CeCe's Healthy Baked Yummies

nannermuffins1
Originally uploaded by SecurusIam

okay so here it is. i'm a fake. i'm a phony. it's too funny and ironic that i have a food blog. because in reality - i only wanted to start learning how to cook when i moved to the midwest & only because jack and i would have starved... and i would have needed some major counseling for lack of filipino food in my system. so i learned how to cook.

but if there's any skill or talent to my limited repertoire of dishes... it's because of my mother and my older sister. they are the real chefs/ bakers in the family. so i'm making it perfectly clear - i'm a phony.

i come from a culture that celebrates foods in fiesta style. and i come from a family of women who love to cook. i happen to be the one who resisted and refused my mother's and my sister's offer to teach me how to cook beautiful dishes for years. survival made me want to finally learn.

my mother has a talent. she can go to restaurants, order unique dishes, and from a freakish palate ---find out what kind of ingredients, spices are used and then replicate the dishes in her own kitchen.

my oldest sister, bless her, has been cooking since she came to the united states. which would make her in her early teens. nanay had to work strange, graveyard shifts and tatay wouldn't know where to find the refrigerator if he was standing in front of it. so it was up to ate ling (aka cece) to feed our dad and two younger sisters. lucky for us, she liked to cook and did it very well.

she is the gourmet. she is the one who knows how to substitute ingredients for healthier ones. she is the one who can create recipes.

but what makes these women in my life so special... is they share their recipes and their love for food --- and make them with utter love. always. like 10 gallons of love or more are always a staple ingredient in all of the dishes.

this post is for them. i'm including ate ling's healthy nanner muffins recipe. i just finished making them and g'dang, they are good. good. good.

CeCe’s Good-for-You Banana Muffins


4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup flaxseed meal

½ cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup canola oil

1 egg (Eggland’s Best brand is great)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with muffin paper. Combine bananas, canola oil, egg and vanilla extract. Set aside. In another bowl, combine flour, flaxseed meal, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the banana mixture. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 16 – 20 minutes or until done.

Makes 12 large muffins.