Maple Sweetened BANANA MUFFINS

I had bananas that needed to be used so I tried this recipe.  It is sweetened with Maple Syrup which is expensive but has a unique taste and is not as sweet tasting as sugars.  I also like the fat used is coconut oil.  Just note that when it says eggs AT ROOM TEMPERATURE to be sure it IS at room temperature.  The first time I made these I added cold eggs which began to solidify the coconut oil.  As well, use paper baking cups as apparently they may be a bit difficult to remove if you are only greasing muffin tins.  You may need to run a knife around the muffin prior to extracting.  Another thing I liked about this recipe is it is all assembled using one bowl.

Ingredients

1/3 CUP melted Coconut Oil (Or extra-virgin Olive Oil, which I have not used yet)

1/2 Cup Maple Syrup (or honey)  (I have NOT tried the honey)

2 Eggs at room temperature

(note:  To bring whole eggs to room temperature quickly, fill a small or medium bowl with warm tap water. You want the temperature to feel like a warm bath (you don't want to end up accidentally cooking the eggs). Carefully place the eggs in the water and let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes.)

1 Cup packed mashed ripe Bananas (about 3 bananas)

1/4 Cup Milk of Choice (I used 0% Fat milk)

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Vanilla Extrct

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1-3/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 Cup Old-fashioned Oats

Sugar and Ground Almonds for sprinkling (optional)

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 325°C.  Grease muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spay or use muffin tin liner cups.

2.  In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and maple syrup together with  whisk.  Add the eggs and beat well.  Mix the mashed bananas and milk, followed by baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon.

3.  Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined.  If you'd like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate chips or dried fruit, fold them in now.  I seem always to use chocolate chips.

4.  Fill each muffin cup about 2/3rds full.  (Mine always seems to be almost totally filled, so require a bit longer baking).  Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a small amount of Ground Almonds or Oats, or Cinnamon, if desired, followed by a light sprinkling of sugar. (I love ground almonds on mine along with a bit of sugar)

5.  Bake muffins for 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.  I always lightly touch the top of the muffins and if it bounces back nicely it is done.

6.  Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool.  You may need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan if you do not use paper muffin cups.

7.  These muffins will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.  They keep well in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.  I always freeze mine and microwave them individually for about 15 seconds.

8.  Estimated 208 Calories per Muffin.

 

Smoothie

This recipe is especially for Little Jenny.  It was passed along to me from Shaun.  This is a favourite of the twins and is what SR ate when on the Whole30 Diet.  I began making it when I was on the same diet and loved it so much it became my breakfast go-to.  Was good for our diet as there is no added sugar in this recipe and it tastes good.

I have a small individual sized drink blender - 400 ml (about 14 fl. oz).  I made smoothies for the twins in a Ninja blender and it made enough for the two of them.  The only difference is I use 1/2 a banana and for the twins I used a whole one.  Otherwise the directions are the same.

In an empty blender add:
1/2 (or one whole) banana
1 peeled tangerine or orange (I like tangerines as they are seedless)
Frozen fruit - I use President's Choice 4 Fruit Blend but use your choice of fruit
(The frozen fruit takes the place of ice cubes and chills the smoothie)
Cold Water to the top line on the blender (mine is at 400 ml)

Now, your choice of fruit is your own.  I sometimes add 1/4 scoop of powdered protein.  Jennifer's dietician suggested a TBSP of peanut butter.  Try whatever you enjoy or think may taste good in a smoothie.

Turn on the blender and blend for the count of TEN.  This is a great thing to do with the kids.  When blended pour into a glass and enjoy.

Easy Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Whew!  Took this photo with the last muffin sitting there waiting to be eaten.  Funny how many gluten free recipes that are made with banana, and most of them so tasty.  This one is super easy and you don't have to think about flour or a flour substitute at all.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Yogurt

2 Eggs

2 Ripe Bananas

2 Cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats (I used large flake oats as I am wheat free, not totally gluten free)

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (Optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F and grease muffin pan well or use parchment paper muffin cups.

