Coconut Banana Mini Muffins

Whenever I see a pile of ripe bananas the first thing I think of is banana bread.  It’s sort of funny really because it’s not something I eat a lot, but I have some vivid memories of my mom’s homemade banana bread growing up.

But now that I’ve given up gluten and am trying to cut back on my sugar, I wasn’t sure what to do with the pile of over ripe bananas on my counter.  Until I realized there was no reason I could still have banana bread.  There were lots of recipes online but they all had ingredients I didn’t have.  So  in typical Janel fashion I went into the kitchen, took out a pile of ingredients and set them all out on my kitchen island.  I then proceeded to create this recipe 100% from scratch.

I ended up making mini muffins instead of a loaf just because it was hot and I wanted to cook them in my toaster oven.

I expected the measurements to possibly need some tweaking since I didn’t base it off anything, but amazingly they came out perfect the first time.  My grandma who doesn’t like gluten free or low sugar foods ate 5 of these mini muffins.  In fact my husband, who usually wont try my creations, even though they were yummy!

You don't need to be gluten free to try these amazing little muffins.  They're lower in carbs than traditional muffins would be, they're free of refined sugar, high in fiber, and full of delicious flavor.  Seriously, you've got to try these yummy little muffins!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond meal

2 TBS ground flax meal

3 TBS unsweetened, finely flaked coconut

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1 TBS coconut oil, melted

15 drops liquid stevia

1.  In a medium bowl combine banana, liquid stevia, egg and melted coconut.  Mix very well.

2.  In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredient to wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

3.  Spoon into a mini muffin pan.  These are going to have a tendency to stick so I suggest coating the pan well, or using mini muffin liners.  Either will work.

4.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18minutes until browned on top.  These taste better just a tad over done as opposed to under done.

5.  Let cool and enjoy!

Green Power Smoothie

I love fruits and vegetables, but sometimes it can be hard to get a lot of them in early in the morning - especially thr vegetables!

I'd seen green smoothies around the internet before but had always been a bit turned off.  Spinach in my fruit smoothie... I thought are you crazy?! 

I did think it was crazy too.  Until I tried it for myself and realized it's genius!  I tinkered around with it and the following is my favorite version.  It's sweet, fruity, tangy, creamy, filling, delicious and you absolutely cannot taste the spinach.  I promise!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 cups spinach

1/2 small banana, frozen

1/3 cup strawberries, frozen

1/3 cup pineapple, frozen

3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in your blender.  I like to put my liquid on the bottom, then the spinach and all the frozen fruit and ice on top.

As a side note, if you don't have a high power blender like a vitamix or a ninja you may need to blend it a few seperate times.  I put my ninja on and blend it for about 2 minutes straight and it is the creamiest smoothie in the world.  If your blender isn't that strong though, you may want to blend it and then rest it a minute before blending it again so you don't burn out your motor.

Then just pour in a tall glass and enjoy!

Microwave Muffin

This recipe is for a super simple muffin made in the microwave.

It can be made in just one minute, is single serving, low carb, gluten free, packed with protein and delicious.  Seriously...what more could you want?

I didn't invent the idea.  It's been all over the internet for years, largely in low-carb communities actually.  However the original is higher in fat and calories because it uses the entire egg and real butter and it uses splenda.  so I made it a little bit healthier, but still delicious and easy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flax meal

1 TBS cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. coconut oil, melted

2 egg whites

5 drops liquid stevia (not pictured, oops)

1. First melt the coconut oil for a few seconds in a standard size coffee cup.  It helps later so you don't get any clumps of oil in your muffin.
2. Add in the cinnamon, flax and baking powder and liquid stevia directly the same coffee cup.
3. In a seperate bowl crack both eggs and seperate leaving just the whites.  Then add them to the coffee cup and stir very well.

* If you don't have liquid splenda you can add in your favorite sweetner.  I've not personally tested it out but I think maple syrup or honey would be delicious in this recipe.  It's pretty adaptable.



