Banana Bread

Hello all!  So you may laugh at me for this, but....here goes.  I know that I've said that I'm a moderation girl and I eat everything but I like to cook for my friends and family who have special dietary needs.  Well, recently I've discovered that eating gluten-free actually appears to ease a medical condition of mine, so I have been focusing a lot on some gluten-free recipes.  This recipe is a tried and true recipe but my biggest reason why I like it is that it's SO versatile.  At the bottom of this post, I will list a bunch of my favorite ways to change this up to make different delicious treats.

I'd also like to point out that this recipe happens not to use butter, so if you wanted it to be vegan, you can substitute the egg with an egg replacement powder.  I have used Ener-G Egg Replacer and you canNOT tell the difference.  It tastes exactly the same.  So here we go!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour (I have included info for my favorite gluten-free flour in the instructions below)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg (if you want vegan bread, use the egg replacer listed above)
1/2 cup sugar
2 overripe bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil, heated coconut oil can be substituted if you like, as long as it's in liquid form
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5x2 inch pan.  Combine the first four ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  For gluten free flour, I like to use Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All Purpose Baking Flour.  I like this one because it isn't coarse, like some other alternative flours.  It's the same consistency as wheat flour, and it has a sort of sweet nutty flavor that I think is great for baking.
 

In another larger bowl, combine the egg and sugar.  Remember, for a vegan bread, you can use an egg replacer.  I promise the one I listed above will taste the same.  I'm also going to take this opportunity to say that I LOVE baking and have never once used a stand mixer.  This trusty little hand mixer is the same one that was purchased for me for my first apartment more than a decade ago.  Don't judge my little hand mixer-I bring it up to show you that you do not need fancy tools to be a good baker!
 

Mix in 2 smashed bananas, vanilla, oil, and all spices.  What is that little round thing in the picture below?  It is whole nutmeg.  I strongly urge you to buy whole nutmeg cloves and grate the nutmeg yourself.  It tastes so much better.  And for this recipe, I really think the reason it's so good is because it's essentially spice cake with bananas added to it!  So don't skimp on the spices-they're what make the bread.  Get good spices!
 

Slowly pour the dry ingredients in batches and mix until combined.  Don't over-mix!  I added 1/2 cup of dried cranberries to my recipe, in case you're wondering what else is in the batter!  Pour batter in the pan and cook for one hour.  Depending on humidity and your fruit, your batter may be more wet or dry.  This bread is done when a skewer is inserted into the middle and comes out clean.  I start checking the bread at about 45 minutes.  When the bread is done, let cool and serve for brunch or as a snack.  You can also freeze it.

I really hope that you enjoy this bread.  I've been making it for over 10 years and it is one of my most favorite recipes.  Below I have listed a bunch of modifications that you will love!

*Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips, dried cranberries or your favorite nuts to the banana bread
*The 2 bananas can be substituted with 1 cup of pureed pumpkin, steamed apples, or steamed pears
*For a more savory bread, substitute 1 cup of grated carrots or zucchini.  Eliminate the vanilla and spices and use salt and pepper and a 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped fresh herbs (like parsley, basil, or dill)
*These can also be muffins!  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes-again, start checking them around 15 minutes, depending on the moisture in your bread.

Also, if it is of use to you, here is the nutritional information for this recipe:
1 serving: 1/8 of a loaf
174 calories, 24g carbs, 8g fat, 3g protein, 262mg sodium, 10g sugar

Vegan Gluten-Free Holiday Baking

So I've already made it known that I am not a vegan, nor do I eat gluten-free.  However, I always have believed in moderation, and I have friends and family who are vegan and/or gluten-free and I want to be able to bake for them.  So I am finally sharing my two recipes that I used during the holiday season to make all my friends happy.  I do not seek out vegan or gluten-free recipes.  My goal is to show you how to modify the recipes you already use to be able to accommodate your friends and family with special food needs!  I can tell you that my non-vegan, and non-gluten-free friends LOVED both of these recipes and could not tell that they were missing any of the ingredients that they are used to eating.  That is what I consider a huge success.

