Yea, so uhh it's me. Do you remember me? I know, it has been SO long since I have posted. It feels like I went to bed and woke up and BAM it was May.
Ohh well, what can you do?
So Of course I have a stack of recipes awaiting to be published!! (so excited).
TODAY, I was feeling sad. I wanted something warm and kind of sweet, but low carb and of course sugar free, primal etc.
I have been sticking to my guns and staying on the Primal track. no regrets. Especially when I can go upstairs and open the pantry and make something so delicious like Banana bread..
I remember the days when I used to work full time and my favorite treat, was to pour banana bread batter in the bread maker before I went to bed. Only to wait for it to be hat and warm by breakfast, so I could grab a chunk piece of it to take with me to work.
Yep, those were the days.. I have a special relationship with my bread maker, and though I no longer am able to use it currently, I believe that I will be able to.
It has not yet made it to my Kijiji List. HA, not sure why??
So, I of course have made Banana Bread already. I was in the mood though for something more simple though, with less ingredients. I haven't made banana bread in almost a year since I made that recipe. I also have a confessions to make, I have been out of almond flour for nearly a month (not by choice).
I buy my almond flour by the Case where it is crazy cheaper and well worth the gas to get there.
One more week without it and I will back to business! Until then, I have been having fun experimenting.
So I stumbled into my Pantry with Banana on my mind, and thought of how I could make banana bread without almond and coconut flour.
I automatically reached for my beloved flax meal.
Flax meal is not only good for you, but with all the fiber the carbohydrate count really becomes minimal.
However, I was also disappointed to notice that I didn't have enough flax meal either.
Then I remembered a bag that I brought home from the bulk store. Golden Flax meal.
What's the difference? I don't really know. I remember reading somewhere that Golden was much lighter tasting and could be used in places Flax meal can be overwhelming. (Golden flax on the left) --------------------------------------------->>>
I love flax meal but it can definitely be all you can taste, and if it burns, ugh it's gross. Definitely why in my muffin recipes I combine it with other flours.
PLUS, Flax meal is really quite in expensive. I am really enjoying the golden flax meal, so much so, I am going to make some delicious pancakes with it. MMMmmm.
So, I took out my coffee grinder and started grinding the whole flax to see how it would grind.
It only took 1 cup of whole seeds to give me 2 Cups of ground flax meal. Quite economical. I ground 1/2 cup at a time for about 3-5 seconds. That's it.
*Note You can actually ruin your coffee grinder by trying to make it finer and finer. It is very oily and will get stuck and can turn into a paste in your grinder. Not good.
This Banana bread turned out very well. It rose in a regular size pan, it didn't crumble when it was still hot out of the oven sliced. It didn't get overly dark on top, and cooked in a regular timely fashion. Though, I greased my pan well with coconut oil, I did have a bit of trouble getting the bread to release from the pan bottom until it had cooled for almost 30 min, then it fell right out.
I will say my tastes have really quite changed in the past year. I didn't add any sugar at all to this bread, besides the bananas and the chocolate chips. In my previous recipe, I had used 1/2 cup of date syrup or puree (sub agave nectar). I really enjoyed it not being overly sweet. I wanted to taste the banana, the salty flax, and the walnuts. I plan to eat this bread for breakfast so I am not hoping for it to be a sweet dessert. Feel free to sweeten it for your tastes!
I read on some reviews on baking with Flax that a lot of people battled with Flax Bread not rising into anything, just a flat sponge. I added in a scoop of whey powder, to lighten up the batter. My beloved whey powder also helps with keeping the bread from being crumbly. If you can't use whey powder, feel free to add extra baking soda, and perhaps beat your egg whites with some cream of tartar, then fold them in.
I am not sure on how the bread will rise if omitted all together.
This was a delicious Grain Free Banana bread. If you sub in regular flax meal, you may want to add an extra banana to counter the nuttiness.
Try it out and let me know.
using pre-ground flax meal will not make a difference. Using whole, will not work.
