Not Your Grandma's Banana Pudding Cake

I'm not usually one to blog recipes but some of my closest friends asked me to start posting some of my low-carb, diet-friendly recipes. So here is my first...

If your grandma cooks like mine, everything is filled with whole eggs, butter, heavy cream and 100% deliciousness. My banana pudding cake will taste like grandmas, but without all the extra fat and calories. I promise this is one you will want to keep handy. It's so easy and delicious! You will need:

1 box of sugar free yellow cake mix (I like the Pillsbury sugar free mixes)
2 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
1 cup of water
2 cups cold low fat milk
1 small box of sugar free banana cream pudding

First, break up bananas into chunks and mix with water. They don't need to be all the blended together just enough to make sure the bananas won't clump up the batter.

Next, slowly add the dry mix. Careful not to add too quickly or you will be covered in powder! Your batter will be thicker than a normal cake and that is OK. I promise it will be moist and delicious!

Once your batter is thoroughly mixed, pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish. A trick (from Paula Deen) is to drop your cake pan onto the counter a couple times to get all the bubbles out. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

When the cake comes out poke LOTS of holes in it with the tooth pick. There should be plenty of holes. This allows the pudding to soak up into the cake making it extra delicious.

After your holes are made, let the cake cool for only a few minutes while you whisk the pudding into the milk. Whisk until just before it starts to thicken. The pudding should still be loose enough to spread over the cake. It will set pretty quickly once it is on the warm cake.

**Optional addition is to add mini chocolate chips as a topper.  It adds a little more texture and chocolate can't make anything bad.  It is NOT included in my nutritional calculator.  

You can serve the cake warm or cool which ever you prefer. Serves 10.  I plugged the information into MyFitnessPal and here the nutritional data is here for you.  Hope you enjoy!

My Worth is in Him

Every woman knows the fun-ness that is in pinning pretty outfits, shoes, bags, hair-dos, etc... It is usually something they wish they had. I do it and I could name (though I won't for their own safety) more than five friends who do it as well. When I first joined Pinterest, it was (past tense) a tool that I used to become a better wife, a better mother, and a better person in general. However, it has begun to turn into boards of things that I want but don't have. I even have a board that is titled "things that I want." Pinterest is not bad. I still like Pinterest and will still use it. It is a great way to find inspiration and guidance in all matters of woman. But I will begin to check myself more often that I am not letting my desires for things I can't have consume me.

I have been reading Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes and I was reminded at just the right moment that what I look like and how I dress does not define who I am. "For you created me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:13 NIV). There isn't an abundance of direction from the Bible in reference to dressing but there is more than enough.  Timothy directs the church toward Godliness by saying, "Also [I desire] that women should adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with [elaborate] hair arrangement or gold or pearls or expensive clothing, but by doing good deeds (deeds in themselves good and for the good and advantage of those contacted by them), as befits women who profess reverential fear for and devotion to God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10 AMP).  Timothy is not saying that women cannot wear jewelry or pretty up dos.  He is saying it needs to be done appropriately with respect to the situation. 

The way we dress should be representation of God's work in our life.  That doesn't mean we have to wear over sized unattractive clothing.  It means that the clothing should not be the focus of our life.  Instead of spending thirty minutes every morning picking the best outfit that makes you superficially feel better about yourself, take that time to put on the armour of God.  Pray for his guidance for the day.  Clothe yourself in "strength and dignity" rather than silk and stilettos (Proverb 31:25).  

This post is more an inward reflection than for anyone else.  There may not be a single person that needs to hear this but I know God is putting this challenge on my heart so I will share for anyone that may need it.  Give him the glory and recognize that your worth is not in worldly things but in him.  I know that by giving God this part of my life, he is going to take me new places this year.  I can't wait to see where it is!