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Bananas Foster Breakfast Strata

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I’m debating as to whether or not I want a Kindle for Christmas. I seriously can’t decide. Any thoughts on this, dear readers?

See, I love reading…but I like to read last thing at night after crawling into bed. However, Mr. Prevention is a professional sleeper and he’s always in bed before me and always up after me. Weekends and weekdays alike. It’s a sore subject. Especially when I’m not *allowed* to have a bedside lamp on to get a little reading in at my desired reading time.

This leads me to my Kindle dilemma.

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See, I prefer reading actual books…books with pages that have that smell to them. Yes, I love the way books smell. Please tell me I’m not alone. I like to dogear the pages and loan them to family and friends.

I’m the same way about cookbooks. Even if I had a Kindle, I’d never buy a Kindle version of a cookbook. I want to be able to take the cookbook in the kitchen with me and get food allllllllll over the pages as I cook away. You know, similar to my laptop (ha).

Same with magazines. I subscribe to quite a few, of which People and Cooking Light are two of my favorites. Today’s Dietitian, too, naturally.

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In last month’s Cooking Light, there were a number of recipes that caught my eye. It seems I’ll go an issue or two with no recipes worthy of tearing out and then in other issues, I seem to rip out more pages then I leave behind. Last month, I ripped out a lot of pages and one of them was for this Bananas Foster Breakfast Strata recipe. I had to make it…sooner rather than later.

I can’t say it’s the healthiest breakfast ever, but hey, donuts are way worse 😉 And this recipe is PERFECT for the holidays because it serves a crowd (and/or reheats beautifully for many mornings to come!). I decreased the amount of bread (by 4 ounces) and also upped the portion size to make it a substantial meal. This strata is way too good for a too-modest portion. Promise!

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4.7 from 3 reviews
Bananas Foster Breakfast Strata
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
Ingredients
Strata:
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 medium bananas, sliced
  • ½ cup dark rum
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 (12 oz) cans fat-free evaporated milk
  • 1 (12 oz) French bread baguette, cut into ½-inch cubes
Streusel:
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (1 oz) walnuts, chopped
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mist a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. To prepare strata, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and butter to pan; swirl until bubbling and hot. Add bananas; sautรฉ 1 minute. Carefully add half of rum; cook 1-2 minutes. Add remaining rum, 1 cup brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt; cook 3 minutes or until bananas are soft; turn off heat and allow skillet and bananas to cool slightly.
  3. Meanwhile, whisk to combine the half-and-half, sugar, eggs, and evaporated milk in a large bowl. Add banana mixture and bread cubes, mixing well to saturate bread with wet ingredients.
  4. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
  5. To prepare streusel, combine flour, walnuts, and next 3 ingredients (through ⅛ teaspoon salt), mixing with a fork; mix in oil until mixture is crumbly. Remove strata from oven; sprinkle evenly with streusel. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until golden and set.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light (link no longer available)
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/10 (3½ x 3-inch piece) Calories: 454 Fat: 11.2 Carbohydrates: 77.3 Sugar: 49.2 Sodium: 509 Fiber: 2.0 Protein: 12.5 Cholesterol: 89

I visited sports medicine yesterday and left with “IT band syndrome” as the reason for my recent pain while doing squats, lunges, and stairs. This is what I get for my cardio sculpt class efforts – grr! Hopefully I feel up for a run during the Illini basketball game tonight. But first, work. 🙂

Be well,

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15 Comments

  1. Shannon
    December 3, 2013 / 7:50 am

    I totally get the book thing. I’m someone when the Harry Potter books came out, one of my favorite things was cracking that new spine open for the first time and smoothing out the pages. However, I LOVE my Kindle. I take the train to work, so it’s super convenient, and on vacations, I can bring as many books as I want, and it doesn’t take up any more space in my luggage. The one major negative for me is that sometimes when you want to flip back to re-read a section, it’s tough to do. Overall I think it’s great though for commuting and travel.

  2. Shannon
    December 3, 2013 / 7:51 am

    And I definitely still buy hard copies of cookbooks. Would never buy them on my Kindle.

  3. Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health
    December 3, 2013 / 9:23 am

    i cant do kindle or anything electronic for reading. I love visiting library and book stores for my book. However, lately, I am addicted to ipad because of videos and reading blogs ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Louise
    December 3, 2013 / 9:31 am

    Love this recipe and I will try it this weekend!
    As far as the Kindle issue is concerned, any Kindle would work reading in darkness and not give off much light. Plus it’s silent as you “flip” the pages. If you like to read during the day or outdoors, then the Kindle Paperwhite is another option but it would give off a lot of light at night.
    I do most of my reading indoors so the regular is good enough for me. I can also use it to access the internet and check my email.
    You may find this link interesting and informative: http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/

    Good luck! And get your husband a sleep mask for his eyes! LOL

  5. Karen
    December 3, 2013 / 9:39 am

    I lost my original Kindle and am asking for a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas. I have an iPad but it doesn’t work very well outside and is kind of bulky. The latest Paperwhite is small and fits in a purse and is great for reading outside. I don’t believe the Kindle Fire works well outside but I’m not sure.
    I still buy books that I know I will want to go back and re-read passages or non-fiction with photographs. Sometimes you just need a real book. I will also read on my Kindle app on my phone which is great for those times you are in a waiting room with nothing to read. BTW that banana strata looks fabulous!

