Banana bread

Very easy and absolutely delicious - ideal for lunchboxes, picnics, afternoon tea, evening snacks, breakfast, midnight feasts...

Makes: 12 slices

Takes: 10 minutes plus 1 hour cooking time

Ingredients

4 very ripe bananas

2 3/4 oz butter or margarine

7 oz brown sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp vanilla essence

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

8 oz plain flour

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180oC (fan oven) and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
2. Mash the bananas to a pulp with the butter (softened if necessary). Mix in the sugar, the egg (beaten), and the vanilla essence.
3. Sift in the bicarbonate of soda, salt and flour and mix everything together thoroughly. Pour into the prepared tin.
4. Bake for about an hour, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. If the top starts to look too brown before the centre is cooked, cover loosely with some foil.
5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire cooling rack. It's easier to remove the lining paper after the loaf has cooled down. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Freezes well, either as a complete loaf or as individual slices. Pop a frozen slice into a packed lunch and it will have defrosted by lunchtime!

Banana, honey and oat smoothie

Smooth, creamy and filling :-)

Makes: 1 serving
Takes: 1 minute

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1 heaped tbsp oats
1 tsp honey
some milk

Method

1. Peel the banana and break it into 3 or 4 pieces. Put it into a blender with the oats and honey and add some milk. Blend until smooth.
2. Er.... That's it!

Sorry I can't be more specific about the quantity of milk, I basically just pour it in till it looks about right, but it must be about a cupful. You can use any kind of milk (full-fat or lower-fat cow's milk, soya milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc) - my own preference is for skimmed. A bit more milk will make a slightly thinner smoothie; the way I make it, it turns out the thickness of a McDonald's milkshake!

Banana Muffins

Great way to use up bananas that have gone a bit brown and soft :-) And it's a low-fat recipe, containing fruit, so it's cake that's good for you! Bonus!

Banana Muffins

Makes: 12 muffins or 24 cupcakes
Takes: 10 minutes + 20-25 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

9 oz (250g) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 medium well-ripened bananas
1 egg
3 oz (80g) soft brown sugar (demerara is fine)
5 tbsp water
4 tbsp corn oil (light olive oil is fine)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170oC (fan oven)/190oC/Gas Mark 5.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Peel the bananas and place into a separate bowl. Mash them to a puree then add the egg, beaten.
4. Beat the sugar and water into the banana mixture then add the oil and stir well.
5. Tip in the dry ingredients and quickly mix till just combined. Don't overmix - it's better to have a few lumps and traces of flour!
6. Spoon into paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and springy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.

Best eaten fresh but they also freeze well - great for lunchboxes!