2.  Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips to your blender or food processor (which I used) and

     blend until smooth.

3.  Stir in chocolate chips if using. (I used, yummy!)

4.  Pour into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes.

5.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes then enjoy!

BANANA ONLY ICE CREAM

BANANA (ONLY) ICE-CREAM

This is a no-cream, no-milk, gluten-free, no-guilt version of a well loved dessert - Ice Cream.  With one ingredient (or more if you wish) you can make this delicious easy dessert to serve as an excellent finale to your meal.

Ingredients

1 Large Ripe Banana

Directions:

1.  Peel banana and cut crosswise into coin shapes.  I once cut in large pieces and found the smaller, coin shapes easier to process.  Put cut banana in a an air tight container (glass, plastic, plastic bags etc.) and freeze at least 2 hours or overnight. 

2.  Add frozen bananas to a food processor (you can add extra fruits at this point too to blend into the mixture) and process until creamy (ice cream consistency), scraping down the sides occasionally.  

3.  Serve and enjoy!

Note:  You can easily add fruit to the processor.  I added strawberries, then topped the dessert with fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries.  It was delicious.  I also added blueberries but found the skin on the blueberries a bit annoying, even though it tasted delicious.  I also had just bananas.  Delicious also.  You could try adding cocoa powder, chocolate chips, a few nuts, cinnamon, or whatever your imagination can think up.  

Gluten Free Banana Almond Bread

Seems my most delicious baked gluten free recipes are banana bread.  Well, here is another one.  Was pleased it used Almond Flour ae I am not partial to baking with the rice (or many other varieties of) flour.  Below is a picture of the flour I used for this recipe.  This was labelled "Raw" as the dark outer skin of the almond was not removed before grinding, therefore it is a bit heavier than normal ground almond flour, but it worked well in this recipe.  I ordered it from Well.ca the online grocery store that delivers right to your door (or Post Office Box now-a-days) free of charge.

And not on a cooking note, if you are wondering what is in the background of the above photo of my slice of banana almond bread ...  it is the Queen.

She sits on my window sill and waves while it is daylight.

GLUTEN FREE BANANA ALMOND BREAD

2 Cups (260 g)   Almond Flour
1/4 Cup (35g)    Cornstarch
2 Tsp                  Baking Powder
1/2 Cup (115g)  Unsalted butter, softened
(I used Becel Margarine; it was already soft)

1/2 Cup (105g) Sugar (I used Splenda and used a little less)

2                        Eggs

1-1/4 Cups (310 ml) very ripe mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)

2 TBSP             Sliced Almonds (I only had slivered)

1 TBSP             Almond Extract (I used Vanilla)

As you can see I altered the original recipe on my first go-round and it worked out perfectly.  Don't be afraid to add perhaps nuts to the batter or perhaps chocolate chips.  I haven't tried that yet but am pretty certain it would work out well.  Below are the instructions.

• 
  

• Instructions:

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a six-cup (1.5 litre) 10 x 4-inch (25 x 10 cm) loaf pan and line it with a sheet of parchment paper, letting it hang over both sides.
2. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add almond extract.  At low speed, stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the mashed bananas. If adding chocolate chips or nuts, dust them with a bit of flour, then fold into batter.  Spread the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
4. Bake for about 55 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out moist but without lumps of batter.  My loaf was ready in about 40 minutes.
5. Let cool completely before removing from the pan.

Kristin's Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

Banana Bread

1 Cup Raw Sugar (we used 1/4 Cup and it was just fine)
1 TBSP Butter Regular or non-dairy) (we used Coconut Oil)
1 Cup Mashed Over-ripe Bananas (2 or 3)
1 Egg
1 Tsp Real Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Oat Flour (we ground whole flake oats in Magic Bullet)
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup semisweet Chocolate Chips (if desired)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a loaf pan. Put it in the bottom of the pan and spray with cooking spray.
Pour in the batter and cover loosely with foil. (we didn't cover with foil, but if getting too brown, just lay foil over top while it cooks.)
Bake for 30 minutes.
 Cool completely, then slice and serve.