Tag Archives: gluten free

Grain-Free Banana Nut Bread

… and almost no added sugar, too! I’ve been working on a grain-free banana bread for a few weeks now, and the recipe is finally ready to share. Since I started making my own almond milk, I have a ton of leftover almond meal to use up. I’ve been using it to make ‘battered’ onion rings, crusted fish, cookies (which failed miserably), ‘tart’ shells and my new favorite, banana nut bread.

If you haven’t baked with almond meal (or flour – they can be used interchangeably) here’s what you need to know:

-you can make your own ‘meal’ by pulsing almonds in a food processor until they’re fine and crumbly OR save the leftover pulp from almond milk
-conventional baking rules/ratios don’t apply – especially with baking soda. So many salty mistakes…
-this is not a ‘light and fluffy’ loaf – it’s dense, hearty and DELICIOUS!
-I ate a little over half the loaf for breakfast on Sunday morning…. then ate the rest for dessert later on. #FatFluential

Ingredients/Directions

Preheat oven to 350F

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Stir the above ingredients together.

In a stand mixer or bowl, combine:

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (tip: squish the bananas while they’re still in the peel for easier handling)
1 egg, lightly whisked or 1 ‘flax egg’ (1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water – allow to thicken before using)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 heaping tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Add dry to wet, and mix well. The ‘batter’ will have a slightly crumbly appearance – that’s normal.
Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil or butter. Add mixture and press into the pan. Smooth the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing into squares.

Serve with with generous smear of almond butter or organic, salted butter and a mug of hot coffee or tea. Let me know if you polish off the entire thing in one day, too.

What are some of your favorite ways to use almond meal?

What kitchen appliance or accessory could you not live without? My food processor!!! I would die a horrible, lonely death without it. I’m also a huge fan of this mixing bowl/cup set I found at Winners for half price. I’ve been wanting this set since ~~before I was born~~ for a while and it’s finally found a place in my kitchen. Colors make me a better cook.

Ok, one final almond butter shot!

*swoon*

Coming later this week:

Mint Chocolate Smoothie

Bison/Beef Cabbage Roll Casserole

Guest Recipe: Banana Bread French Toast {Vegan}

2 Replies

I have a guest recipe to share from my new foodie friend, Jason Bahamundi. We recently connected through Instagram and share a mutual love for waffles, healthy recipes and fitness. He’s a 2x Ironman who writes about the sport of triathlon while living a plant-based lifestyle on the blog Cook Train Eat Race. You can also find his musings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

I’m particularly excited about this banana bread recipe as it’s grain-free and, with the exception of a little molasses, is naturally sweetened with bananas. Take it away, Jason!

Vegan banana bread french toast is on the menu and before you run away thinking that if it is vegan then it can’t be any good let me just say that this will make you forget about eating any other kind of french toast. It was that good.

My wife and I are big banana eaters but sometimes they may turn too brown and rather than throw them out we do one of two things with them:

Freeze them to make vegan ice cream.
Make banana bread or muffins or cupcakes or waffles. You get the picture.

When Joanna (by the way, thank you for allowing me to write a guest post on your fabulous blog) asked me if I would be willing to write a waffle recipe for her site I don’t know if I even thought before saying yes. Joanna and I are similar to long lost cousins except we are long lost foodies. We post regularly to Instagram our meals and we seem to always post waffles.

Having just written a waffle recipe for NEO Endurance And Sports I thought that I could come up with something else but that was when I looked at the bananas on my kitchen table. They were looking like they would turn at any time and so I offered a recipe for vegan banana bread french toast and Joanna immediately said that would work.

The hard part about making the vegan banana bread french toast was the waiting. You see, I am an Ironman triathlete and do heavy training on the weekends and knowing that the banana bread french toast was on the meal plan I couldn’t wait for Saturday to show up. While I was riding my bike for nearly 5 hours the only thing going on in my head was banana bread french toast. That kept me motivated to finish my ride.

Once I got home and got started the aroma of banana bread filled the air and I knew I had a winner. This meal would be perfect for breakfast, lunch or brunch on the weekend. I know what you are saying right now and so I will not hold out on you any longer and provide the recipe for the vegan banana bread french toast.

