Almond & Coconut Flour Banana Bread

 My husband and I are trying to get back on track with eating well every day! I had some bananas that were about to go bad and since the weather is turning cold I wanted something baked and delicious. This recipe was pretty simple to come up with once I looked in my pantry and saw what I had available! I just tweaked a normal bana bread with some substitutions and additions! I hope you enjoy!

 I will be adding some pictures once I bake it again. The bread was so delicious that it didn’t last long!

4 eggs
3 bananas
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
¼ cup flax meal
¼ cup water
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ c honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup almond flour
⅔ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

***Add in options- chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips ( I used walnuts and a few chocolate chips)

***If you omit the flax, omit the water as well.

Mash bananas, whip eggs, and mix all wet ingredients (plus flax) together, thoroughly.

Separately, mix dry ingredients together with a fork. Add dry ingredients to the first mixture.

Let your mixture rest for a few minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb evenly, then mix again. Bake at 300 for about an hour if using a loaf pan. I like to use 4 mini loaf pans, which took about 40 minutes. Bake until an inserted knife comes out clean and the loaf feels firm.

Paleo & Whole 30 Banana Muffins

I have 5 friends who have been doing whole 30 and I am super impressed with their commitment! Over the last month of their whole 30, it has made me think more about how I can modify recipes to fit what they are doing! The crazy part about it is that they are almost done and I think I am finally getting the hang of it!

I made banana muffins for my family on Sunday and realized they may just fit the bill, but sadly I had added vanilla. Batch number 2, I omitted the vanilla and still had great results! They are light, fluffy and sweet! 

I started with this recipe, but made some changes for my own tastes. I had some concerns about the original recipe since it listed almond or coconut flour in equal amounts. If you want to stick to the original, I also would only recommend coconut flour since it measures completely differently than any other flour. 

HINT FOR SWEETNESS: The more ripe your bananas become, the more of their sweet flavor you can enjoy. I have started always microwaving them until they are oozing sweet liquid. It is a pretty easy step for great results. I also learned that if you don't happen to have those lovely ripe bananas that so many recipes call for, you can microwave them.

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas (microwaved until gooey, then cooled)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla (omit if doing whole30)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Mix the cooled bananas thoroughly with the coconut oil, vanilla (omit if doing whole30) and completely whisk in eggs.

2. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and mix thoroughly.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix completely.

5. Let sit for about 3 minutes to give the coconut flour time to absorb the liquid.

6. Scoop into muffin liners until 1/2 full.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean.

8. Let sit for a few minutes. These taste great warm or room temperature. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes approximately 18 muffins.

Avocado Chicken Salad

I will post pictures as soon as I make this again....which will be soon.  I love this recipe....like LOVE it!  It is simple and super healthy and can easily be switched up!  The short version of this recipe is to make guacamole and then mix diced chicken into it.  The longer version is below!  I would love to hear if you tried something different and enjoyed it!

3 ripe avocados

1 Tbsp. Lime juice

1/2 diced vidalia onion

1 can Rotel (Aldi brand is my choice)

2 Tbsp. Minced garlic

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1 Cup or more of diced chicken.

Mash the pulp of the avocados, then add the lime juice.  Once they are mixed, add in the veggies and spices. Taste and see if you want more of any of the flavors.  Once you love it, add the diced chicken.  You can vary the amounts of chicken depending on how avocado-ey want it.  Eat it with a fork, on a chip, on a tortilla or even a salad.  Just try not to eat too much!

Paleo No Bakes vs. Original No Bakes

My sister and I could polish off an entire batch of no bakes before they even had time to refrigerate completely.  My dad said we were crazy, but didn't turn down samples!  I have yet to receive a complaint on this particular recipe.  The best part is that it is so super easy!  We would make them every so often, but then get on a kick of making the recipe a few times over again each time we would make them! This original recipe came from my 7th grade home economics class.  I have used it to teach fractions in my own 5th grade class and it is easy enough that I have made it with kids under the age of 2! Since I used the recipe in my classroom on Thursday and Friday, I decided to make a healthier option today!  I am not disappointed with this experiment and I am hoping you won't either!  It was just as quick as the original and is definitely delicious!  I would love to know if anyone tries this!

Paleoish No Bakes

1/3 Cup of Butter or Coconut oil
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

With a mixer or spoon, mix the Maple syrup and butter together until fully combined.  Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt.  Mix until fully combined.  Last, add the coconut and mix completely.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes and then roll into tablespoon sized balls and refrigerate again.  Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Original Snowball No Bakes

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
2/3 Cup Butter
3 Tablesppons Cocoa Powder
1 Tablespoon Water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Cups Oats

*powdered sugar

Cream the sugar and butter together.  Add the cocoa powder, water, vanilla and salt.  When fully incorporated, add the oats. Scoop into tablespoon sized balls and roll in powdered sugar.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes and up to 3 days.

Doc Cake--The Fabulous Hudson Hornet (This post is about 2 1/2 years late...oops!!)

