when it will get harder, which I like.  My only “rule” is that I have to keep above 100 mph no matter how hard the hill is.

In 45 minutes I did 11.25 miles!

I was pretty hungry by the time I got back to work.  I made Nicole’s buffalo chicken stuffed potatoes, but made it for one:

• 7 ounce baked potatoe
• 2 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 chicken tender left over from the night before last
• 1 slice of buffalo wing cheese

I baked the potato before work, then scooped out the middle and mixed it with the baby spinach and heated that up for 1 minutes.  Using a plastic fork, I mashed up the potato, then stirred in the plain yogurt.  Divided the filling between the two, sliced the chicken tender and divided that between the two, then topped with the cheese and put under the broiler to melt.

Both halves come in at 489 calories, 15 fat, 50 carbs, 5.1 fiber and 37 protein.  I could only eat one and a half and was completely stuffed the rest of the day.  Probably because I had a stuffed potato – get it?!  Ha, I am so funny!

Over the weekend, Tony and I saw a show on Food Network that made a chorizo/beef burger.  It sounded amazing!  Tony bought one link of chorizo:

He was so nice and actually weighed out the meat for me – 2 ounces of chorizo and 3 ounces of ground sirloin.  We cooked them up in our cast iron skillet.  I made homemade potato chips on the side, and corn on the cob.  The corn was just okay, I only ate about 1/3 of it.

The burger?  Amazeballs.  Although my picture turned out really shitty – turns out I had it on the wrong setting!  So no, you don’t need glasses, its just a shitty picture!  Dinner comes in at 569 calories, 34 fat, 29 carbs, 1.6 fiber and 33 protein.

So over the weekend I made another banana bread recipe from Cooking Light.  I ended up getting only 12 muffins out of this recipe, so each one is probably around 250 calories, but the browned butter glaze really makes these muffins.

Caramelized Banana Bread Muffins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened and divided

• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 medium ripe bananas, sliced
• 1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons amber or gold rum
• 2 large eggs
• 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Baking spray with flour (such as Baker’s Joy)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons half-and-half

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and bananas; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Place banana mixture in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
3. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Scrape batter into a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan, and cool on wire rack.
4. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes or until butter begins to brown; remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and half-and-half, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over bread. Let stand until glaze sets.

I was glad I left two with my Mom and Hannah took the rest home with her.

Stats for Tuesday:

• 1479 calories, 70 fat, 110 carbs, 12.2 fiber and 94 protein
• 11.25 mile bike ride, 15 minute walk with the dog
• 143.35 miles to go in my 170 mile challenge
• average blood sugar 141

Thanks for all the emails last night telling me to go to bed!  I did get up this morning and desperately needed to do my 30 minute Classical Stretch – it felt so good!  Now I have to put my shit together for work – make it a great day!