Vegan Banana Bread French Toast

Ingredients:

Vegan Banana Bread:

1/2 cup Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed
2 Cups Garbanzo Bean Flour
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tbsp Molasses
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 Medium-Sized, Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1 oz chopped cashews
French Toast:1/2 cup Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seed

Servings: 8-10 slices of banana bread

Nutritional Information (per slice): 206 calories, 26g Carbs, 5g Fat, 8g Protein, 7g Fiber

Directions:

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350*
Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a measuring cup combine the coconut milk and flaxseed and set aside.
In a large-sized bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl combine the molasses, vanilla, and bananas until well mixed.
Stir in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients by hand, being careful not to over-mix; a few lumps are okay.
Add in the ‘egg’ which is the flaxseed and milk mixture and combine well.
Gently fold in the nuts any other add-ins.
Spread the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is browned and resilient to the touch.
10. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.
11.Wrap in plastic wrap and place in bread box until you are ready to make the french toast.

French Toast

Combine the milk and ground flaxseed in a large bowl and allow to form a gel over 15-20 minutes.
Slice the banana bread into the size that you want.
Toast the bread in the toaster to create a crunchy exterior.
Place bread in bowl and allow to sit for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.
Rub griddle with olive oil and pre-heat to medium-high.
Place banana bread on griddle when oil is hot.
Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Plate

As you can see from the pictures I used blueberries, goji berries and homemade nut butter but let your imagination run wild. Shredded coconut, kiwi, sliced apples. honey are all other items that would go great on top of the vegan banana bread french toast.

It’s so pretty. I can’t wait to make it this weekend! For more meal inspiration, be sure to stop by Cook Train Eat Race.

Jalapeno & Coconut Bison Meatballs

3 Replies

Uh, so this happened…

I left a pot of steaming veggies unattended to take a photo of my dinner. Four days later, our house still smells like carcinogens. Who knew a dry pot could be so volatile! I’m probably going to die soon. I also need a new pot and an iron lung. But hey! At least dinner was a good one…

Jalapeno Coconut Bison Meatballs
Yields 15 meatballs; Serve as a main dish with mixed greens and coconut lime dressing or an appetizer. (See bottom of the post for coconut lime dressing)

Preheat oven to 350F

Bake for 18-22 minutes.

Coconut Lime Dressing

1/4 cup canned coconut milk (full fat) – you want the milky stuff, not the thick, solidified cream.
zest from half a lime
salt & pepper, to taste

I love, love, LOVE bison. Have you tried it? If you like beef, you’ll go crazy for bison. I prefer its ‘gamey’ flavour. From a nutritional perspective, bison is far-superior to regular “grocery store” beef, as it’s not factory farmed or fed an unnatural diet. However, compared to grass-fed and finished beef, they’re fairly similar in micronutrients. Bison contains almost twice the amount of iron and a little extra vitamin B12. It’s also leaner, which doesn’t make it ‘healthier’ but sometimes it’s nice to have a little red meat that isn’t so heavy.

What kinds of ‘healthy’ food cravings do you experience?
Rare steaks, celery, bananas…

Two Wrongs Make A Right: Sundried Tomato & Feta Wafflewich {Grain Free}

1 Reply

I don’t think I’m some kind of super foodie/wannabe chef or anything, but I like to think I have a natural gift for making healthy food taste good without a lot of effort required. Most of the time. Grain/sugar free peanut butter cookies that won’t turn you into a crackhead? Brilliant.

Peanut butter cookies blended into a smoothie? Don’t do it! In theory, it seemed like a good idea: I had visions of a peanut butter cookie shake.

No. I nearly choked to death from a million peanut butter particles becoming lodged in my trachea and lungs.

Another fail: homemade spicy yam rolls with collard greens… which literally turned into a hot mess.

And they tasted gross.

But then I redeemed myself with a sandwich. A wafflewich, actually.

(Save this recipe card to your desktop!)

I put spicy red pepper hummus, fresh basil and spinach in my sandwich but you can use whatever you have on hand- shredded chicken would be a good addition, or even some olive tapenade and a handful of greens. If you try it, let me know what you come up with. Also, if you happen to do a weekend food prep, make up a huge batch of waffles and store them in the freezer to use throughout the week.

