Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffins


   







     I know that I have gone for months without posting anything new and now I am making 2 posts in one day! That's how I am though, sorry! 

     I really don't like to bake at all, but I have to say that I am excited about being able to make muffins, cake, cookies, and the like without flour. This recipe is also from "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook", by Elana Amsterdam. I do really like this cookbook and would heartily recommend it to anyone who is interested in cutting carbs, going gluten-free, watching your sugar, or just trying to eat more naturally.

     I did change 2 things about this recipe, and that was to use butter instead of grapeseed oil and to add 1 dropperful of stevia extract for a double batch of muffins. I have made them without the stevia and I thought that they needed just a little more sweetness then the bananas provided, but feel free to experiment. I would love to hear any comments that you may have about any of the recipes that I have posted.  Blessings!


Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond meal

1/4 t. sea salt

1 1/2 t. baking soda

2 T. butter, melted

3 large eggs

2 cups (4 to 5) mashed bananas    

1 cup frozen blueberries, I like the Wyman's Wild Blueberries

1/2 dropperful stevia extract


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, stevia, and eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until throughly combined. Stir the bananas into the batter, then fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 50 minutes, then serve. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Cake









   


      A friend made some gluten-free cupcakes for her son's birthday and the recipe that she used is from a cookbook that I really love but that I had completely forgotten about. I don't know if that ever happens to you, but it happens to me all the time! I have soooooo many cookbooks that I love but not enough time to use them all. I end up using the same one over and over again and forgetting about the others until something like this cupcake happens. 

     I am trying to cut down on the carbs that I eat and feed to my family, but it is so hard! I love chocolate, and I mean LOVE chocolate! Give me some chocolate and sugar and you have a friend for life. But since I know that sugar is bad, and we are NOT going to talk about chocolate, I have been trying to find recipes that use stevia instead. Now, I have found many recipes that call for stevia, but I also want them to taste good. I know, I want it all, to have my cake or dessert and eat it, too! How dare me, right?! 

     So here I am making recipes from a gluten-free cookbook, "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook", by Elana Amsterdam,  and then remaking it with less sweetener. I try to follow the recipe the first time that I make it, but this does not always happen. I only made 1 substitution this time, but rest assured that I have more substitutions planned for next time! The recipe called for grapeseed oil but I used butter instead. I mean lets face it, butter makes everything better! Right?! The next time that I make this I am planning on using 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey and some stevia instead of the agave nectar. I will let you know how it turns out! I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.


Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond meal

1/2 t. sea salt

1 t. baking soda

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup agave nectar

3 large eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 cup dark chocolate (73% cacao), coarsely chopped, I used bitter sweet chocolate

1 cup (2 to 3) mashed very ripe bananas


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter and dust with almond flour.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, agave nectar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate and bananas. Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour, then serve. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Soap Essentials Bar Bath Soap











     I made bath soap yesterday and wanted to share it with you. The first time I made it I was so nervous that I didn't take any pictures or anything! This time I took pictures after I cut the bars, maybe next time I will take pictures during the soap making process. If I remember! This is the only bath soap recipe that I have tried at this point, but I have made shampoo and soap for cleaning the house and doing laundry. This recipe comes from "The Natural Soap Book", by Susan Miller Cavitch. Making soap was very intimidating to me but it's really not hard at all! I hope that you will try making soap, my family has loved it!



Ingredients:

3 pounds distilled water

473 grams sodium hydroxide

4 pounds olive oil

2 pounds 8 ounces coconut oil

1 pound 8 ounces palm oil

30 grams grapefruit seed extract

15-18 teaspoons pure essential oil


Directions:

Follow basic soap making directions and let cure for 3-8 weeks. Enjoy! 

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