Banana Corn Fritters

I’m still going strong with my 8-9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. I am getting really creative with working in the different color categories. Part of the program includes recipes – both on the website and in the app. I was cruising through it the other day and stumbled upon this gem – Banana Corn Fritters.

I started making the recipe around 10:30 a.m. – so I had two different versions in mind. One was to focus on the sweetness of the banana, the other was to focus on the savory of the corn meal and spices. I love that the recipes are sorted by color within the program, this recipe fulfilled my “yellow” requirement for the day. The recipes included in Kaiser’s Mix It Up program are provided by EatingWell.com

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
• 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
• 1 1/4 Cups Roughly Mashed Bananas, (about 3 medium)
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Milk, or Buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cayenne in a medium bowl. Mix banana, egg and milk (or buttermilk) in another medium bowl. Add the cornmeal mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just incorporated.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; using 2 tablespoons of batter for each, space 5 fritters evenly in the pan. Cook until golden brown, 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Cook a second batch with the remaining oil and batter, adjusting heat to prevent burning.
4. Transfer the fritters to the oven and bake until puffed and firm to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes.

After pre-heating the oven, I got my dry goods ready to mix in one bowl.

The wet goods went into another bowl. I only had 2 fresh bananas and I needed 3, so I used frozen and ended up softening them in the microwave a bit.

My dry mix went into the wet and my fritter batter was ready for the skillet. I dropped balls of batter into the hot oil and then used a spatula to spread them out into patties. A bigger skillet might fit their suggested 5, but I used a smaller skillet and did 3 larger fritters.

Not the most appetizing photo… I then flipped them until they were browned.

They went into the oven at 400°F for an additional 8 minutes.

Josh and Deede gave us a 1 quart jug of Ben’s Sugar Shack Pure Maple Syrup. OMG! so amazing! So round one was Banana Corn Fritters, butter and maple syrup.

Nice and sweet, a fun change for breakfast. I usually eat Greek yogurt and fruit.

I then decided to switch it up for lunch. I added sour cream, black beans, shredded purple cabbage and spinach, diced tomatoes and hot sauce. Definitely the way to go… they were delicious!

I ended up having a duplicate lunch several days in a row. Savory and sweet together made for the perfect flavor combination and I was able to hit many colors of my nutrition challenge.

Speaking of the challenge… my team has moved down into the 11th place slot. I think people are just falling behind in logging. My point total is 320.5 points, with the majority still being veggies at 223 points. I have managed to earn an additional 62 points with “Top Choice” selections. We are 19 days into the 8-week competition and we are currently in the running for best team name: Turnip the Heat. 🙂

The Corn Fritter day scored me 2 servings from the blue/violet category – black beans and purple cabbage and 1 yellow – bananas. I made a big salad for dinner that night that included servings of spinach, red leaf lettuce, peas, carrots and roasted corn. I needed to include all color categories to round off my day.

Here are some typical serving size examples that I’m using as a guide for the nutrition challenge:

Vegetables

• 1/2 cup of most fresh or cooked vegetables
• 6 ounces of vegetable juice
• 1 cup raw leafy green vegetables
• 1/2 cup cooked beans

Fruits

• 1 cup fresh berries or melon
• 1/2 cup other fruit (fresh or canned without syrup or added sugar is best)
• 1/4 cup dried fruit
• 1 small orange
• 1 small apple
• 1 small banana
• 1 small pear

I’m still tracking calories with the My Fitness Pal app, but I’ve been doing horrible the past week. Way too many meals out and sweet treats leading up to Valentine’s Day. I have a busy weekend ahead that also includes lots of meals out. I need to be mindful of my choices and even without counting calories, I’m still getting in my veggie and fruit servings… they just might be accompanied by chow mein, sushi or a bagel the size of my head. I’m not aiming for perfection… just being mindful.  So far so good.