Any recent kitchen mishaps lately?

Court tried to use vanilla yogurt in a creamy MUSHROOM dish once. That was about five years ago, and I remind him about it on a weekly basis. It was truly the worst thing he’s ever done in our relationship.

Favorite sandwich of all time?

It’s a toss up between a classic PB&J or a Montreal Smoked Meat. Or grilled cheese.

{Grain Free} Coconut Crusted Scallops

4 Replies

A terrible assault occurred recently. On my tastebuds. I ate some really bad scallops at a restaurant. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “You live in ~~an igloo~~ Alberta, of course they were gross”; and I agree. But these were exceptionally bad. Small, chewy, wrapped in bacon and swimming in maple syrup. No. Just… no. See what I mean about Canadians and their obsession with maple syrup? IT’S IN EVERYTHING.

Normally, one would be turned off scallops for quite some time, but when I saw some fairly decent looking ones at the grocery store recently, I was sold. I needed to make amends with my tastebuds, and what better way?

{Click on the recipe card to enlarge, or save it to your desktop!}

What’s the grossest thing that’s happened to you in a restaurant?
I ordered chicken katsu at a Japanese restaurant once, and the chicken was still raw. Not pink… completely raw. But that’s not even the gross part: I was turned off from eating it and sent it back, and the restaurant still charged me for it, even when I asked why. Their answer: “Well you ordered it.” Ok?

What kinds of foods are native to your area? Bison, elk, trout and huckleberries, along with GMO canola, corn, soy and sugar. Haha… I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

6 Replies

oh.

yes.

did.

Exciting, right? Little pizzas baked in portobello mushroom caps. I wasn’t sure if they’d turn out the first time around but man, were they delicious. I love it when that happens!

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Serves 1; Ready in 30 mins from prep to finish, and that includes making a homemade pizza sauce.

Preheat oven to 375F
Drizzle a baking sheet or pan with olive oil.

Ingredients/Directions

2 portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup pizza sauce (see below for a quick homemade version)
Toppings of choice (I used chopped spinach, sliced green olives, banana peppers and goat cheddar)
Italian seasoning

Remove the stems from mushrooms and gently scrape the gills out; place mushrooms into the pan. Spoon pizza sauce into each mushroom cap, followed by the toppings and a dash of Italian seasoning.

Bake for 20-22 minutes – the edges of the mushrooms should be soft and starting to wilt.

Homemade Pizza Sauce:
To save time, prepare in a blender or mini food processor.

1 398mL can tomato sauce
1 roasted garlic clove (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
2 tbsp diced red onion
6 kalamata olives
1/4 tsp paprika
dash of Italian seasoning
salt & pepper, to taste

I need to make an anchovy version of this ASAP. WHO ELSE LIKES ANCHOVIES?

…………….

Anyone?

I have a theory that people *think* they hate anchovies but only because they’ve never actually tried them. Kind of like sushi – everyone “hates” the idea of it, but it’s insanely delicious and ~~arguably~~ definitely the best food on the planet.

Mmm, sushi.

I’m daydreaming about California poke from Foodland….

I die.

Have you ever tried poke? (It’s Hawaii’s version of a seafood salad; there’s all different varieties)

What about sushi? Love it? Or does the idea of raw fish make your tastebuds sad? (I used to get mad at one of my friends when she’d suggest going for sushi, then she’d order yam rolls. Ok, not actually mad, but I’d give her a hard time. Now I’m the one ordering yam rolls – I’ve changed my ways.)

Also, have you ever shopped at Foodland? BEST STORE EVER. Well, most of them, anyway… The Waimea (Big Island) and Princeville (Kauai) locations are awesome!

Ginger Sriracha Chicken Nori Rolls

1 Reply

I would like to introduce you to my new best friend:

I made three variations of nori hand rolls for lunch this past week: salmon-avocado, broiled tofu and ginger sriracha chicken.

I’m in love.