Now you're going to microwave the muffin for about a minute.  sometiems you may need an extra 5-10 seconds just to make sure its completely done.  You won't need to grease the cup at all because the fat content in the coconut oil and flax will allow the muffin to slide right out of the cup once it's cooked.

The muffin is actually pretty fun looking right out of the cup.  All tall and puffy and just begging you to dig in.

The best thing about this muffin is how versitile it is.  I like to let it cool a little and slice it into pretty little rounds.  You can eat it plain or top it with nut butter. All fruit spread or one of my favorites ligth cream cheese.  no matter what you put on it though you're guaranteed to enjoy it!

Recipe - Oatmeal Banana Power Pancakes

This is a great breakfast for anyone.

Whether you’re looking to cut out gluten, refined sugars or lower your calories, or because you just want something yummy and healthy for breakfast.

I’d seen recipes for oatmeal pancakes but none of them came out good so I set out to create my own, that would be as packed with flavor as it was with nutrition and I think I did just that!

　

I’m calling this my…..

　

Oatmeal Banana Power Pancakes

Ingredient:

2 egg whites

1/2 banana, smashed

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

2 tsps. raw hemp seeds

2 tsps. ground flax

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 drops liquid stevia

1. In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl mash the banana very well. Add in liquid stevia and vanilla. Add in egg whites.

3. Combine all wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes.

4. In a large skillet form 3-4 small pancakes. Cook about 2-3 minutes until they easily move about and then flip. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes. These taste better slightly over done as opposed to underdone because of the banana and egg. Make sure to coat the pan lightly first so they do not stick.

5. Serve and enjoy!

　

Notes:
* If you don’t like Stevia or don’t use it this can easily be substituted with a sweetener of your choice. Though I haven’t personally tried I think maple syrup or raw honey would taste amazing. The banana also has a lot of natural sweetness so depending on your taste preference you might be able to omit it completely.

* Another substitute I’ve made if you don’t have hemp seeds is to omit them and use a full TBS of ground flax and it taste just as delicious.
         * If you want this recipe to be gluten free make sure you use gluten free oats.

Recipe: Gluten Free Cinnmon Pecan Oat Bran Muffins

This recipe was inspired by another oat bran recipe I saw, but as is typical for me I had to change it around to suit my own tastes.

Cinnamon Pecan Oat Bran Muffins

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups oat bran
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 2 TBS Shelled Hemp Seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 TBS ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• dash of salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 whole egg
• 2 TBS light agave syrup
• 1/2 tsp. liquid stevia
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
•  1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Combine all dry ingredients.  Then add in all liquid ingredients.  Mix well.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Calories - 92

Carbs - 16

Fat - 5

Protein - 4

These muffins are incredibly delicious.  The pecans and hemp seeds make them nutty, while the stevia and agave give them a light sweetness.  They are dense without being heavy and make a delicious snack or breakfast with a piece of fruit.

I definitely encourage you all to give them a try!

Food Finds - Lundberg Rice Chips & Oskri Sesame Bars

My current obsession is Lundberg Rice Chips.

I love to snack and I love crunchy food.  Unfortunately tons of snacks (especially chips) are high in fat, sodium and calories.  They're also often full of unhealthy ingredients like MSG (and for some of us gluten).

So when I found these chips I was so excited I actually clapped.  These are made with brown rice and corn and are certified gluten free.  They're also 70% organic, kosher, free of gmos, and devoid of any fake and scary ingredients. 

But trust me when I say you do not need to be avoiding gluten to love these chips.  They are definitely heartier than your average tortilla chip for example but they've got a great crunch.  They would be amzing with hummus or some type of dip because they're thicker than normal.

The flavors are also amazing.  The Santa Fe Barbeque is sweet and smokey while the Pico de Gallo has an awesome spicy mexican flair.  I can't wait to try all of these flavors.

On average they've got about 140 calories a serving and 6 grams of fat so definitely a healthy snack.

My other new food find is Oskri Sesame Bars.

These came with three very thin sesame bars in one package.  They're light and crispy and oh so nutty.  I've always loved sesame candy but its not always the healthiest so I was pretty excited when I found these bars. 

