Chocolate Banana Bread

I've really been craving chocolate lately...

First, I found a recipe for chocolate "fudge" that was absolutely amazing. Only 3 ingredients, simple preparation, and even my  brother likes it!

Chocolate "Fudge"

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp honey

Melt coconut oil.
Mix together oil, cocoa, and honey.
Place in a chocolate mold, plastic bag, or Tupperware,
Freeze until set and then cut if desired and store in fridge.

Today, I came across a recipe for a mug banana bread. But I wanted CHOCOLATE. and I wanted moist, baked bread. So I made a couple changes and stuck my pan in the oven, hoping for the best. And what came out 20 minutes later was pure heaven. Chocolate, sweet, moist, and delicious!

Chocolate Banana Bread
(makes one mini loaf)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp brown rice flour
2 tbsp oat flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

1 medium banana
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coconut milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and oil a small loaf pan.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine wet ingredients.
Mix together wet and dry mixtures until combined.
Bake for 20-25 or until firm (toothpick should come out with some crumbles on it).

Sweet Southern Corn Muffins

I finally found corn meal I can eat so it's time for corn bread! Rather than a big pan of bread, I adapted this recipe to my diet and decided to make little muffins for myself.

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut milk (or other milk)
1 tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar*)
1 1/2 cup corn meal
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp honey**
1 cup plus 2 tbsp corn
2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)

Preheat over to 380 degrees Fahrenheit and put oil on muffin tin.
Combine coconut milk and lemon juice and let sit.
Combine all dry ingredients (corn meal, baking powder, baking soda).
Combine the coconut milk mixture, honey, corn, and oil in a small bowl.
Mix together the wet and dry mixtures until just combined. The batter will look very thin but, trust me, it's fine!
Bake for 12-16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Muffins will be crumbly, but should still be moist.
*Similar recipes calls for vinegar, but I cannot have vinegar so I just used lemon juice.
**Honey makes this recipe not vegan but it can be easily substituted with regular sugar or agave.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I've been waiting forever to have some sort of egg substitute. Last Monday I found out that I'll be trialing bananas! Yay, Baking! One of the first things I did after making myself a chocolate banana smoothie was set my mind to making muffins. Anyways, after many adjustments to fit my personal preference I came up with this recipe...

Ingredients:
(makes 4-6 muffins)

2/3 cup oat flour (or just grind up some oats in a food processor)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 baking soda
A pinch of salt

1 medium banana
1 tsp liquid oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

coconut milk (as needed)

-Preheat oven to 400 and oil a muffin tin.
-In a small bowl mix together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In another bowl mix together banana, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar.
-Combine the flour mixture with the wet banana mixture. Add coconut milk if the texture is too thick (I usually add 1 or 2 tablespoons)
-Stir in anything extra if you would like, such as chocolate chips or coconut.
-Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Oatmeal Cookies

Words cannot even describe my excitement right now. Cookies. That actually taste good. That I can eat. I nearly cried.

This is also the first recipe I've ever made up by myself, so I was even more proud of  the final result. Maybe some more experimentation will be coming soon..

Let me just get to the point. Here's the recipe. :) 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread (butter and margarine should also work)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp + 2 tsp coconut milk

1/4 cup brown rice flour

1 tbsp coconut flour

1 cup gluten free quick cook oats

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix together buttery spread, sugar, and vanilla. Then add in milk and mix until combined. 

3. Add the flours, oats, baking soda, and salt and still until well mixed. If you want to add anything extra at this point you can. I tried enjoy life mini chocolate chips with shredded coconut into some cookies and craisins in a few also (both turned out great).

4. Ball the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on the parchment paper. These cookies do not rise or flatten so I recommend flattening them before cooking. Bake for 12-16 minutes until the dough looks set. The cookies will be soft and chewy, and have a texture similar to baked oatmeal.

Gracie's Vegetable Soup

One day I came home from soup craving a nice, hearty tomato-y vegetable soup. I'm very limited in the foods I can eat, including vegetables, but I was able to get everything I can eat and put together this vegetable soup. I eat it practically every day. It keeps me full, helps my digestive system run smoothly, and keeps me warm on those cold winter days. The only downside to this soup is that my family keeps eating it all! I have to make a new batch every weekend. 

Ingredients:

¾ lb. ground chicken

¾ lb. ground turkey

1 cup cut celery

1 small onion cut

2-3, 32 oz. boxed chicken broth

1 ½ cups frozen lima beans

2 ½ cups cut baby carrots

10 oz. bag frozen corn

2, 14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes

1. Brown the ground chicken and ground turkey in a large stove top pot.

2. Add cut celery and onion into the browned meat mixture. Let cook for about 5-10 more minutes.

3. Add 2 boxes of chicken broth along with the frozen lima beans. Cover pot and let cook 10 minutes. Try to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

4. Add cut baby carrots to mixture and let cook another 10 minutes.

5. in frozen corn and canned tomatoes into the soup. If you don’t like chunks of tomato, put that into a blender and blend it till it is your desired consistency. Allow soup to cook about 20-30 minutes, adding more chicken broth as needed depending on your taste and the thickness of the soup.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

I haven't had real cake in years. YEARS. It's one of those things I like but never cared enough to attempt at making on my diet. Until now..

I was browsing pinterest the other day when I stumbled upon a recipe for something called "pudding cake". It claimed to have no eggs which is the hardest thing about baking for me so I decided to give it a look. I looked through the ingredients, realizing I could eat them all (my versions of the food at least) besides the flour. I quickly tried it out using a gluten-free substitution for the flour. Not only did it work, it was DELICIOUS! I was so excited! I then set to work making a version that was perfect for me. A little smaller version (so I wouldn't feel as guilty eating it all) with wayyy less sugar. And this is what I came up with-

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Servings: 4-8

Ingredients

½ cup and 2 tbsp brown rice flour

½ cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp cocoa

1 ½ tbsp starch (I use corn starch)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

¼ cup and 2 tbsp coconut milk (other milk would work too)

¼ cup butter

1 heaping tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp cocoa

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 cup hot water

Put a cup of water in pot and begin heating (don’t let water boil) and preheat oven to 350. Grease a 8x8 dish (skip this step if using a non-stick dish).

In a medium bowl, mix together the first 6 ingredients-brown rice flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, starch, baking powder, and salt. Next, add the wet ingredients-coconut milk, butter, and vanilla extract-to the dry mixture. Pour the combined mixture into the 8x8 baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 ingredients- cocoa, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Sprinkle this mixture into the dish.

Pour the hot water into the dish (do not mix) and put pan in the oven. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until the edges have browned and the center has set. Let cake cool for about 15 minutes then dig in!

If you cook the dish a little longer it won't have a pudding layer underneath and will be more like a normal cake.