So here we go....the first is Peppermint Bark, my future brother-in-law's favorite.
Ingredients: 12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate morsels
                  12 ounces of white chocolate morsels
                  2/3 cup macadamia nuts (or almonds), chopped
                  12-14 crushed candy canes
Here are the steps.....It's SO easy.  Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips are vegan-no milk solids in it anywhere!! Who knew??  So you need to temper the chocolate and melt it.  I've heard so many complicated ways to do this, but you wanna know the easiest way to do it?  Put the chips in a microwave-safe bowl and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir the chips.  It won't feel like that did any good, but repeat these steps, microwave for 30 seconds and stir, until all the chocolate is melted.  Now the chocolate is tempered and you really didn't have to work that hard and mess up a bunch of pots and pans creating double boilers.  Prepare a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper and dump all of the semi-sweet chocolate onto the paper.  Use a spatula to spread the chocolate into a thin layer, as big as the cookie sheet.  Put this in the fridge to set up.

The vegan white chocolate chips are a little harder to find, but I found these on Amazon.  They are King David White Choco Chips.  They taste the same as regular white chocolate chips!  I promise!
                                      
You will need to temper the white chocolate chips the same way you did for the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Then pour the white chocolate onto the semi-sweet chocolate and spread it out into a thin layer.
                                                         
Next, crush the candy canes by peeling the canes and putting them all in a one-gallon plastic bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin.  Sprinkle the candy canes onto the white chocolate while the chocolate is still hot!  Press the candy canes softly into the chocolate with your hands.  Do the same with the macadamia nuts.  Work fast so that you can press everything down into the chocolate.  If you don't, you will not have bark, you will have chocolate that has candy and nuts laying on top of it and when you try to break it, it will not stay together--this is no good.

Once you have gotten the candy and nuts pressed into the chocolate, put the pan back into the refrigerator so that it can get hard.  It will look like this!

Once everything is hard, you can break it apart with your hands or by using a sharp knife to score the chocolate. This is the perfect candy for everyone!


Ok, next is Jam Thumbprints.  This will be a huge hit with everyone and it is very easy to make vegan AND gluten free because there are no eggs in this recipe.
Ingredients: 3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
                  1 cup sugar
                  1 tsp vanilla extract
                  3 1/2 cup flour
                  1/4 tsp kosher salt
                  a jar of your favorite jam (to be vegan, it cannot contain gelatin!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a stand mixer (or in my case, using my trusty hand-held mixer), cream butter and sugar, then add the vanilla.   I use Earth Balance buttery sticks.  It behaves just like butter and is a perfect substitute.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix until dough comes together.  I use Red Mill Gluten-Free flour.  It is slightly nutty, but I think it goes perfectly with this recipe.  There are plenty of Gluten-Free flours out there so just use your favorite.

 

As soon as the dough comes together, dump out onto a floured board and roll into a flat disk.  Do not over mix-the dough will be too tough!  Wrap your disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  You can make this a day ahead of time and just bake the cookies the following day.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Use your thumb (these are thumbprint cookies after all!!) to make thumbprints in each cookie.  Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each thumbprint and bake for 20-25 minutes.

These cookies can be frozen for another time once they have completely cooled.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my friends and family did over the last holiday season.  As you can see, there is no need to be intimidated by baking for friends who do not eat the same things that you do!  A few easy substitutions and you are well on your way!  ENJOY!

More recipes

Hello friends!

I want to share three more recipes with you-I decided to add three more days to my juice cleanse.  I've put the recipes below.  Don't be afraid to make up your own recipes-pick the fruits you like and try to commit to adding some kind of vegetable in there as well.  Guess what?  Fruit will mask the taste of any greens you decide to throw in there!  Why not take advantage?

So, for my second set of three days, I used the following 7 recipes:

Lemonade - recipe in A Three Day Juice Cleanse

Romaine-Apple OJ - recipe in A Three Day Juice Cleanse

Strawberry Fields - recipe in A Three Day Juice Cleanse.  I chose to substitute the apples for pears.  I actually liked the flavor even better!

Green Apple Juice
6 large leafy greens
6 sprigs of parsley
1 orange
1 packed cup of spinach-seriously pack it in tightly! You want a lot of spinach!
2 green apples
I used swiss chard this time.  If you use swiss chard, remember that the tough stem is NOT good for the juicer!  Cut the stem out.  For apples, I used one granny smith apple and one golden delicious apple-it gives a good sweet and sour balance.