These bars are kosher, vegetarian, gluten free and are also free of all refined sugars.  They're actually sweetened with date syrup which makes them less sweet than a traditional sesame candy would be.

I found mine at Home Goods a chain which sells (as the name would suggest) home decor at discounted prices.  They also have a gourmet food section though which I love.  I got a box of 5 of these bars for only 3.99.

If you like Sesame you really have to try these bars!  Only 217 calories for the entire package as well which is great for a product containing sesame since those can be very calorically dense.  They're crispy, nutty and slightly sweet and oh so satisfying.

Gluten Free Journey

Some of you may remember a few months ago when I tried to go Gluten free. I started off just trying to help out my mom who is Gluten Intolerant. However the more I read about what Gluten can do to the body the more I thought it would be something beneficial for me and it became about helping my mom and myself.

I made it about two weeks and though I didn't notice any weight loss, I noticed my anxiety went down considerably (which I later learned is actually a reason many people cut out gluten). In fact after the first week and half of crazy cravings for gluten and sugar my food cravings actually started to subside.

So of course you must be wondering...why on earth did I go back to eating it? It's a good question and I guess the only answer is that I'm human. I'm also addicted. I love carbs, but not just carbs, certain kinds of carbs.

The thing is, I felt better. It was more difficult sometimes, especially because my husband (and most of the world) eats it all the time. But I felt better and I've been struggling since I started eating it again. Trying to convince myself that I don't need to go gluten free that I'm fine as I am, but constantly remembering how much better I felt when I did it.

And I realized I'm addicted to Gluten. Which if you read about the affects of wheat/gluten is pretty common in people who actually shouldn't be eating it.
So I started again yesterday. Except all day in the back of my mind was all the things I couldn't eat and so to make myself feel better I ended up eating way too much sugar because it was gluten free.

Which led me to my next conclusion. I'm also addicted to sugar.

So today begins a new journey. I'm going to cut out all white sugar and gluten. It won't be easy, and it may not be free of slip ups (though I'm sure as heck going to try). There are so many great alternatives, but its a lo of work and changing the way I look at food, the way I cook and even the way I shop (which will be harder with a husband who loves his bread).

So I'm putting it all out on the line. chronicling my successes and failures, and my food experiments, because the more I talk about it the more real it feels for me and the more accountable I am.

So here's to making a change for the better. To breaking free from addiction.

Here goes nothing. :)

Going Gluten Free

So just in the last week and a half I’ve been giving gluten free a try.  I’ve never been diagnosed as celiac or gluten intolerance.  My mom however has a big problem with gluten (which makes me more susceptible) and I’ve been reading a lot about wheat free/gluten free/grain free diets, not in terms of weight loss but maintaining overall health.  I’ve been especially interested in how they can affect auto-immune disorders and anxiety.

I’d been doing exceptionally well until last night when I ate some cereal I thought was gluten free.  

 Interestingly my mom and I both commented that our stomachs felt a little funky and bloated (and I got really itchy) and we came to find out the cereal did in fact have some wheat in it.  Coincidence?  I think not.

The thing I’ve noticed is that I’ve been giving myself extra leeway for eating a lot of extra calories because I love to try new foods and have been very excited to try some of my new gluten free finds.  My body has also been having major carbohydrates  cravings because of the lack of wheat which I’ve been indulging with too much non-gluten carbohydrates.

Now that I’ve adjusted a bit more to the change I’m going to work on being more strict with my diet.

Cutting out several food groups though has definitely been enlightening.  I’ve noticed that even though I can certainly overeat many of these new foods I don’t have the same urge to binge on them as I do on wheat containing foods.

Although I did discover this week that anything containing refined sugar is a huge binge trigger for me, whereas when I’ve been eating foods with more natural sweeteners like raw honey, molasses, etc.. I don’t feel the same desire to over eat them.

So while I'm going gluten free I'm also going to work on cutting out refined sugars too.  

It’s in an interesting (sometimes confusing, sometimes frustrating) journey but I’m ready for it!