Recipe, Snack
If there’s one thing this gluten-free {and dairy free and soy free and egg free} trial has taught me is that I’m a carb girl. And a snack girl. Ok, that’s two things.

But really, I didn’t need a lack of gluten to tell me those things. I’m anti-low-carb diet. Especially when it comes to my own diet. I thrive on carbs. Good, whole grain, fiber-filled, nutrient-packed carbs.
There’s no doubt I’m a snacker. The whole graze-all-day thing doesn’t work for everyone {although it’s a great strategy for some} but it’s without a doubt what keeps me going.
Put those two things together {carbs + snacking} and I NEED baked goods at my disposal at all times. It’s a non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned. Making sure they’re healthy {ish} baked goods is the key.

Tearing me away from my bags of whole wheat and spelt flour put a tiny hiccup in my snacking requirements, but only for a minute.
I finally branched out and decided to play around with some non-gluten-containing flours and starches like sorghum and tapioca. {Others include brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, etc.}
I first tried them in my coconut zucchini carrot muffins. I replaced the whole wheat flour with a blend of sorghum, tapioca starch, cornstarch, and guar gum. They were ok. Edible but not delicious. More a pure means of getting calories in, not necessarily a great gustatory experience.
Fast forward to this weekend. The three of us attending a going-away/engagement dinner for some friends, where among other great eats, were homemade treats of cake and brownies. Of course on the drive home all I could think about were those goodies. I had to have baked treats. Immediately.
So after putting the little one down for bed, I scrambled around in the kitchen and started tossing gluten-less ingredients all over the place. I made a mess. And a masterpiece.

Banana bread. The best banana bread I’ve ever made. I’ve struggled before to make a whole wheat, vegan banana bread that lives up to the Joy of Cooking banana bread I grew up on, and it always fell just short of my expectations. Well, not anymore.

Regardless of being gluten, dairy, and egg free, this is the best banana bread I’ve eaten. Ever. I really, really, really hope it wasn’t a fluke and I’ll be able to recreate it. I also hope my standards aren’t already lowered after a failed batch of muffins.

Hopefully in my haste to devour a sweet treat I got my portions and measurements right for the recipe. Considering this loaf is already long gone, I’ll be re-testing the recipe soon. I mean, it’s my duty to you, right? 

by with a Side of Sneakers
- 2/3 c sorghum flour
- 2/3 c tapioca starch
- 1/3 c buckwheat flour
- 1/3 t guar gum
- (can also use 1.5 cups whole wheat or AP flour)
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/2 c granulated sugar or stevia baking blend
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 1/2 t baking powder {gf}
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t allspice
- 1/8 t ground cloves
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/3 c coconut or olive oil
- 1/2 c non-dairy, gluten free chocolate chips (or regular)
Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
Thoroughly mash bananas in separate bowl. Whisk in oil & vanilla.
Mix wet & dry ingredients.
Stir in spices & chocolate chips.
Pour into loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, then remove from pan to finish cooling completely.
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Why banana bomb bread? Because it’s da bomb. I have no apologies for bring back that horrible early 90s phrase. It just seems appropriate.
So, so, so good heated up and slathered with peanut butter. Mmm. Protein + carb + delicious = perfect.

Good thing there are 3 bananas in this loaf of bread- at least I was helping meet my fruit quota of the day, right?

Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
Recipe
There’s simply nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than an icy cold, tropical smoothie.
It may be too hot and humid to want to eat, but it’s never to hot for an ice cold drink. Especially of the banana peach variety.

Summer Sunrise Tropical Smoothie
1 frozen banana
1 small peach
juice from 1 orange
1/4-1/2 cup ZICO Pina Tropicale coconut water
I suggest slicing up some bananas and popping them in the freezer. Then when it’s smoothie time, you have a delicious, creamy, cold base waiting for you. If you don’t have frozen bananas, through in a few ice cubes- though it won’t be as thick and creamy.

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend away until smooth.
Banana + coconut water? Talk about a potassium powerhouse.

Couldn’t possibly be more simple. Yet delicious. I will likely be making this 2,394 times this summer. At least.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for the first wakeboarding run of the summer. Fingers crossed my knee can hold out this year!
Dinner
A package was waiting for me on the door step when I got home yesterday:
My iHerb order! I figured out during my last trip to Whole Foods that some of the ingredients I wanted were actually cheaper on iHerb, so I went ahead and placed an order.

That meant I immediately had to start experimenting!
I also had some old blackified bananas, which only means one thing…

Banana bread time!!!
My mom and I have baked banana bread together for as long as I can remember (we had a lot of bananas go bad ;)). We always used the recipe from the Fanny Farmer cookbook, which is fabulous, but I thought it was time to try something new.
I’m totally one for experimenting with recipes while cooking; however experimenting with baking is a no-no for me. Until today!
Banana Bread
1 c spelt flour
1/3 c buckwheat flour
2/3 c all purpose flour
3 T flax seed
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1/4 c agave nectar
1/4 c coconut oil
1 T molasses
1/4 cup homemade applesauce (see below)
2 very ripe bananas

Combine dry ingredients in bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir to combine. You may need to get your hands in there and get a lil dirty. I promise it’ll come together. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray. Place dough in pan, form loaf shape. Top with extra flax seed and crushed walnuts. (Optional). Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Toothpick should come out clean.

For homemade applesauce:
Cut Granny Smith apples into small chunks. Squirt with agave nectar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Spread out on sheet pan and roast 30-35 minutes 325 degrees, stirring halfway through. Let cool; puree in food processor.

It seems like every time I get this food processor sucker cleaned up and put away, I pull it out again!

The possibilities for banana are endless: chocolate chips, walnuts, etc.
I was pretty pleased how the banana bread turned out! Especially for my first stint with not following a recipe. It can use some tweaking, but I’m definitely enjoying it 🙂 I’d probably bake it a few minutes less- the bottom’s just borderline dry. Can’t wait til I have some more black ‘naners. 🙂
At one point I looked down at my hand and saw I was bleeding profusely. My thoughts were in slow motion as I thought “when did I cut myself”…”why doesn’t it hurt”…”why’s it so….red?”
Yeaaa that’s when I realized the red food coloring spilled in the cabinet.
That was fun to clean up.
Dinner
The husband really wanted to go out to dinner tonight, so we went to Poblano’s for some authentic Mexican.
I got the veggie quesadilla with black beans on the side. Yum! SO much food though.


Then I came home and had a slice of that banana bread I’d been smelling all day!

By the way, I finally decided I needed to be realistic- there was no way I was going to get all that reading done. I did as much as I could, then bit the bullet and took the test for the conference. Fingers crossed!!
Are you watching the Oscars tonight? For the red carpet? For th
e hosting? For the winners? I’m pretty sure the only movie I’ve even seen that’s nominated is The Blind Side.