Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Thought I'd share one of my mom's famous muffin recipes ! Hot out of the oven on a cold day, these are almost equal to heaven.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line muffin tin with paper muffin cups or grease muffin tin.
Makes 12 muffins (depending on size of bananas)

3 bananas
1 egg
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mash bananas in food processor or with fork until no lumps remain.
Add egg, vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla and salt. Process/stir until mixed

In a medium sized bowl mix flour with sifted baking powder and baking soda. Add chocolate chips and stir.

Add wet ingredients to dry stirring until just mixed.

Drop dough into muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Pad Thai Attempt 2

Okay so, my first home-made pad thai attempt did not go so well, as you may have read. Although I was really discouraged I decided to try again. This version was less 'home-made' , but the instructions on the back seemed fool-proof, plus it was under 3$ for the package so I figured I'd give it a try.

Thai Kitchen brand came with noodles and sauce, and provided clear instructions on the back. In total the process took me about 15 minutes

The sauce was WAY better than the VH version, but I'm still having trouble cooking rice noodles to perfection. Does anyone have any helpful hints they could share?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

What feels bette than a simple chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk during this stressful midterm season ?

This recipe is the first thing I ever made for myself when I was about 12 years old.


Ingredients
1/2 cup of shortening (can be replaced with 1/3 cup of butter)
1 egg
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Directions
Beat shortening , egg, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) in a seperat bowl
Mix wet and dry ingredients - blend well
Stir in chocolate
Place on greased baking sheet
Bake at 375degrees F for 8-10 minutes

Give them a try and let me know how they turn out!

Sarah's Succulent Hamburgers

What a nice roommate I have. She made us these delicious hamburgers on Saturday night and even shared her secret recipe with us! This recipe makes about 4 small patties.

Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup of bread crumbs

1 small onion, grated

2 tsps of Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Mix ingredients into large bowl

2. form into patties of desired size

3. let sit for half an hour in the fridge (otherwise they will be a bit crumbly)

4. grill for 10 minutes (or until no longer pink inside)

We ate ours on whole wheat buns with a side salad of mixed greens, almonds and tomatoes with a Thai dressing

Tip 3- B.Y.O.D

Bring your own drink!
It sounds simple enough , but people get lazy. Sure the bottles of Evian on campus are convenient , but they're also SO overpriced!

I bought 2-4 case of water from the superstore for 1.99$ , which is like half the price of 1L of water on campus. I keep them in the trunk of my car so that I can grab one on my way to class. If you don't drive, keep them close to your door, or somewhere that you will see them on your way out, so that you do not forget!

Remember, Evian spells Naive backwards.

Tip 2- Be a part of the breakfast club!

Tip 2- Eat Breakfast before you go to school

One of my biggest mistakes is not eating breakfast before school. Neglecting to eat breakfast can leave you starving hungry by midmorning, and then probably forced to buy a bagel at Tim Horton's to tide you over before you get home.

The fastest thing I make for breakfast is a simple bowl of cereal. For those of you scared of carbs...DONT BE! Carbs are what give you the energy to get through your hectic day.

Real Simple magazine did a feature on interesting cereal ideas so if you do not already have a favourite, check it out to get inspired!

Tip 1 : President's Choice Will Save You

I just finished my first full day on campus with my goal in mind. Not to buy any food on uwo territory for one week.
I must admit I failed today, I bought a chocolate milk.
BUT , I also made progress by bringing one of my favourite low cost meals to school.


Behold ....The President's Choice Microwaveable dinner...


I know there is a stigma attached to microwaved dinners , but these are not the nasty Hungry Man meals that you have in mind. My Mom actually recommended them to me (and she can be somewhat of a food snob at times). They come in a variety of meals from Chicken Szechwan , Ginger Glazed Chicken and Linguine with Shrimp Marinara.


I usually grab one from the grocery store near my bus stop before class, and they only cost an average of $2.50!

Today I had
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna




Made with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, ricota and partly skim mozzarella cheese in a tomato sauce

--> low fat, low cal
--> source of fibre and iron and calcium


240 cals, 6gs of fat
Microwave for 10 minutes


Most buildings on campus have microwaves, so just keep your eye out for them next time you're walking around.