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Sugar Bananas has moved! To find the latest, visit www.SugarBananas.com
Sugar Bananas has moved! To find the latest, visit www.SugarBananas.com
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts

6/26/15

Coconut Passion Fruit Angel Cake


Coconut.  It's everywhere.  I've become a huge fan of using coconut in cookies, cakes, soups, snacks, sauces, you name it.  I even use it to make the best deodorant I've ever used.  At least a can or two of coconut milk and a tub of coconut oil end up in my grocery cart each week.

I thought I had tried every form of coconut until I came across coconut flour on Nuts.com.  I wanted to find a way to turn a baked treat into something healthier using this flour.
I read up on the nutritional profile and was very pleased.  Coconut flour is made from dried coconut meat so it's loaded with protein and fiber.  So, substituting coconut flour for all purpose flour in baked goods lowers the glycemic index or "sugar load".  You'll feel fuller longer and your pancreas will thank you.

Coconut flour
  • contains about 1/3 less carbs and a whopping 10x more fiber than all purpose flour.
  • is grain and gluten free.
  • has a granular, yet light and airy texture.
  • is not just for baking.  It can be added to sauces and smoothies for a nutritional boost.
Since it's summer and we're still having flashbacks to our mini vacation to sunny Florida, I'm all about the tropical flavors lately.  I brainstormed healthy desserts with my sweet, new sister-in-law.  She's an endless source of creative ideas.

Passionfruit is a perfect pair for coconut so an angel food cake made with coconut flour and covered in a sweet passionfruit syrup sounded perfect.  I can almost hear the waves.
This cake comes together fairly quickly so it's a good idea to have all of the ingredients measured and waiting for you.  

I lucked out and found this flute pan with a removable base at Home Goods.  Lifesaver!  No more gluing cakes back together!  If you don't have one, it's a wonderful investment in your sanity when it comes to baking.

Be ready for a monster-sized batter.  This almost overflowed out of my mixer.  I'm sure I could have whipped even more but it would have been on the counter.  


After whipping until stiff peaks form, fold in the flour mixture and gently spoon it into the pan to maintain as much air as possible in the batter.

Then comes the yummy part.  Drizzle sweetened passionfruit puree on the batter. I found this passionfruit pulp in the freezer section at the grocery store.  It's great for smoothies too.  

Make sure to save some for topping when you serve the cake.

It's delicious and you'd never know it's packed with fiber and protein.  One slice and you're full!

Passionfruit Angel Food Cake made with Coconut Flour
(Gluten Free)

20 egg whites
1 C coconut flour
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1T cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 T vanilla extract (or, 1 tsp of orange extract)
1 1/4 cup sugar
Sweetened passionfruit puree

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour and confectioner's sugar.  
Whip egg whites in mixer bowl with cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.  Add sugar and continue beating the eggs on the highest speed until stiff peaks form, another 3 minutes.  

Fold egg whites into flour mixture gently, maintaining the air pockets.  Fold just until combined and then gently transfer mixture to an ungreased angel food tube pan.  Lightly swirl dollops of sweetened passionfruit puree (recipe below) on top of batter.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes and then use a knife to loosen the cake from the edges and either invert the pan or pull the pan center from the pan base and continue to cool.  Serve with more sweetened passionfruit puree and enjoy!

Sweetened Passionfruit Puree

1 C passionfruit pulp, defrosted
1 C sugar 

In a medium sized pot, boil puree and sugar until reduced to 1/2 cup.  Let cool.


To check out more nutritious facts and ways to incorporate coconut flour into your diet, visit the coconut flour page from Nuts.com.

9/28/11

Well, Butter My Crumpet!


Sugar Bananas has moved!  Click here for this post on the new and improved www.SugarBananas.com

9/9/11

Raw Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad

This sweet, summery salad is juicy and so flavorful - just delicious on top of some baby spinach.

My good friend tried an intriguing diet this summer.  She saw the documentary, "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" about a man on a mission to lose a considerable amount of weight to reverse his obesity-related symptoms. He lost 100 lbs in eight weeks, eating a raw, fruits and vegetables-only diet.  Most of his meals came from juicing.  After the weight loss, his auto-immune disorder disappeared and he felt great.

