The other day I was fighting a craving for a milkshake when I came up with this slightly healthier alternative.  It's just nutritious enough to be something more than a dessert,  but super creamy and rich with all the flavors of banana cream pie. It's amazing how much difference that one tablespoon of cream makes!  If you don't already keep frozen bananas on hand for smoothies or baking, just take ripe bananas and break them in thirds, and freeze in a ziploc bag.  If you're feeling extra indulgent, whip in a teaspoon of peanut butter too.  It will make the transition from the debauchery of the holidays to new year's resolutions that much easier!

Banana Cream Pie "Smoothie"

3 oz frozen banana (75 cals)

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (100 cals)

1 teaspoon granulated sugar  (10 cals)

1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream (50 cals)

1/2 cup nonfat/skim milk (45 cals) (you could also approximate the skim milk/cream blend with a blend of whatever you have on hand - lowfat, half and half, etc. )

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 shortbread cookie or graham cracker (check package for cals). 

Fold a paper towel over the shortbread cookie or graham cracker and crush with the heel of your hand.  Use the paper to dump the crumbs into a small bowl.

Place the frozen banana, scoop of protein powder, sugar, whipping cream, vanilla extract and milk in a blender or cup for a hand blender.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Add about 1 teaspoon of the crumbs and pulse lightly just to stir them in.  Pour the smoothie into a glass and sprinkle some crumbs on top.  Drink with a straw. 


makes 1 serving = 280 cals (plus crumbs.) 

(one serving is the amount pictured, divided into two glasses.) 

Brunch at Locanda Verde - NYC

Back to New York! Wasn't that a movie? Or an MTV Real World season? Either way, I couldn't let more time go by without telling you about brunch at Locanda Verde. This was another one of the "must dos" on our list, and we were very glad we did it. Locanda Verde is one of those rare restaurants not in a hotel that is open all day, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. It worked out well for us to have brunch there, and then scoot over to Brooklyn for the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory tour.

Locanda Verde strikes me as a Restaurant for Everyone, and it seemed like just about everyone was there - parents, kids, girlfriends, mother-daughter pairs, dates, you name it. It was crowded, but luckily they take reservations - kind of rare for a brunch place, but it makes all the difference. The menu is just different enough to be interesting, and everything sounds delicious, which makes it hard to choose.

We settled on a first course of "burnt orange toast" with house made sheep's milk ricotta and truffle honey. I've had good bread before, and I've had homemade ricotta and honey before, but I've never had anything that tasted like this. It was the best of both worlds and then some, with the gooey, sticky cheese, slightly bitter toast and earthy honey. We weren't the only ones with good judgment, we saw it on almost every table in the dining room.

For my "main course" - I chose a soft scrambled egg "crostino" served with a slice of ham and mushroom salad. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the ham was lovely - but the salad was surprisingly delicious - a little tangle of curly endive accented with roasted mushrooms and parmesan.

Rorie chose the Lemon Ricotta pancakes, served with lemon curd and blueberries - with a side of bacon. Restaurant pancakes can be tough, dry or both, but these were just right - and the creamy, rich lemon curd was a perfect accompaniment.

While we were there, I noticed quite a few people coming in and walking over to the coffee bar in a corner of the dining room - the set up is really darling, and if our meal is any indication, I'm sure the pastries and coffee are top notch.

Seeing this also drove home for me just how incredibly spoiled New Yorkers are. If this was around the corner from your house, how would you not stop by there every morning? How would you feel when you travel to another city where Starbucks is the only option? How do you not gain 6000 pounds from all the breakfast pastry options calling your name on the way to work? Then I thought, maybe it's not that different from my experience living in San Francisco. After a few months of going crazy on all the great stuff there I realized three things: 1) it was expensive; 2) it would be the death of me; and 3) it would always be there. Likewise, I wouldn't be surprised if doughnuts from Locanda Verde are considered a special treat, even by New Yorkers!

Killer Granola

Are there any granola recipe contests going on out there? Because if so, I want to enter this one. To be fair though, I'd have to give most of the credit to Jeff Jackson at A.R. Valentien, since this is pretty heavily based on his recipe for "Jackson Granola" served at the Lodge at Torrey Pines (I hear they do a mean breakfast, and I wouldn't doubt it.) It's also similar to Alice Waters' Cafe Fanny granola in that it has the sesame seeds, which, as far as I can tell, are otherwise kind of an unusual ingredient in granola.

Chef Jackson's recipe is by weight, which is kind of fun because all you have to do is put a bowl on a scale and keep adding the ingredients, zeroing it out every time - but I always have a hard time measuring the olive oil and honey, since the scale can't keep up as it pours in. More than once I've had to add more dry ingredients to soak up the excess liquid - which isn't really a problem, just a little inconvenient. After a couple of experimental batches that were good but not quite perfect, I came up with this recipe with all of the ingredients measured by volume. I absolutely cannot stop eating the results, which must mean we have a winner. Here it's ready for the oven...

I don't believe in adding any cinnamon or other seasonings - it doesn't even have salt. It gets all the flavor it needs from the sesame seeds, nuts, coconut and honey. If you can't find unsweetened coconut, don't substitute the regular variety - it will be too sweet. I really like the Bob's Red Mill brand - it's wide and thin and bakes up nice and crisp.

This is a great "whole food" snack or breakfast - very nutritious and a great source of energy if you're planning on running a marathon, or say, if you're a growing teenager, but it's not diet food, that's for sure. I like to eat it for breakfast sprinkled over some Siggi's Passionfruit Pomegranate Skyr yogurt. Luckily, a little goes a long way!

Killer Granola
Inspired by Jeff Jackson's "Jackson Granola" for A.R. Valentien at the Torrey Pines Lodge

5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup whole or slivered raw almonds
1 cup raw unsalted pepitas
1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut (such as Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup dried currants or raisins*

Set the oven to 225 degrees

Stir together the dry ingredients, up to the honey and olive oil. Pour the honey and olive oil over the mixture and combine with your hands (rub a little olive oil on them to prevent sticking) or a wooden spoon until the honey and olive oil are evenly distributed. (If you like a lot of clumps, add a little more honey and olive oil, proportionately.)

Spread evenly over two half sheet pans. Bake at 225 degrees for 90 minutes. Stir the mixture on the pans and sprinkle them evenly with currants/raisins. Bake for an additional 30 mins. (You don't want it to brown very much - if it looks like it's starting to, take it out.) Granola will crisp as it cools. Cool completely on the pans and store in an airtight container.

*You can also add the dried fruit after it's baked, and you can add other dried fruits like apricot, pineapple, etc. if you want - I just like the way the currants get a little chewy after baking.)