Banana Flour Makes Paleo, Gluten Free Baking Fluffy Again

I’m not a strict “anything” when it comes to my diet. I do lean towards a vegan, paleo diet, but man, nothing beats those mexican stand chicken tacos sometimes. Balance is what I say. Sometimes I miss pancakes on a lazy day. Yes, there are buckwheat and other “healthy” variations of pancakes. The holidays makes me reminisce about being young, and long for those fluffy pancakes you can’t get with buckwheat.

I was looking for some moringa, when banana flour caught my eye in the raw foods section. The label said paleo and gluten free substitute for cooking and baking. In my mind’s eye, all I saw were those fluffy pancakes on a Sunday morning. Could it be possible?

My tastebud’s tell you yes. Fluffy, gluten free, paleo pancakes can be yours with banana flour. The magic of banana flour comes thanks to green bananas. At this stage they haven’t fully developed their sugar content, and have a limited taste. Meaning you won’t taste banana when after you’re done cooking or baking.

Being the health nerd I am, was texture the only good thing about this flour? Yes, it’s gluten free and paleo friendly for those days you’re craving carbs, but what other benefits does banana flour have? One serving contains 9% potassium, 8% total carbohydrates, and 8% dietary fiber of your daily nutrition. The very cool thing about banana flour is it’s resistant starch properties. 

The what you say? My exact thoughts. 

Resistant Starch is any starch or starch product that cannot be digested or absorbed within the upper digestive tract. It passes through the stomach unchanged by digestive enzymes. Without absorption or digestion taking place in the stomach and small intestines, RS2 moves into the large intestines and colon. 

RS2 is a good substrate for fermentation to increase fatty acid concentration and lower the pH levels in the bowel, guarding against DNA and cell damage. Fermentation can only take place in the absence of oxygen. Without that oxygen present, fermentation becomes a primary means of energy production. 

RS2 is also a prebiotic which promotes the growth of “good” bacteria in the gut. 70% of our immune cells reside in the gut and RS2 maintains healthy gut flora and feeds the cells.

What does this mean in layman’s terms? It keeps everything moving inside of your body, and helps you lose weight. I’ve talked about the importance of probiotics before, honestly, I cannot stress them enough. We don’t like talking about things we do in first thing in the morning, but having a healthy gut is what regulates our body. It keeps us healthy, our skin glows, and helps us maintain a healthy weight.

Kefir is a probiotic.  Raw coconut vinegar and banana flour are prebiotic foods. Meaning you’re ingesting good for you bacteria or you’re consuming foods which will have a chemical reaction inside your gut. They’ll end up growing good bacteria in your stomach. 

It sounds like a science experiment. When you start thinking about how consumed foods work inside of you, you start thinking more about what you put inside of your machine. How will they breakdown? How do they work in conjunction with our internal organs? If we can make it tasty while we’re being healthy, even be better.

Banana flour isn’t for pancakes only. Use it anywhere you would use wheat or unbleached flour. Please note though, because of the high starch content in banana flour use less flour than required in your everyday recipes. Rule of thumb is to use 30% less Banana Flour than suggested flour.

Don’t feel like cooking, baking, and all that jazz, use it in your everyday smoothie. Your gut will thank you. Let me know what kind of ideas you come up for the holidays. If you’re craving those fluffy paleo, gluten free, Sunday pancakes try this recipe. It’s fun converting your family to a healthier lifestyle during the holidays. 

Perfectly Paleo Pancakes

• ½ cup banana flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ teapoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar or honey
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• Place all ingredients in a hi-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Let batter settle for a couple of minutes.  Pour batter onto a medium-hot skillet and fry in a bit of melted butter or coconut oil until golden brown and fluffy. Flip and cook the second side until golden brown, about 40-60 seconds. Serve with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

Blackberry Honey-Butter Syrup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups blackberries

• In a small skillet, heat butter, honey and vanilla together until bubbling. Remove from heat, toss in blackberries. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes before drizzling over pancakes.