Pineapple-Apple Juice
Half a pineapple, peeled and cored
One and a half apples
Half a lime-take off the skin please!  You don't want the bitterness of the pith in your juice!

Cucumber Carrot Juice-recipe courtesy of my roomate, Meg
10 carrots
1 cucumber-peeled if the skin is waxy

Green Mean Machine

3 stalks celery

2 packed cups of spinach

2 cucumbers-peeled if the skin is waxy

1 green apple

Raw Coconut Water
Again, this is not really a recipe.  You can buy it in the store.  Just make sure it's RAW and UNPROCESSED.

Almond Milk - recipe in A Three Day Juice Cleanse.  I'd like to mention that in addition to using cheesecloth to strain the almond milk, you can also use a very fine sieve.

Happy juicing!

Prepping for your juice cleanse

So now that you've all read about how to do a juice cleanse, you're all on board and ready to do it, right?? Well read this first because this will make the transition from your regular solid foods to drinking only juice MUCH easier.

For the two days before and after your cleanse, I recommend that you eat only raw foods.  The list of foods is endless but the main idea is that you are eating only raw, uncooked, unprocessed foods.  This will help prepare your stomach for only juice, and it will also help ease your stomach back to solids when your cleanse is complete.  

Some sources of protein for this are nuts, avocados, and peanut butter.  A great breakfast might be an apple or a banana with peanut butter and raisins.  You can eat as much fruits and vegetables as you want!

I also like to make my own guacamole out of avocados, tomatoes, onions, and lime juice.  No salt!!  Garlic is a good addition if you can mince it or chop it really small--no one wants to bite into raw garlic....well...I probably wouldn't mind, but I bet most people would.  Instead of dipping chips into it, dip fresh carrots or celery or bell peppers.  You may not believe me, but you'd be surprised at how filling this can be.  Make sure that when you store your guacamole, you cover it with saran wrap and press it down so there is NO air in between the saran wrap and the guacamole.  If air gets in, the avocados will turn brown.

 

 

Nuts are a great crunchy snack if you're like me and need something crunchy in your life.  Make sure that they are UNroasted and UNsalted.  Just plain old raw nuts.  One thing you'll notice, when you're done with this, when you do go back to your old peanut butter, or when you decide to eat salted nuts, you'll be amazed at how salty the nuts taste and how salty (and sweet!) your peanut butter tastes.

A huge benefit to doing this, aside from the obvious health reasons is that you gain a better appreciation for the ingredients in your food.  You begin to realize that you don't need all that added salt.  You don't need to add as much of your usual sweetener.  If you're a soda addict (like me), the soda will taste different.  Bread will be more filling.  Everything, for that matter, is more filling.  The changes that come from challenging yourself in this way are amazing!

A Three Day Juice Cleanse

Where to begin?  So I've done this before, a juice cleanse that is.  Everyone always asks me about it and wants to know more details so here we are!  I, in NO WAY, profess to be any sort of expert on this, I am only recording my thoughts.  I am not telling you this is the only way to do a juice cleanse, I am not a doctor, I can only tell you what I've found and share my experiences.  So, disclaimers out of the way, let's begin.

I need six or seven 12-16oz. juices in order to keep from being hungry.  The goal is to pick recipes that give you the biggest variety of fruits and vegetables, and I drink water in between the juices.  I promise, you won't be hungry!!  Start with the lemonade-it helps with digestion for the rest of the day.  End with the almond milk-you'll go to bed with a full tummy!  You can even warm it up a bit.  The others can be done in any order, it's up to you!  It's important to remember that this is NOT a diet.  This is meant to be a cleanse...something to detox your body, maybe give a kickstart to a weightloss plan you're going to start.  I find that once I've completed one, my eating habits change afterwards.  I make healthier choices in my eating-I eat smaller portions, I want less processed foods.  It reminds me how much I love fresh produce.  I like to do these every few months!  I try to see them as a challenge, and I find that if I see it that way, I really enjoy the cleanse!

I use a Cuisinart compact juice extractor.  It's pretty easy to use.  My only complaint is that the container that catches the juice is only 16 ounces.  I typically use it to make large batches, so to get around that, I empty the juice container into a larger pitcher and then distribute the juice into the containers for the three days.  I juice everything on the same day and divide them into 16oz mason jars (so I can reuse my containers).  I would not recommend making juice to last for more than three days.  It starts to go bad.