Banana Bread - Grain Free, Sugar Free, Primal, Nut free*(sub)
In a standing Mixer bowl:
2 C ground Golden flax meal or Regular Flax Meal (if using add 1 extra banana)
1/4 C Sugar Free, Gluten free unflavored/vanilla Whey Powder* (sub beaten egg whites)
1 tbs Organic Cinnamon
1 tsp Aluminum free Baking Soda
1/4 C Organic Dark Chocolate chips
1/4 C Chopped Walnuts* (omit for nut free or sub in extra chocolate, sunflower seeds)
1/2 tsp sea salt* (3/4 tsp if using regular flax meal)
In a glass bowl mix together:
1/4 C melted organic clarified butter, coconut oil, or grapeseed oil
4 organic eggs* (separate and beat whites if you omit whey powder)
1 tbs Organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tbs real vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped
3 mashed ripe (black) bananas* (use 4 if using regular flax meal)
Beat wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a stand mixer until smooth. Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Top will be crusty, and middle will be moist (not wet) but set. Bread will become firmer as it cools. Allow to cool before removing from the pan.
*If you omit whey powder, fold in stiff beaten egg whites just before placing batter in the pan.
If you like your banana bread sweet, like dessert sweet, add in 2-4 tbs of agave nectar, maple syrup, honey, date syrup or Stevia. For best results, taste your batter to determine sweetness before baking.
Yes it's me! I did survive the Holidays!
I had originally planned to add some great holiday recipes to the list, but then I got distracted, got behind with orders, got behind in making gifts, got behind in making baking, and just really got behind.. sigh.
So I decided to save myself the stress and not worry about it. It also greatly helped me to chuck the delicious food in the freezer to save me from myself and indulging.
SOOOO.. here I was today, wanting something new, fresh, chilled and easy. I ran through a bunch of my favorite books and got some ideas and then I landed upon a page dear to my heart. Banana Cream Pie, oh how I love thee:)
Well, I didn't feel like making a crust, or going fancy with the gelatin and so I thought how delicious would it be to have the scrumptious banana cream all on it's own?
I discovered that it's called Banana Pudding on Google lol. But I didn't want to use starch or flour.
The traditional Banana Cream Pie (before the days of processed Cool Whip and JELLO Instant Pudding Powder), Was a classic custard made with flour egg yolks and sugar. You of course can find a ton of Gluten Free Banana Cream filling recipes. You can also find Primal ones with almond butter that bake into a gooey center.
I just picked a couple different recipes out of my books (as I usually do) and I figured that I would either end up with a pudding or a cold soup. Either way, I would eat it and learn.
This delicious pudding is made from bananas with only a splash of agave to help thicken and Coconut Butter as the primary thickening agent. I did use egg yolks, but unless you use a lot more of them and stir in the classic half a cup of flour, it's hard to get a thick pudding.
I used three bananas for the filling that were prviously frozen, that I just thawed and mashed. You will get a great result using fresh bananas as long as they are black and ripe. If not I would suggest using a sweetener to taste. I loved the rustic texture of my hand stirred pudding, if you want it to be whipped and smooth, throw it in a food processor before refrigerating. You can use this pudding as a banana cream pie filling. Pre bake your crust or use a no bake (such as in my cheesecake recipe) and chill the pudding. Once chilled, place in the pie shell and freeze. Just top with Coconut Whip cream and slice.
I found this pudding to be stupid good, like soo good on my way down the stairs to go order more bananas I had to refill my bowl. It's like a banana cream pie without the pie or a banana bread without the bread, or a banana pancake without the pancake. Pile on those walnuts and chow down on this delicious chilly goodness.
You could make it fancy and throw in some chocolate chips!
MMMMMmmmmmm.
Banana Cream Pudding - Gluten Free, Grain free, Sugar Free
This is for my mom who tried to make banana cream pie with an avocado :)
Topping:
Place in a small glass bowl:
1 sliced banana
2 t lime juice
Place in refrigerator.
Pudding:
In a saucepan over medium heat:
1.5 C Organic milk, cashew milk or coconut milk
2 organic egg yolks
2 t real vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
Stir constantly until bubbly and starting to thicken.
Pour in 3 T warm and soft coconut butter**
Whisk continuously until pudding is thick and no coconut butter remains. Pour into a glass bowl on the side.
In the same sauce pan over medium heat:
3 mashed bananas
3 dashes of cinnamon
2 T butter or coconut oil
splash of real vanilla extract
Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until banana is browned and heated through. Add the bananas to the custard and mix well together. For a smooth texture puree in a processor. For a chunky texture mix by hand.
Cover with plastic wrap. Place the plastic wrap all the way down into the bowl so it covers and sits on top of the top of the pudding. This will prevent a skin from forming.
Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or more until gelatinous.
Scoop into a bowl and place three chilled sliced bananas with lime juice on top, and sprinkle with chopped raw walnuts.