Breakfast Salads: Try Eating Your Veggies Again

Some of the hardest things during the cold weather? Exercising, drinking water, and finding ways to eat greens when all you want is something warm in your stomach. Here’s a crazy idea for you, how about eating a salad for breakfast?

To out there? Come on. You gotta mix up your breakfast groove. Your breakfast smoothie was the jam during those months when the weather was in the 90s before 8 a.m. Now though, it’s a lil tough to get excited for a cold morning drink when you don’t even want to lift the covers off. Instead of drinking your morning energy, stick a fork in it.

I thought the idea was a lil out there, but once I tried it, I was winter hooked. Juicing is seriously a pain in the you know what. So many veggies needed. The constant grocery shopping, and don’t get me started on the juicer cleaning. I started taking my greens in powder form because I just couldn’t deal anymore.

The breakfast salad is the answer my friends. We’re just rushing around so much. Work, errands, and finding ways to squeeze in a healthy lifestyle. Multi task your snacks and meals. The worst is filling your kitchen with fresh, healthy foods, and opening up the fridge to discover those half used bell peppers you meant to finish. 

Why waste food when you can make yesterday’s quinoa part of your breakfast salad along with your kale, bell peppers, and the am ingredient, an egg. These are all my random suggestions. It is the beauty of a breakfast salad. Take your carrots you love dipping into your hummus. Have them for breakfast. You can see where I’m going with this. 

The breakfast salad will make your life easier, help you avoid eating the exact same leftovers the next day, and my favorite, shake up your winter morning. Enough of the gab, looking for some inspiration to motivate while you’re grocery? Look at some of these breakfast salads. Tell me you can’t wait to eat your veggies instead of juicing them.

Eggs Benedict

Add 1 tsp olive oil to a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Sauté 8 asparagus stalks cut into 1-inch pieces and 3 oz diced Canadian bacon until asparagus is bright green, about 3 minutes. Whisk together 4 tsp olive oil and 2 tsp each white balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard, and season with pepper and kosher salt to taste. In a bowl, combine asparagus, Canadian bacon, 1 thinly sliced small shallot, and 5 cups curly endive, torn into bite-size pieces. Toss with dressing. Top each serving with 1 poached egg and cracked pepper. Serve with an English muffin, if desired.

Lox on a Bagel

In a blender or food processor, combine 3 Tbsp Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp feta cheese, 1/4 cup low-fat milk, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Process until smooth. In a bowl, toss together 5 cups spring mix; 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced; 3 oz smoked salmon cut into 1/2-inch ribbons; and 1/2 cup broccoli sprouts. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with a few red onion slices, 1 tsp each sesame and poppy seeds, 2 tsp capers, and 1/2 oz bagel chips.

Quinoa Fruit Salad

Using a strainer, rinse 1 cup quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa, 2 cups water, and pinch of salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Let quinoa cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, whisk the juice of 1 large lime, 3 tablespoons honey, and 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint together until combined. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, blueberries, strawberries, and mango. Pour honey lime dressing over the fruit salad and mix until well combined. 

Breakfast veggies are served folks. Eat up before the madness of the holidays starts. 

Healthy Holiday Dessert Food Swaps and Recipes

The air is cool, the sales bins of CVS are full of Halloween candy, and the holiday season is gearing up. Thanksgiving will be here in a blink of an eye. Every year the same overheard conversations about holiday weight gain. The holidays are meant to been fun, and spent enjoying the days with our loved ones. The key is finding balance when family time is spent eating.

One area where you can really make some conscious choices are the desert table. Pie crusts full of shortening. Chocolate cakes loaded with refined sugars. Taste delicious, but when you become a dessert eating zombie, not what your heart needs after eating those yummy, buttery potatoes. What if I said you can swap in some health, and keep those holiday traditions alive?

It’s totally possible. Have you ever tried black beans instead flour? This is an excellent substitute when making holiday brownies. Use black bean puree instead of flour, and fill your loved ones with healthy protein instead. You can also pull a fast one ,and use tofu in your pecan pie. Yes, tofu to make a healthy vegan maple pecan pie. This means no butter, no eggs, no corn syrup, no processed white sugar.

