Banana Waffles (nut free, grain free)

I love this recipe! but then again I love most any recipe and that's why it's on my blog :)  

Here is the link to the original recipe. 
http://eatthecookie.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/banana-waffles-nut-free

After reading some great info on nuts, I too have been trying to limit my consumption of them. (apparently heating them up can make them inflammatory to the body when we consume them)

Excerpt from the "eatthecookie" blog:  If the finished batter seems a little thin, you can add an extra tsp or so of either flour. if it seems very thick, it can be thinned out with a little milk or yogurt. it should be similar to a slightly thin cake batter. 

these have the perfect banana flavor, aroma, and sweetness. fluffy and light banana waffles like these deserve lots and lots of butter. 

serves 2

ingredients:

1 super ripe banana, worked over in the food processor or otherwise pureed

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp oil (i have used both coconut or extra light olive oil)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp coconut flour or whey protein powder

4 tbsp tapioca starch

2 tbsp flax meal

method: plug  your waffle iron in and allow it to heat properly. generally, 5 minutes or so does the trick. it must be piping hot before you pour the batter in. brush it with oil.

Combine all dry ingredients together. Separately, combine all wet ingredients together.

Combine wet with dry. whisk well. Allow batter to rest for 5 minutes before using. this allows the flours to soak up the liquid, and the flax to expand and get spongy.

Pour batter into hot waffle maker. cook for 2-3 minutes. no peeking. opening the waffle maker while the magic is happening makes for a sloppy mess. 

Remove cooked waffles from waffle maker, serve while hot and crispy with melty butter, peanut butter, and buckwheat honey.. or whatever your pleasure! (i like homemade jams or pure maple syrup!)

Easy Banana Bread (no sugar, no grains)

Sometimes I want bread....a good banana bread. This one hit the spot. Here the link to the original recipe

http://www.primallyinspired.com/no-sugar-no-grains-easy-and-amazing-banana-bread/

-Here is the finished product. Again, this does NOT make a normal sized loaf. I used my Magic Loaf pan which is about 7.5 x 3.5 inches.  This bread was moist and very tasty.  I did add some chopped pecans that I had but only wish I had added the chocolate chips!

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted

4 free-range eggs

1tsp vanilla

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup organic coconut flour (do not substitute another flour – it will not work)

1 heaping tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

optional add-ins: 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, slivered almonds, raisins, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw everything together in a medium bowl and mix until combined. Pour into a lightly greased (use coconut oil or butter for greasing) bread pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until center is set and top is golden. Enjoy! (I had to cook mine for 60 mins and after 45 min I put tinfoil over the top to stop it from browning too much)

 *Your bananas should be extremely brown, almost to the point when you would throw them away or freeze them. If they are not overly ripe, your bread will not be as sweet and probably not taste as good. If you are using non-ripe bananas, you should add about a 1/3 cup of maple syrup to the batter.

NOTE: my bananas were pretty big so i only used 3 of them and only 3 eggs. I still found it a little "wet" so I added another Tbsp of coconut flour.

Banana Bread

This is from the website "civilized caveman cooking"...here is the actual link.  

http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/grain-free-goodies/paleo-banana-bread/

This was REALLY good, fast and easy and it rose like a real banana bread. As the site suggested, i made mine into 12 big muffins and slathered them in butter when they were still a tiny bit warm! divine!!!   This is the website picture. my muffins of course were dark as i added the suggested cocoa powder :)

Ingredients

• 4 bananas, yellow (they do not need to be overly ripe but you can if you want)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond butter (or any nut butter, i.e. macadamia, pecan, etc)
• 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter, melted (can substitute coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine your bananas, eggs, and nut butter, and grass-fed butter in a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl and mix well (if using a mixing bowl you need a good hand-mixer)
3. Once all of your ingredients are blended, add in your coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and sea salt and mix well
4. Grease a 9×5 glass (see notes) loaf pan with a fat of your choice. If you use a metal pan it will probably bake in 35-40 minutes so start checking at 35 to ensure the middle stays moist
5. Pour in your batter and spread it evenly throughout
6. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
7. Remove from oven and flip your bread out onto a cooling rack
8. Slice and serve

Variations

1. Cranberry Orange – Only use 3 tablespoons of butter. Add zest of one whole orange diced, juice of one whole orange, and1 cup dried cranberries or fresh if you want
2. Chocolate Blueberry – Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries and ½ cup of cocoa powder
3. Pumpkin Pecan – Reduce the almond butter to ¼ cup and add ½ cup of pumpkin puree and 1 cup of roughly chopped pecan pieces

Notes

If you want to make these into muffins, use the same recipe and for mini muffins bake approximately 25 mins and normal size muffins 30-35 minutes.