Though the coconut butter was used I didn't taste in in the recipe so don't be afraid.
Delicious!!!!
** The coconut butter is used to thicken the pudding. If you don't have coconut butter, you could use cashew or almond butter. Using a nut butter though may change the taste and make it nutty. Otherwise you can sub in coconut flour or corn starch by the teaspoon until it's thick to your satisfaction. **
Using coconut butter to thicken is a great way without using starch or flour. It can be deceiving though as it will not start to show exactly how thick it is until the pudding cools. You will see an immediate thicken but it will become a pudding texture until after chilling versus a soup texture while it's hot.
If you use too much coconut butter you may end up with an ice cream texture you could eat frozen. yum!
On the weekend, I am always in the mood for something a little more extravagant then a fried egg and a glass of milk.
However, Kyle always wants eggs, and bacon :) Usually I will stick to waffles or pancakes (using both my whey powder recipes). However on Sunday, I wasn't in the mood for carbs.
I woke up a bit early so I had some extra time. I was having some fond memories of a hot warm quiche coming out of the oven as I sipped on my coffee and watched the snow pile up on the windows. Mmmm quiche. You know those little mini tarts that are served at parties? Besides those parties and Home Economics, I never really made them.
I was excited to try something new without adding a full carb load onto my day.
I wasn't sure exactly what crust I was wanting to try. traditionally a wheat pie crust would be used, or a store bought frozen tart shell.
I was thinking about how I didn't really feel like making my FABULOUS pie crust this early am. So I went with a herb almond flour crust.
This crust was very flavorful and delicious. The only downfall I could say is it doesn't hold together as well hot fresh out of the oven versus when it's cooled down or eaten cold.
You can cut it and it holds together, don't get me wrong, but it does crumble.
I think this recipe turned out delicious, but it did take longer then the average breakfast. To pick up the pace I would recommend making the crust the night before and refrigerate. Then simply mix up your quiche, pour it in and bake. If you want you could switch out this crust for my pie crust or you can simply let the quiche cool for 15-20 min or eat cold with a salad at lunch time.
The best part about a quiche is you can really use up a bunch of vegetable that are just hanging out in your fridge. I used our last garden tomato on the top of this one!
For the most part, the vegetables will float so you can be creative with the colors of what you throw in.
When I was making the crust I was really just throwing in a bunch of deliciousness into a bowl and tossing it together. I have made this twice now. Same crust different veggies. Perfect every time.
The crust is a press in. You will need to use your hands and press it in. It's your choice if you want to go up the side of the pie plate or not. You can do a thicker crust just on the bottom or a thin one up the sides as well.
I love the crispy savory texture of the crust so I always put it up the sides so every bite is delicious. Feel free to use any other spices or herbs you deem fit in the same ratio. You can also double the recipe for a lasagna pan size casserole, versus a quiche. This fed us most of the week for breakfast. Just fry a crisp piece of bacon and served the quiche hot from the toaster oven with coffee.
Savory Herb Quiche - Grain free, Gluten free
For the Crust:
In a small saute pan:
Brown 1/2 C diced red onion with 1T butter until tender and soft. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl:
1 1/2 C blanched almond flour
2 T chopped fresh Parsley
1 T dried italian herbs or 2tsp each dried oregano and basil
1/4 t Herbamere, sesame sea salt blend, sea salt, or kelp seasoning
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
dash smoked paprika
Stir together. Add in the sauteed onions.
Melt 1/3 C coconut oil, or butter and pour into mixing bowl. Toss ingredients together until wet and crumbly. Scoop the crust into a greased pie plate and press with hands on the bottom and up the sides. Approx. 1/4 inch thick.
Place in the refrigerator until firm. 10-15 min.
For the Quiche:
In a large mixing bowl:
1/2 C diced baby spinach or brocolli
1/4 C chopped red pepper or mushrooms
4 pc bacon cooked and crumbled or 1/4 C diced ham
1/4 C cream cheese, goat cheese, or grated cheese of choice
1/4 C heavy cream, half and half, or coconut milk
5 lrg Organic eggs
1 T thyme
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t Herbamere, or sea salt
Mix very well until combined. Pour into the firm and cool crust. On the top place
1 tomato cut into 8 wedges.
Bake in the oven at 400 for 35-40 minutes. Quiche will puff up in the oven and fall once removed. Quiche is cooked when the center is firm and not wiggly.