(

I found this little tool for hulling strawberries.  
If you're working with lots of strawberries, it's a big help!)

Sooooo, my friend decided to go on a lighter version of his diet.  She ate only fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts for three weeks.  She juiced most of her meals and found new ways to prepare dinners (lots of salads).

love LOVE my new citrus juicer!

Right in the middle of her diet, she was supposed to come on over to our house for a play date.  She offered to bring her own lunch and I said, "No!".  She didn't want to inconvenience me by requiring a raw lunch.  I was up for the challenge and came up with this crazy delicious lunch (with no specific measurements).

LIME juice mmm!

If your avocado looks like mush after trying to remove the seed,
here's an easier way to SEED AN AVOCADO:



Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad
2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, and chopped
2 firm avocados, chopped
2 mangos, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Mix all of these goodies together in a large bowl and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours.  When you're ready to serve, eat it as is or place a few scoops of the fruit salad on top of some salad greens and top with walnuts and balsamic dressing (and hunks of goat cheese if you're feeling naughty!).


This is one of my favorite summer lunches now.  I'm glad she inspired me to think raw.  On a side note, my friend lost 15 lbs in three weeks.  Food tastes so much better to her now.  She's slowly added back whole grains and some small amounts of meat.  She said the three weeks of detox was exactly the boost she needed to change the way she eats and thinks about food.  Great job, girlfriend!

And, here's another way I salad:

2/10/11

Warm Belly

We had a snow day and the kiddos were so restless by 9am.  I figured a nice, warm bowl of oatmeal would settle them down a little.  Aside from the sweets I added, they did actually calm down a bit.  Something about a full, warm belly makes anyone relax a bit.


I added a scoop of dried cherries, spoonful of chocolate chips, and topped it off with a splash of cream.  It looked so good I had to try some.  Uh, hello!  Delicious!  


Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal

I'd say it was a success!

This is my otherwise picky eater.



2/6/11

Super Chewy Donuts - Sunday Favorite



One of the things I miss most about Maryland is the FOOD!  Don't get me wrong - Texas definitely delivers when it comes to good food as well.  It's just a different kind of food I miss.  Above all, the crabs!  Second to that is the delicious Italian food found all over Baltimore.  My in-laws are amazing enough to overnight Maryland crabcakes to us in a FedEx ice-packed cooler.  As far as Italian donuts?  I make my own - and they're JUST as good as I remember in Maryland.


It's a very simple recipe.  I found a basic pizza dough recipe and instead of covering it with sauce and cheese, I deep fry hunks of the dough and roll it in sugar.  Oh sweet heavens!  These are the chewiest, most delicious donut! 


Here's what you need:




Pizza Dough:
(from Fleishman's Best-Ever Breads Cookbook)
3-3.5 C Flour
1 Pkg Active Dry Yeast
3/4 tsp Salt
1 C warm water
2 T Olive Oil

Place 1/4 cup of the warm water in a large warm bowl.  Sprinkle in the yeast; stir until dissolved.  Add remaining water, salt, oil, and 2 cups of flour; stir well.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. 

Knead on a lightly floured surface (or in a mixer with the dough attachment) until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 min.  Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 min. 

To make donuts:

Measure about 1/2 cup of sugar into a shallow bowl.  Line a large plate with several paper towels. 

Fill a saucepan with 3-4" of Canola oil.  Using a frying/candy thermometer, heat the oil to 370 degrees.


While the oil is heating, cut and roll the dough into small balls, about the size of a large gumball.  When the oil is ready, use a metal slotted spoon (or in my case, metal tongs) to place the dough into the oil. 




Once the dough is deep golden brown, remove it from the oil and place it on a paper towel.  Quickly toss the dough in the bowl of sugar and ENJOY!



1/31/11

Cookie "Wings"

I just love things like this...


Cookies that hang onto your mug.
Just darling!


Just roll, cut, bake,

and add them to a mug of your favorite drink.

This is great for a brunch party or light dessert.

Design3000

I checked Amazon and couldn't find them. 
 ...and something about typing "Angel Wings Cutter" into the search field just feels wrong.

I did find similar cutters for making cookies to hang from your mug. Merry Christmas!








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