Paleo Banana Spice Coffee Cake

This was pretty good but I think next time, I will try and find a way to incorporate some coffee flavour, either with instant coffee or actual brewed coffee...maybe instead of the vanilla extract? not sure but i would really like to have it with some coffee flavour.  I think it would be great with coconut whipped cream on top!!  

Here is the link to the original recipe. (the picture is mine )

http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2012/08/banana-spice-coffee-cake/

1 cup ripe banana, mashed
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (plus more for greasing pan)


Topping:
1/2 cup almond meal (almonds blended down to flour consistency)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a glass Pyrex 8×8 dish with coconut oil, set aside.In a large bowl mix together mashed banana, eggs, vanilla extract and maple syrup (if using) with a hand mixer until all the wet ingredients is incorporated.

In a small bowl, whisk together coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and using hand mixer mix until a batter forms.  Stir in melted coconut oil into batter until well incorporated.

For topping:  In a small bowl using a form blend together almond meal, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and coconut oil.  Blend until the mixture forms a crumb like texture.  Add more coconut oil if the crumb mixture does not form.  Only about 1/2 a tablespoon.

Pour batter into prepared glass 8×8 dish and sprinkle topping evenly across the top.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then cut into squares and serve.

Raw Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Macaroons

I found these on the website Civilized Caveman.  Here is the link: http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/grain-free-goodies/raw-chocolate-pumpkin-pecan-macaroons/

Fast, easy to make and oh so good! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup pecan flour (or almond flour) - i ground my own in my coffee grinder
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (i made my own from roasted pumpkin)
• 1/4 cup raw organic honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon almond butter or sunbutter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond extract or orange)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Combine your coconut, pecan flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and mix well
2. Add in your pumpkin, honey, coconut oil, almond butter and vanilla and stir well until all ingredients have been evenly incorporated
3. Use a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon and scoop rounded balls onto a plate or cookie sheet     
4. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to solidify
5. Store in the freezer or refrigerator and serve cold

I got 35 of these using a 1 TBSP scoop. as you can see, i rolled some into balls and used the measuring spoon for the rest. I then rolled mine in coconut.

Nut Free Paleo Bread

After making this recipe this morning, I realized that I had actually made it before but I didn't post it. So I am now :) It comes from the website The Paleo Mom and here is the link to this recipe:  http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/02/recipe-nut-free-paleo-bread.html

It is IMPORTANT to note that although this looks like a huge loaf, it's not. I made it in a special sized loaf pan that I ordered on line. It's called a magic loaf pan and its only 7.5 x 3.5 inches (There should be link to the pan below if I got this to work right)  Here is a pic of my finished bread. I plan to eat it by making it into French toast :) i'll post a pic when I do.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 4 Tbsp grass-fed butter (you could use Refined Coconut Oil or Palm Shortening as an alternative)
• ¼ cup Tapioca Flour (as usual I didn't have this - thought I did, but was wrong, so instead i used what I had on hand which was Arrowroot flour)
• ¼ cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• ½ tsp Cream of Tartar
• ¼ tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1.    Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 7.5″x3.5″ Loaf Pan with wax paper.  Grease the wax paper with coconut oil (if you have a good non-stick pan, you should be able to get away with just greasing it really well).
2.    Melt the butter (or coconut oil if using) in the microwave and let cool slightly.
3.    Beat eggs in a blender or food processor until frothy, about 30 seconds.  Add the remaining ingredients and process again until smooth.  Let the batter sit for a minute to thicken.
4.    Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Spread it out so that the surface is even.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Enjoy!

Basic Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Basic Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

I love Vietnamese food :) lately, I've been making a dish where I saute whatever veggies I have on hand (usually broccoli, peppers and onion), throw this in a bowl with a couple of big handfuls of bean sprouts (which I have warmed in advance), leftover heated meat and this sauce. I then top it all off with shredded lettuce, green onions, cilantro and hot sauce.....so good!!! - next time, i'll add a pic of the whole dish other than just the sauce :)

Makes ¾ cup

3 tablespoons lime juice (1 fat, thin skin lime)
2 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
½ cup water
2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce

Optional additions:
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1 or 2 Thai chilis, thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon homemade chili garlic sauce or store bought (tuong ot toi)

1. Make limeade. Combine the lime juice, sugar and water, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Taste and as yourself this question: Adjust the flavors to balance out the sweet and sour.

2. Finish with fish sauce. Add the fish sauce and any of the optional ingredients. Taste again and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing out the sour, sweet, salty and spicy. Aim for a bold, forward finish -- perhaps a little stronger than what you'd normally like. This sauce is likely to be used to add final flavor to foods wrapped in lettuce or herbs, which are not salted and therefore need a little lift to heighten the overall eating experience. 

Notes

Advance Preparation - This sauce may be prepared early in the day and left to sit at room temperature.

Variation - Use half lime juice and half Japanese rice vinegar for a less assertive sauce. Some delicately flavored dishes require this.