My apartment is overrun with black bananas.  For most folks, this would be a cause for concern, but for me it’s a gift that keeps on giving.  Black bananas lead to batches of naturally sweetened homemade granola bars, cookies and breads.  Looking for yet another way to use up these mounds of black bananas, I came up with a super moist muffin that is cross between carrot cake and a bran muffin.  Introducing Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins!  Ta-da!

These whole wheat muffins are made with whole rolled oats and wheat bran so they are loaded with fiber.  Packed with bananas and shredded carrots, you are secretly working on your daily fruit and veggie serving requirements while enjoying a delicious muffin.  Unlike most bran muffins, these are naturally sweetened with raisins and honey and packed with bananas and carrots, so they are moist, nutritious and perfectly suited for a breakfast or quick snack.

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I love the flavors of apple pie, but rarely have the patience (or energy) to make a whole pie from scratch.  Besides, of all the pies out there, apple pie falls into the Labor Intensive with Great Risk for Failure category.  Plus, establishing portion control rules for an entire apple pie in a house of two people is just asking for trouble.  Bleh.  No thanks.  Instead, I decided to find a way to incorporate all my favorite apple pie flavors in a simple-to-make, easy-to-hold, and light enough to enjoy with a cup of tea scone.

Made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats, these whole grain cream scones are specked with fresh apples tossed in honey and cinnamon.  Only lightly sweet, they are perfect topped with a slather of apple butter or just eaten plain alongside a warm cup of tea or cider.  All the spiced apple flavors you love from apple pie in a light, simple scone.

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I am in love with a man who loves Pizza Rolls.  Several of our first dates involved heated debates about the pros and cons of Pizza Rolls.  My list of cons always ended up being more substantial than his “They just taste good” list of pros.  Once I even let him prepare a taste testing session for me in an effort to convert me to the Pizza Roll Fan Club.  Fail.  While I have yet to try the imitation recipes floating around out there, I have come up with a semi-decent substitute.

These whole wheat calzones may not pack the same mouth-melting explosion of Pizza Roll volcanic lava filling, they are healthier and tastier!  They are endlessly adaptable, can be filled with whatever you can dream up and if you stick with the creamy spinach riccotta filling you can actually slip some veggies into your football-friendly munchies without anyone even noticing!  Simple to whip up, these calzones can be frozen ahead of time so you are ready to go for a fast weeknight dinner or easy game day snacks.

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Is there anything more quintessentially Fall than pumpkins?  You know that the seasons have officially changed when you start to see pumpkin-flavored-everything popping up everywhere you look.  I’ve already let you in on my favorite pumpkin scones and pumpkin pie bites, so it’s about time that I hook you up with a go-to pumpkin bread recipe.

Unlike most mass produced pumpkin breads, this one isn’t overly sweet.  Instead of tasting like orange-colored-sugar-bread, this one actually tastes like pumpkin.  Only lightly sweetened with honey, this allows the pumpkin and spice flavors to really shine through.  Made with whole wheat flour this quick bread is lightly flecked with chopped pecans.  Moist and tender, this pumpkin spice bread is the perfect recipe to welcome back the Fall.

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A few weeks ago, when Hurricane Irene was barreling toward the Eastern seaboard (aka. My Home), New York City was in a panic.  Store shelves were stripped bare, batteries had never been worth more and people were walking around with more cash in their wallets than they had since the early 90s.  Like most other urbanites, I went to stock up.  Load our pantry with necessities.  Non-perishable items to live off of if the worst happened and we were stranded for days on end.  I came home with a whole chicken and a bunch of fresh basil.  Oops.

Of course, that chicken turned into an amazing one-pot meal because I was certain that if the world was going to end we weren’t going to go out hungry.  Then, in a fit of panic upon realizing that I didn’t have the proper necessities to survive Storm-aggedon, I decided it was time for Emergency Cookies.  Cookies to get you through a hurricane tropical storm.  Cookies to soothe the nerve-wracked soul but healthy enough to keep you in your skinny jeans if the world doesn’t end.

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Summer is fruit season.  It seems hard to remember a time when we didn’t have peaches, plums and berries aplenty!  This leads to an overwhelming desire to make pies.  Lots and lots of pies.  The problem is that making pies is a pain in the you-know-what.  You’ve got to make the crust, bake the crust (which means locating your pie weights and praying the crust doesn’t shrink), make the filling, bake it again (this time, praying that it doesn’t overflow and ruin itself).  This rustic galette (aka. A Country Pie) is endlessly adaptable and cuts out at least two of those annoying pie-making steps.

Ripe apricots partner up with homemade almond paste to make this light, crumbly galette.  Tangy, sweet apricots laying over a bed of homemade almond paste wrapped up in a light whole wheat crust.  Served warm, the oozey fruit and nutty crust are just begging to be topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.  A perfect way to put all that summer fruit to use without all the fuss of a pie!

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I’m not going to tell you about how easy these brownies are to make.  I won’t bore you with the fact that they are sweetened naturally, use an olive oil base and are made with whole wheat flour.  Going on about the healthfulness of these brownies, the ease of assembly and the practical bonus of using up excessive amounts of zucchini distracts from the main selling point about these brownies:  They are insanely delicious!

A multi-tasking brownie that cranks the chocolate meter up to a level 10, these Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies pack a serious punch.  These two-faced little devils are intensely fudgy when served chilled from the fridge yet cakey, moist and gooey when served warmed.  A chocoholic’s dream, these brownies satisfy even the pickiest sweet tooth while secretly throwing in a healthy dose of veggies!

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