  6. Amanda
    December 3, 2013 / 11:58 am

    This looks delicious! The boyfriend has a birthday this weekend, so this will likely end up on the menu!

    To put in my two-cents about the Kindle thing–I was really apprehensive at first. Then I started traveling more for work and started reading the Wheel of Time series (which are GIANT books. Like, they put Harry Potter books to shame, giant books), which made the Kindle make a lot of sense. I still buy hard copy books when I want to keep it long term and my library card is my BFF, but Kindle makes transporting books super easy.

    I have the original but I’ve heard the Paperwhite is fantastic–especially with Mr. Prevention not wanting any lights on!

  7. Addie
    December 3, 2013 / 3:42 pm

    I grappled with these same issues before I got a Kindle for Christmas last year, but it was really one of the best presents I’ve ever received. The Kindle can store so many books, and after awhile, you don’t realize you’re not actually turning pages. Another awesome feature of the Kindle is if you don’t know a word (on mine, anyway) you just place your finger on the word and in a few seconds the definition pops up. I really miss this when I’m reading an actual book and come across an unknown word.

    Another thing I have to tell you about… A GENIUS friend of mine was having the same issues with her Cooking Light magazines, and after realizing what a mess it was ripping out the recipes, she started pulling just the indexes. I don’t remember exactly how she organized them then, but eventually she could leave her magazines in tact and she could easily find a recipe by looking it up in the index and find the particular issue and what page it was on! So smart!

  8. STH
    December 3, 2013 / 11:10 pm

    I am totally hooked on reading books on my iPad and I travel a fair amount, so it’s great for the plane and not having to lug lots of books in my luggage. I find, though, that it works better for me to buy reference books in book form because it’s easier to flip quickly through a physical book than an electronic one. So cookbooks, travel guides, and self-help books I’ll buy in book form, but novels and essays are great on the iPad. Another bonus: there are often selected electronic book titles for free on the Amazon web site and they work on any device that has a Kindle app on it.

  9. Marni
    December 4, 2013 / 9:26 am

    Go for the Kindle with a light. I was very hesitiant to go to an e-Reader for your same reasons and absolutely love it. I download mostly books from the library for free! I still read the old-fashioned books, but nice to have both options.

  10. the gluten free chef
    December 4, 2013 / 10:19 am

    I’m definitely a bookie too and once thought I would never resort to digital reading but with my Kindle app and I phone I have literally read dozens of books via Kindle reader. I have also purchased cookbooks as well. For some reason I feel like I read faster via the device than a regular book. I don’t know maybe I’m weird but for late nights and covert reading, Kindle is your best bet. I still love my books no doubt but I dont always feel like carring a book around and not to mention leaving it behin. Air travel etc all led themselves to Kindle reading.

  11. Gail H.
    December 5, 2013 / 5:53 am

    I hear ya about the book thing…and I was always the same way, but on our last trip to Australia, I didn’t want to drag all those books in my bag on the plane, so I caved and bought a nook…well, 3 years later and I have my books on the nook (over 200 and many of them free), on my ipad I have several cooking mags and a few cookbooks, I also have the nook AND Kindle apps on my ipad so if there is something available on amazon I want I can put it on my Kindle app, and if I want to read something on my nook larger I can…BUT I still buy cookbooks, and my favorite cooking mags…I also have a great cover on my nook that makes it feel like I am holding a book ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Lizzie
    December 6, 2013 / 2:06 pm

    I LOVE THE SMELL OF BOOKS!!!!

  13. Samantha Angela
    December 9, 2013 / 10:25 am

    Get a Kindle. Totally worth it.
    I love books better that electronics too but there are a lot of upsides to using an e-reader.
    1) Travel – you can carry more books with you in less space
    2) Sharing – you can share book files with your friends and read the book at the same time
    3) Shelf Space – you have less books taking up precious real estate in your home
    4) Cost – e-books are generally cheaper than paper versions.

    I don`t like using the Kindle for books that I need to reference frequently or bookmark or highlight, but it`s awesome for novels.

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      December 9, 2013 / 3:03 pm

      Travel is a huge issue…last trip my carry on was all books!

  14. Joy
    December 15, 2013 / 7:20 am

    I love the smell of books – I love to give and get books as gifts BUT I love my kindle and even more my kindle app on my phone – I thought if hate reading on my phone but its great and really your phones always with you….

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