Ginger Sriracha Chicken Nori Rolls
For when you need a delicious lunch or power snack… immediately. I had this ready in about 5 minutes.
Serves 1

Ingredients/Directions

4 nori sheets
1 cup shredded chicken (approximately half a large breast)
2 romaine leaves
1 small carrot, grated or julienned
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
water + a cooking brush, for nori

Prep the veggies and set aside. Mix the chicken, ginger, mayo and sriracha together.

Prepare the nori sheets: layer 2 sheets and moisten with a just enough water to allow them to be rolled. (If they get too wet, pat dry) Place the lettuce, carrot and chicken in the center, tuck the bottom in and roll like a burrito.

Optional: tamari, for dipping.. or more sriracha. I *may* have squirted a dollop on with each bite…
I am a hot sauce junkie.

Do you like sushi?

Have you ever tried making it at home? Occasionally, Court and I will go and buy all the supplies for homemade maki, but it’s the same price as going out.

Quinoa & Lentil Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Halloween Pumpkin Fudge

2 Replies

The best part about this recipe? It doesn’t require the use of a stove, pots, pans and requires minimal kitchen cleanup.

Ingredients/Directions

2 heaping cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil (solid)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and blend until creamy. You will have to stop and scrape the sides a few times (and take a few sample dips of course), but it should take approximately 5 minutes until the coconut begins to melt into butter.

Spoon into a small plastic ziploc container, and press firmly and evenly. Refrigerate for one hour before serving, and store in the fridge.

Of possible recipe interest:

Salted Caramel Apples
Halloween Brown Rice Krispie Squares
Pumpkin Bars – gluten free & vegan

Tell me…
What was your most memorable Halloween costume?

Growing up, what was your favorite Halloween candy? Current favorite?

One of my favorite costumes of all time is when Court dressed up like his Dad, then went ‘trick or treating’ to his Moms house. (They’re divorced.) It sounds twisted, but… that’s our sense of humor and Courts Mom appreciated it. I think… hope….~~she now hates us.~~

Candy: I loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Caramilk, Mars… or anything that wasn’t an Oh Henry or Glossette peanuts.

Court’s Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

1 Reply

Court and I are going to serve this dish in our food truck. In sandwich form. We’re not really opening a food truck, but it’s a fun game we play whenever we make an exceptionally good meal. Unmarried/single friends, this is what you have to look forward to.

So far, we’ve decided our truck is going to be a mish-mash of sandwiches (Court’s specialty) and burrito bowls/tacos (my specialty). With donut holes, waffles and organic ice cream for dessert. More importantly, the location: our truck is going to be somewhere warm and tropical – like Hawaii. I predict we’re going to become multi-billionaires. Any day now.

Court’s Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts – For Two
Ingredients/Directions

Preheat oven to 375F
Lightly coat a baking dish with olive oil

2 chicken breasts, butterflied
1/2-3/4 cup broccolini
1/4 cup pesto
1/2 cup soft goat cheese
1/2 cup almonds, crushed in a food processor
1 tomato, sliced

Prepare the chicken breasts: pat dry and butterfly both breasts. (Don’t skip the ‘flattening’ step!)

Mix the pesto, goat cheese and half the crushed almonds together. Spread goat cheese/pesto mixture evenly along one side of the breast, followed by the broccolini.

Now, for the slightly tricky part. Pretend the chicken breast is a burrito – tuck and roll! Twine works well to tie them together, especially if the breasts are small or oddly shaped.

Top the breasts with sliced tomatoes, the remainder of the crushed almonds, salt & pepper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. (Time will vary depending on the size of the breasts)

Pair with a side garden salad and a glass of your favorite wine. This meal is one of my favorite dishes, and it’s one of our go-to recipes when we have dinner guests. If we serve it to you, it means we love you.

Do you have a go-to recipe that you serve to your guests?

Living Mint Green

a holistic living blog

Tag Archives: gluten free

Grain-Free Banana Nut Bread

Guest Recipe: Banana Bread French Toast {Vegan}

Jalapeno & Coconut Bison Meatballs

Two Wrongs Make A Right: Sundried Tomato & Feta Wafflewich {Grain Free}

{Grain Free} Coconut Crusted Scallops

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Ginger Sriracha Chicken Nori Rolls

Quinoa & Lentil Stuffed Buttercup Squash

Halloween Pumpkin Fudge

Court’s Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

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