My wonderful son turned 2 today!! He is amazing in pretty much every way!  He makes me laugh, gives me smooches, and challenges me with his inquiring mind!  He also loves CARS, the movie.  He loves everything that has anything to do with cars in general.  When we see a red car, it's Lightning McQueen.  If we see a green car, it's Chick Hicks  (and he reminds us that he's mean).  This has been going on since about 18 months old or a little before.  When I started planning his 2nd birthday party, I really thought we would be doing something "sporty", however as the party approached, I quickly realized that CARS was the ONLY option.  I began asking him what kind of cake he wanted.  I thought the only options would be Mater or McQueen, but my little guy surprised me and said, "Doc Cake!!!".  He was so certain about this that he reminded us every day for about a month.  My husband and I began teasing him about it and asking about every other character, he would smile and then say, "Noooooooooo, Doc cake.  Mommy teasing.  Daddy teasing."  He just cracks us up with his sense of humor!  Anyhow, this is what we ended up with.





I used 2 9x13 cake pans and stacked those on top of one another and then used a loaf pan and put that on 2/3 of the way back on top of the two.  I used a knife to round out the corners and carve out the hood.  I then made homemade frosting in a variety of colors and "painted" the car.  Titus was convinced I was painting him, which I thought was a great way to explain frosting a cake!

This homemade frosting recipe came from my friend Katie!  I've only known her since 2008, but it seems like we've known one another forever!  I love having her as my friend! We both love making homemade buttercream frosting for our kiddos' birthday parties and we have tried several recipes---this one is light, fluffy and pretty much perfect!  I only mixed it for 3 minutes the first time and that was not nearly enough time, even though it seemed like forever.  If you're not happy with the product, just beat it for a few more minutes!

Homemade Frosting-- I double this (so a box of butter and a 2 lb package of powdered sugar)
1 Cup Butter-Softened (REAL BUTTER)

 

3 1/2 Cups Powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Mix softened butter, powdered sugar, and salt until fully combined (this works with a hand or stand mixer).  Once it is fully combined add milk and vanilla and beat for 5 minutes (or longer).  The more time it beats, the more air it has, which makes fabulous fluffy frosting!

No Bake Cookies

Healthy No Bake Cookies...impossible?  Nope!

No bake cookies pretty much make my day!  I love them...to the point that I could make myself sick on them (not that I ever have...).  I learned to make them in middle school during home economics. We made a buttery & sugary cocoa mixture, then added in oatmeal and rolled the balls in powdered sugar.  I have learned that this is not the version that most people enjoy, but my personal opinion is that these are leaps and bounds better than the typical chocolate bark ones.

Once again, I have found myself craving those, but clearly they scream high glycemic.  I may ingest my daily sugar intake just from making them!  I needed an alternative.  I found this recipe and liked the idea of it, but I like coconut along with other flavors.  I am not a big fan of that flavor being center stage. I started mixing and thought mocha would be a great addition. I love them, but my husband thought it was too much coffee flavor.  You may want to tweak it to suit your needs!  I am also planning to make some "snicker doodle" ones this weekend! I will post that recipe if it is as delicious as I am hoping!



It is pretty great, just to add everything to the food processor and turn it on!!

This is the cocoa powder and coffee mocha mixture...very rich!!!

This is what your mixture will look like before you add the coconut flour.

This is what your mixture will look like after you add the coconut flour.

A cookie scoop is not a luxury, it is a necessity.  I think I have 5--different sizes (which is a luxury)!

I used my smallest size, so they are bite size!  About a tablespoon each!  They will sit up nicely once refrigerated!

Main Ingredients:

1 Cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

2 Tablespoons coconut oil.

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Mocha Mixture--See Below

***1-5 Teaspoons of coconut flour---added last

 

Mocha Mixture:

1 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon coffee

 

Directions:

Put all main ingredients (except the coconut flour) into a food processor.  Pulse until fully incorporated.  Move the mixture into a small mixing bowl.  This mixture will be a little too thin, so you will be adding coconut flour 1 teaspoon at a time until it is a typical cookie dough texture.  I used 4 teaspoons.  Then you will scoop into balls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  It makes about 1 dozen small  cookies.  

 

Variations--I'm sure you could vary this mix by switching out the mocha mixture with anything from straight cocoa to cinnamon or any other ideas you may have!  Happy experimenting to you!!

 

 

 

 

Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread

I seriously love bread!  It is incredible to think about all of the delicious bread options available! Sweet, savory, or somewhere in between...the options are seriously endless.

One of my favorites is Zucchini Bread. My Aunt Betty would give us a loaf of foil -wrapped, frozen zucchini bread every year at Christmas.  We could hardly wait for it to thaw enough to slice it...and it certainly wouldn't last for more than a day or two.

Last summer, we had so much zucchini that I could hardly store it or use it!  We were eating it every day and sharing it with lots of friends.  We still had a lot left, so I started grating and freezing it.  I ended up having over 50 cups in the freezer for this winter.  I decided I needed a healthy zucchini bread recipe.  I found some, but decided that I would just use a regular one and tweak it to fit the ingredients I have and use regularly. I found this simple recipe and made some of my own variations.  Hope you enjoy the results. I will get pictures up as soon as I make it again (I know some of you are ready for the recipe though!!!)!

Ingredients:
Dry:
1 Cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Wet:
4 Eggs
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup honey
3/4 Cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

2 Cups Zucchini (grated and drained)
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Beat all wet ingredients until fully incorporated and until the mixture looks uniform.  Gradually scoop the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing a bit after every scoop.  When the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated, fold in the zucchini.  Depending on the moisture of your zucchini, you may have to add a tablespoon or 2 of extra coconut flour.  It should look like typical muffin mix or a very, very thick pancake batter.  Scoop into two loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans and bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Since baking with coconut flour can be a bit tricky, check it at about 40 minutes, but your toothpick should be fairly clean when checked.  It took me 53 minutes.