 

What follows is a list of the 7 recipes I will use for a three day juice cleanse.  I recommend that if you decide to do more than three days, that you vary you recipes so that you don't get bored.

Lemonade
3 lemons
Pour the juice of these lemons into a jar and fill the rest up with water.
I recommend taking all the pith and skin off the lemon.  You do NOT want a bitter lemonade to start your day off.  If the skin is REALLY thin, it's ok to juice the whole thing-you'll get more juice too!

Green Carrot Juice
1 handful of spinach
2 stalks of celery
4 carrots
1 green apple
1 handful of parsley
1/2 lemon
If you can, try to get the apple seeds and the stem off the apple.  It's ok to put the peel in but the seeds are a little hard to deal with.

Strawberry Fields
2 red apples
2 carrots
8 strawberries
I bet you've never had strawberry juice.  Most people haven't, but I am telling you, when you smell it, you may consider drinking straight strawberry juice!

Romaine-Apple Orange Juice
2 cups romaine
2 green apples
1 orange
2 stalks of celery
1/2 a cucumber
The orange should be treated the same as the lemons.  If the skin is thick, take it all off!  If you don't it will be bitter!  I also take the peel off the cucumbers if it's waxy.

Mint-Berry Juice
2 cups blueberries
2 kiwis
16 strawberries
2 cups of mint leaves
Take the skin off the kiwis and the tops off of the strawberries.  I take the mint leaves off of the stalks too.

Almond Milk
1 cup of almonds that have been soaked overnight in water.
4 cups of water
6 dates--please oh please take the pits out!!
1 vanilla bean
Ok so this one takes a bit of work.  But it is SO worth it, I promise.  So, the nuts need to soak overnight if possible.  You may not believe me, but I am telling you anyway....the nuts will get bigger!  They'll absorb the water.  Like if you squeeze them, you can ring the water back out of them!!  So after they soak, take 1 cup of them, and add them to a BLENDER with 4 more cups of water.  Yes, I said BLENDER.  Not your juicer!  Add the dates--no pits please!  And add the beans from the vanilla bean.  Have you ever used a vanilla bean?  Take a paring knife and split the bean longways.  Use the back of the knife to get the beans out of the skin.  Add that to the blender and blend everything together.  Next you have to put all this mixture through a cheesecloth.  What comes out of the cloth is your almond milk.  And it is SO good.

Coconut Water
Ok so this is not technically a recipe, but I buy RAW coconut water as the 7th drink of the day.  It has to be raw and unprocessed, ok? No sweeteners, nothing added.  Completely raw.


Before I conclude, I wanna talk about cleaning and the waste.  I don't know about your juicer, but mine needs to have the pulp cleaned out WAY before I'm ready to stop juicing.  So my process is that I assemble all of the ingredients for three days worth of ONE recipe.  I juice all of that together.  Sometimes, I have to keep watch on the pulp container because it can get clogged before I'm done with that batch of ingredients.  When I am done making that batch, I take everything apart and rinse the parts with the hottest water I can get out of the faucet.  That way when I start the next recipe, it won't taste like the last recipe I made.  Also it's good to give your juicer a break, and make sure that it's not working too hard.  The more pulp that stays stuck inside, the harder the juicer has to work and the less efficient it becomes.  This is carrot pulp.  I hear that there are recipes for things to do with all of the pulp.  It's a great source of fiber and I'm sure it'd be great for composting as well.  I recommend an apron too, the juices can stain, and I am telling you now.  You can be as careful as you like, but at some point, some kind of fruit or pulp or juice is going to fly up onto your cabinets or your clothing or the floor or all of the above.  It can get messy, but it's well worth it.  I put a dish towel under my juicer.  That helps a lot.

Waste...So we talked about the pulp, but I want to talk about the other waste.  All this produce comes in containers.  Most of these containers are plastic.  Some are in plastic bags.  Please, please recycle all that plastic!!

So that's a three day cleanse.  Remember that these recipes make ONE beverage each.  So to do this for three days, you would need to multiply by three.  I recommend drinking your juices in one of those shaker bottles that you can mix protein shakes in.  The juices can separate and it's helpful to have that little metal ball in there to mix them back up again.