Sugar Bananas has moved! Click here for this post on the new and improved www.SugarBananas.com
Showing posts with label Natural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natural. Show all posts
1/13/16
Homemade Chocolate Orange Lip Balm
Labels:
Chocolate,
Gifts,
Kids,
Kitchen,
Natural,
Recipe,
relaxation,
Time Saver,
Tip
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.
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.
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.
6/5/15
9/28/11
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.
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).
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).
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:
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. 
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:
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:
8/27/11
Easier Way to Seed an Avocado
The avocado seed can be such a pain to remove. Then, once it's out, I feel bad for just throwing it away. I recently found an easy seed removal technique AND a way to preserve it - even how to use it in my decor as a house plant.
For the longest time, I've tried to dig the seed out with a spoon. It's messy and frustrating. One night I was watching Food Network before bed (bad idea if you're watching your weight!) and saw Giada cut and seed an avocado in seconds. First, she cut it in half and then here's what she did...
It was like a karate chop with a large knife, a twist, and it popped out with ease. I love how it left the flesh in tact.
Here's another way to seed an avocado, cutting it into quarters.
What to do with that seed?
Check out avocado.org for more info about growing an avocado tree or just training it as a house plant.
There are a lot of avocado gadgets available - who knew?
I need to get one of these avocado slicers for the next step.
...and then there's the avocado storage...
I recently made a fresh summery salad recipe using avocados. It's a new favorite around here.
Labels:
Cooking,
Dinner,
Healthy Eating,
Kitchen,
Natural,
Side Dish,
Snack,
Time Saver,
Tip
11/22/10
11/17/10
10/26/10
10/24/10
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Since Halloween is literally right around the corner, here is a repost of one of my favorite pumpkin recipes. I suggest doubling this recipe since it's so yummy. Enjoy!
I've been trying to use up some ingredients in my pantry. I found some pumpkin and coconut and thought, "there has to be something I can do with both of these". It turns out - there is! I found this great recipe for pumpkin coconut muffins. The sugar on top was my idea (and ended up being just what the muffins needed). There is also plenty of other good stuff inside ...wheat germ, flax, and more! These were a HUGE hit around here. So much so that by the time I got my camera to take a picture of the muffins, they were all gone. It's a good thing there was an 8x8 pan in the oven no one knew about yet.
I just had some for breakfast this morning and it was so delicious!
Click HERE for the recipe on Allison Cafe's blog.
I've been trying to use up some ingredients in my pantry. I found some pumpkin and coconut and thought, "there has to be something I can do with both of these". It turns out - there is! I found this great recipe for pumpkin coconut muffins. The sugar on top was my idea (and ended up being just what the muffins needed). There is also plenty of other good stuff inside ...wheat germ, flax, and more! These were a HUGE hit around here. So much so that by the time I got my camera to take a picture of the muffins, they were all gone. It's a good thing there was an 8x8 pan in the oven no one knew about yet.
I just had some for breakfast this morning and it was so delicious!
Click HERE for the recipe on Allison Cafe's blog.
8/19/10
Local Honey for My Honey
My MIL has been telling me to get some local raw honey for my honey. He has nasty allergies and there are claims that local honey is the best medicine for this problem. I looked into this claim and found there are no official studies for proof. There was an unofficial study conducted that found allergy sufferers to have far less symptoms after six weeks of consuming two teaspoons of local honey daily. Here is a link to Discovery Health coverage of
Honey Locator is a website to help you find honey in your area. (The theory suggest local honey helps allergy sufferers as the bees frequent local flowers). Either way, it's neat to check out all of the neat honey and honey-related products offered across the U.S. Most of the products make great gifts, too.
The jury is still out on how well honey cures allergies. Next Spring will be the true test!
7/19/10
Coconut, Pumpkin, and Chocolate Chips!
I've been trying to use up some ingredients in my pantry. I found some pumpkin and coconut and thought, "there has to be something I can do with both of these". It turns out - there is! I found this great recipe for pumpkin coconut muffins. The sugar on top was my idea (and ended up being just what the muffins needed). There is also plenty of other good stuff inside ...wheat germ, flax, and more! These were a HUGE hit around here. So much so that by the time I got my camera to take a picture of the muffins, they were all gone. It's a good thing there was an 8x8 pan in the oven no one knew about yet.
I just had some for breakfast this morning and it was so delicious!
Click HERE for the recipe on Allison Cafe's blog.
6/25/10
WW Banana Bread with Wheat Germ
Sugar Bananas has moved! Click here for this post on the new and improved www.SugarBananas.com
4/23/10
4/19/10
4/12/10
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