Pinspiration Friday!

I love Pinterest, so many great ideas, so many fabulous images and they are all in one place for me to enjoy anytime I want. I get ideas from there all the time and because my computer is right near my kitchen I use it as a cookbook as well.

 I have been very carefully watching my diet so in general baking is out, but when I came across this recipe for coconut banana bread for just 115 calories a slice I knew it would be perfect for Pinspiration Friday as well as a perfect way for me to have some baking guilt free.

First preheat your oven to 350F.

Then gather your ingredients together.

You will need:

1 and 3/4 cups of flour (I used 1 and a 1/4 of all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat)

1tsp baking powder

1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

3 large ripe bananas

1/2 cup plus 2Tbsp of sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 teaspoon of canola oil

1tsp of vanilla extract

1/2c of brown sugar

3 egg whites

1/4c of fat free plain yogurt

1/4c of orange juice (I had Five Alive in the fridge so that's what I used)

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl (in this case I used my kitchen aid mixer) combine the 3 bananas (peeled and mashed), brown sugar and vanilla.

I have real vanilla from Mexico (thank you Sandra!) so I used a half tsp.

Add egg whites and blend until smooth.

Add the flour mixture a bit at a time to the large mixing bowl and mix by hand.

Add the juice and yogurt.

And finally the 1/2 cup of coconut.

Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and sprinkle the 2Tblsp of coconut on top.

Bake for 50 minutes and then check with a toothpick for doneness. I put mine in for a further 5 minutes.

 And there you have it, low fat Coconut Banana Bread. The crust had a nice chewy texture and the middle was moist and dense. The flavour was good. Chris tells me it's a definite make again. Coming from the guy who thinks fat means flavour that's pretty high praise.

My second Pinterest inspired post was this great Homemade Body Exfoliant.

All you need is:

1/2c Olive Oil

1 and 1/2c Sugar

The juice of one lemon

 You can use any kind of container you like. I chose this old yogurt container, not beautiful but it has a lid and you will have quite a bit left over to use again.

Combine your ingredients together in your container.

Don't forget to save a slice of lemon for your water. ;)

This is what it will look like when it's mixed up.

Jump in the shower and try to make it on a day when you wash your hair so your skin has time to warm and soften up. Take a small amount of the mixture in your hand and start rubbing it all over your body, use as much as you need until you are all exfoliated. You can use a bit of body wash to remove some of the oil (or not) after you rinse, and then make sure and after towelling off you follow up with a good body lotion. This Nivea Smooth Replenishing Lotion is one of my favourites, it's light and very quick to soak in and makes my skin feel soft and hydrated.

And finally tonights delicious dinner was Pinterest inspired as well but because I didn't change a thing here is link to the recipe:

Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes and Cilantro

Hope you have a great weekend!