There’s no reason to eat unhealthy during holiday feasting. It really comes down to how we make our foods. The dessert table gets loaded down with refined sugars, syrups, and shortenings when it doesn’t have to be so. It’s a matter of reenvisioning what our holiday traditions are about.

I can’t take credit for all these food swaps and recipes, but I wanted to show you there’s a world of possibilities with some experimentation. There’s nothing wrong with grandma’s infamous peach cobbler. Maybe if she knew all the health benefits of chia seeds, she also would have used them instead of eggs. Don’t even get me started on the pumpkin pie made with garbanzo beans. If I have to be honest, as a kid, I used to be able to scarf down a whole one by myself. Please don’t judge me.

Save this healthy baking substitutions jpg to your photo library or google drive, and see what creativity this inspires. Cheers to a healthy and happy holiday. Hope your family enjoys these recipes as much as mine did. They didn’t even know they were eating vegan sometimes, but we’ll keep that our little secret.

Flourless Black Bean Avocado Brownies {Vegan and Gluten Free}

• 1 large flax egg
• 1 - 15oz can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium to large ripe avocado
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan.
• Place flax egg, black bean, avocado, vanilla, and brown sugar and process in a food processor until smooth. Add in cocoa powder, coconut oil, baking soda, and baking powder and process again until smooth. Batter will be thick. If batter is way too thick and won't process, you can add in a tablespoon or two of almond milk. Fold in chocolate chip or sprinkle onto batter then transfer to prepared pan and use a spatula to spread evenly to sides. Sprinkle top of batter with 2 tablespoons of remaining chocolate chips.
• Bake for 22-30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out somewhat clean.

You may be able to sub the brown sugar for honey, agave or maple syrup. Reduce to 1/3 cup.

Healthy Vegan Maple Pecan Pie

• 6oz extra firm tofu, drained
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla soymilk, cold
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 tbs brown rice flour (other flours may work)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup granulated sweetener (1/4c sucanat, the rest erythritol)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp molasses
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• one whole grain pie crust, cold
• pecans, for topping (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• In a blender or food processor, puree the tofu, soymilk, vanilla paste, brown rice flour and salt. Pour all of it into a bowl and set aside.
• In a small bowl, add the coconut oil and set aside.
• In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the granulated sweetener, maple syrup and molasses. Whisk occasionally for about 10-15 minutes (sugars should completely dissolve). Let the mixture bubble/boil lightly for ~30 seconds, remove from heat and whisk in the coconut oil. Whisk in the tofu mixture, then stir in the chopped pecans.
• Put the cold pie crust onto a cookie sheet and pour the filling inside. Decorate with pecans if you like, then bake for about an hour, until edges and pecans are a rich dark brown color (but not burnt!) and filling bubbles lightly. Let cool on a wire cooling rack.

Peach Cobbler Recipe

• 3 cups peaches, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups almond flour
• ¼ cups coconut flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ¾ cup honey
• ½ cup grass fed butter, softened or ghee
• 2-3 drops almond extract
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 9 tbsp warm water
• 1 tbsp coconut vinegar

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease an 8x8 pan with coconut oil
• Pour peaches into the pan
• Mix the almond flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl
• In a separate bowl, mix the butter, honey and extract
• Combine both mixtures.
• In a separate small bowl, combine the chia and hot water and allow to sit and thicken for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add to other mixture.
• Once well combined, add vinegar and stir.
• Pour batter onto peaches and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie

• 1 cup garbanzo beans aka chickpeas
• 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup of almond milk, unsweetened vanilla (or milk of choice)
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder optional
• 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 egg white (or flaxseed egg)
• 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (may substitute with cinnamon)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• graham crackers crust

topping optional for sweetness:

• 1 egg white
• 2 wedges the laughing cow light swiss
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp chocolate chips

• Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
• In food processor combine all ‘filling’ ingredients. Blend until smooth. Note: The garbanzo beans will need some liquid to blend well.
• Pour into crust
• Combine topping ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor. Blend well until smooth. Drizzle on top for a marble appearance. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on oven. 
• Let cool. For best results, cool for several hours until room temperature.