Gluten and Dairy Free Banana Nut Butter Bread

Ingredients(Makes 1 loaf):

·         2 large bananas mashed

·         4 eggs

·         3/4 cups cane sugar

·         1/2 cup sunflower butter

·         1/3 cup vegetable oil

·         1 cup fresh ground brown rice flour

·         ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour

·         1 tsp xanthan gum

·         1/2 tablespoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1/2 cup dairy, soy and nut free chocolate chips

·         1/2 cup water

Directions:

1.       Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Mash the bananas until they’re completely smooth.

3.       In a large bowl, stir together the bananas, eggs, sugar, peanut butter, and oil until mixed.

4.       Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate chips and stir.

5.       Slowly add the water until the batter has a loose consistency.

6.       Grease a 9-inch loaf pan.

7.       Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes until the center has set.

8.       Remove from the oven and let the loaf cool before cutting in.

This loaf didn't last long in our house. It is definitly a hit with the kids and great for breakfast or on the go.

Why I am Blogging

At the age of sixteen I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis and lactose intolerance, which was years ago. So I had always dealt with not being allowed to eat high fat foods, acidic foods and anything with lactose. But it didn’t stop me from eating it, until I paid for it with the stomach pain.

After growing up and having my first son who showed signs of lactose intolerance or dairy intolerance from birth, I knew that I was going to have trouble down the road. Then I had my daughter, and with no surprise she had the same problem. Our new addition appears to have it as well, so the outlook on her digestion is more than likely riddled with problems.

Recently we had to undergo the elimination diet for a few weeks. Completely wiping out everything we had eaten. My son had the hardest time with the diet; he was and is a carb-a-holic. The first week was lamb, rice, extra virgin olive oil, spinach and pears. That was it! I had to come up with everything. We weren’t allowed to have preservatives and everything had to be organic. I learned a lot and got frustrated at the same time. There wasn’t a lot out there to help me with recipes. What do you give a kid for breakfast that can’t have cereal or eggs? I created my answer; Spinach and Pear Smoothie! My son drank them almost every morning that first week. My dilemma was that I had problems finding recipes out there. It was so difficult to figure out what to make my children. But I pushed on and figured it out. Scratching my brain every day to figure out what I could make as we added things back into their diet like gluten or milk. This is how we discovered that both children, me included are gluten intolerant. My son is also lactose intolerant. My daughter is dairy\casein intolerant. But both of my older children have allergic reaction soy and peanuts. I can only hope they grown out of it.

So as I embark on this adventure of our future way of eating, I thought I would share my experiences, good and bad with you. Maybe I can help you with your new diet or give you some new ideas to freshen up your current way of eating.

Slow Cooker Eggplant Parmesan - Gluten Free and Egg Free

Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite meals. It is filling but also doesn't contain meat. I am not a fan of eating a lot of meat so when I can sneak in those meals for my family during the week, I definitly do just that. This version of eggplant parmesean is pretty easy and quick. I don't precook anything. Most recipes require you to bread your eggplant and fry it and then you put it in the slow cooker. And by the way, this recipe sneaks in vegetables so your children won't even know that they are eating spinach,carrots and mushrooms. Excellent!




Ingredients:

Medium eggplant

8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella (I used low moisture part skim mozzarella)
 *if you prefer vegan mozzarella, we use Trader Joes Vegan Cheese and leave out the parmesan cheese.

1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 medium cubed carrot (doesn't have to be diced; we are blending it)

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 cup fresh baby spinach

1 tbsp flax seed

1/2 medium onion, cubed or a whole small onion cubed

16 oz can diced tomatoes

16 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup brown rice flour

2 slices of old gluten free bread or 1 gluten free sandwich roll

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon parsley

Sea salt to taste

Cracked black pepper to taste

 

 

Directions:

1.       Rub coconut oil along the inside of the slow cooker

2.       Combine in blender (I use a Magic Bullet, it takes up less counter space).; carrots, mushrooms, spinach, onion, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano and parsley. Blend. Taste and season with salt and pepper as you like. Blend again.

 

3.       In a food processor or blender; combine brown rice flour, bread and flax seed. Blend until it is ground finely like store bought bread crumbs.

 

4.       Thinly slice your eggplant. I do not soak my eggplant beforehand but if you would like here are directions to do so. Once eggplant is sliced, put slices in colander over a bowl and add decent amount of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. No frying; these slices are not breaded and fried like traditional eggplant parmesan. It saves on time and is healthier for you.

 

5.        Time to layer your eggplant, sauce, breadcrumbs and cheese. The layers go in this order:

a.       Eggplant

b.      Breadcrumbs

c.       Mozzarella

d.      Sauce

e.      Sprinkle Parmesan

f.        Repeat three more times

 

6.       Turn on slow cooker to low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Side Dish Suggestion:
Roasted Asparagus with drizzled extra virgin olive oil and lemon zest.