Sugar Bananas: Tip

Showing posts with label Tip. Show all posts

1/13/16

Homemade Chocolate Orange Lip Balm

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

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.

Removable Base Fluted Pan

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.

6/25/15

Buns Buns Buns

I've been growing my hair out for about a year. Actually, that really means I haven't gone to the hair salon in that amount of time. I seriously need to get there ASAP.

Funny how that happens. Before kids, I went to get a cut and highlights every three or so months. After having kids, a salon trip every few weeks is a comical idea.

In the mean time, it's becoming such a chore to style hair that's way past my shoulders.
To go from wet, shower hair to looking acceptable, is taking for-ev-er.

The ends need to be cut so it takes quite a bit of heat styling to make them look smooth.

Since it's summer, I've just been pulling it into a pony tail. It's fine but looks very much like one of those moms in desperate need of a makeover on the Today Show.

I found this bun tool and thought it was worth a try.

Remington Perfect Bun

Given that it was only a few dollars, I didn't have high hopes for it to hold all day.
I was wrong.
SO WRONG.
This this has become my favorite hair tool in my 20+ years of styling my hair. Seriously. It's like a dream. I am done in literally 30 seconds and my hair looks like I spent time actually concerned about my appearance.

A huge bonus for me is it actually stays in all day. After it's in, I don't even have to touch it until I take it out. No touch ups. And, when I do take it out, my hair is full and wavy from being rolled inside.

They sell them for blondes or brunettes and also have a size for girls.
Here's how simple:

Remington

I can't believe I never knew about this before!

11/2/11

Please Clean Deep Inside Your Dryer Vent NOW!

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

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.

Raw Strawberry Avocado Mango Salad

8/12/11

Ikea/Target Picture Facelift

This picture has been in my closet for-ev-er and I decided I was either going to trash it or doctor it a bit. I found a few bottles of acryllic paint at Walmart and thought I'd have a go at painting over all of the DARK areas. I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought this deeply saddening print. It looks like it belongs in an pamphlet titled, "Are you Depressed?" Blegh!

I couldn't find my good brushes but I did find a kiddie water color paintbrush that worked just fine.

So, it was pretty simple - I sprayed the frame with white Rustoleum spray paint and then went to town with my white and blue acryllic paint just adding more petals. A little here, a little there. Then, I ended up with a huge white blob - not worried about it too much. Ultimately it looks WAY better than before. It may end up in my bathroom - or a pamphlet. :)

It's kind of fun to attack my prints with paint.

7/30/11

How To Make Sun Tea

A nice, cold glass of iced tea on a hot day is just so refreshing! Here in Texas, we've had many 100+ degree days in a row. It's getting out of hand - and there's no end in the 10 day forecast. It's times like this I like to make sun tea (for two reasons).

#1. It doesn't involve heating the kitchen!
#2: It has a great flavor.

The tea isn't going to boil so it won't be killing bacteria. So, make sure to start off with a very clean pitcher AND only keep the tea around for a day or two.

2.5 quart glass pitcher

Pick your favorite tea.

I'm a Lipton child.

It's what my momma always made.

I use 8-10 teabags depending on how much caffeine I ~~need~~ want that day.

Fill the jar with filtered water (for the best flavor) and drop in the bags.

Move the tea to a sunny spot. I put my pitcher on my back porch in direct sun for over 2 hours. It can stay and brew longer. The sun does all of the work. Just make sure the pitcher is sealed (bugs like tea, too).

After it's done sunbathing, add some sugar already!

Chill and serve.

I like my tea SA-WEET. Hello, Texas!

Enjoy!

Here's a link to the glass pitcher with a twisty, sealed lid.

I hope you're staying cool and enjoying this lovely summer!

6/27/11

My Favorite Parenting Gadgets

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6/14/11

Sick-of-Soy (A Better Meat Alternative)

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

5/15/11

Flat-Top Stove is LIKE NEW AGAIN!

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

4/14/11

Cupcake Crops of Carrots

This is so easy to make a very cute cupcake.

I bought a big bag of Starburst candy
and a bag of Twizzlers (rainbow).

I cut a few of the green twizzlers into strips and
then cut them in about 1" long pieces.

Next, I melted an orange Starburst in the
microwave for no more than 2 seconds.

(You can see I also tried to mix red and yellow.
It made a red-orange color).

I divided the Starburst in half to make two "carrots." Then, I molded it around the Twizzler strips and shaped it to look like a carrot.