Long before Trading Spaces, What Not To Wear, and Extreme Makeover, existed a place where the average girl could walk in and pay $29.95 to get a professional makeover, complete with a gold sequined jacket and a photographer that makes her feel like a model, telling her that the light hits her hair so perfectly as if it’s on fire.  She’d walk out with an 8×10 for her boyfriend, 2 5x7s, one for her mom and grandma, and a sheet of oversized wallets to hand out to her closest girlfriends.  Yes, I’m talking about Glamour Shots!

The Glamour Shot experience was a memorable one for me and hopefully the two handfuls of boys I framed that photograph for.  I was so proud of that photo, probably because it was the closest I ever came to becoming a model.  It was a secret dream I set my heart on the moment my grandmother told me that because I was tall and had long legs I could be a model (see Not your ordinary girl or grilled cheese sandwich).  I love my grandmother more than I could ever express in any blog post and the encouragement and love she passed on to me when I was a young girl was immense.  But to those grandmothers out there reading this post, please do not tell your granddaughters that they could be models.  It’s a pipe dream.

I think makeovers are overrated.  They’re a short-lived, alternate reality allowing us to pretend, for a short period of time, to have what we desire.  It’s temporary, like trying to perfect our weaknesses.  It’s our strengths we should focus on, giving attention to those aspects that are already a gift.  As I grow older, I come to know more and more that I’m more beautiful when I’m expressing my most genuine self, from the inside and out.  I’m not a gold sequined jacket.  I’m a pair of jeans and a hoodie.  I’m not a dinner salad and  lemon water.  I’m a cheeseburger and a milkshake.  We all pretend to be someone we’re not sometimes.  The world has expectations much too harsh not to, but I can honestly say that the people I love and respect most in this world are the ones who are genuine.  And so I try to live my life this way, true to myself and true to others.

As I was writing this post, my daughter asked me, “So what does this have to do with banana bread?”  Well, there’s always a connection, even if it’s slight.  In every issue of Cooking Light magazine they feature a Recipe Makeover section that takes a favorite reader recipe, cuts the calories and trims the fat to reveal a more healthful version.  Although I’m a huge fan of this magazine and have been a subscriber for many years, I’ve always desired the original recipe, which they never print, believing wholeheartedly that it would taste much better.  This Banana Bread recipe is a makeover from my usual Bisquick version.  I’ve been making Bisquick Banana Bread for as long as I can remember and always get enthusiastic recognition.  Despite the light butter, light sour cream, and egg whites that this recipe calls for in place of the full fat and whole eggs, this version is extremely moist, very flavorful and delicious.  This was the second time I’ve baked this light version and I have to honestly confess that I didn’t do it for the reduced calories and fat because I threw in a cup and a half of chopped pecans for good measure.

So I’ll leave it up to you, choose the orginal or the makeover.  I’ve included both recipes.  Whichever you choose, be true to yourself and remember that those who truly love you always see past the gold sequined jacket and glossy finish.

Mom's Banana Bread: Photograph by Julia K Photopraphy

Mom’s Banana Bread
(Light Version)
Ingredients
1  cup  sugar
1/4  cup  light butter, softened
1 2/3  cups  mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4  cup  skim milk
1/4  cup  low-fat sour cream
2  large egg whites
2  cups  all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  salt
Cooking spray
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.  Spoon batter into 4 (5 x 2 1/2-inch) miniature loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Let cool completely on wire racks.  Note: To make one 9-inch loaf, spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf, 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice).
Nutritional Information
Calories:  147 (14% from fat), Fat:  2.2g (sat 1.4g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.1g), Protein:  2.5g, Carbohydrate:  30.2g, Fiber:  1.1g, Cholesterol:  7mg, Iron:  0.8mg, Sodium:  180mg, Calcium:  13mg
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1996

Bisquick Banana Bread
(Regular Version)
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup mashed bananas
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease loaf pan.  Mix bananas, sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer.  Stir in baking mix and nuts.  Bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center.