Category: Breads

A New Take On Banana Bread

I need to go buy 8 bananas and wait for them to get ripe ASAP so I can try this new take on banana bread.  Really it’s more like a cake, but I can’t wait to try it either way!  Thanks Buzzfeed!

Upside Down Banana Bread

4-5 ripe bananas
3 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup sugar
1 TBLS ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2-3 bananas, sliced
Vanilla ice cream

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175 C.
  2. In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas.
  3. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until evenly incorporated.
  4. Add the flour and mix until the batter has no large pockets of flour. Set aside.
  5. In a pot over low heat, melt the butter, then mix in the brown sugar until dissolved.
  6. Bring up the heat to medium, cooking until the mixture starts bubbling.
  7. Remove the caramel from heat and pour into a greased 9×9 baking pan.
  8. Lay the banana slices evenly on top of the caramel.
  9. Spread the banana bread batter on top
  10. Bake 40-50 minutes.
  11. Cool until the bottom is barely warm & use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan.
  12. Place a plate upside-down on top of the pan, then invert the pan, flipping the banana bread onto the plate.

Slice, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

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Gluten Free Zucnana Bread

banzucminisI love a moist piece of banana bread slathered with soft cream cheese.  The only problem I have is, with the number of bananas I buy each week, using the overripe ones for plain banana bread every week or two is getting boring.

My grandma was one of those 1970’s women who broke out of her 1950’s homemaker role and became a more modern woman.  She was different from my friends’ grandmas to say the least:  She played tennis, loved fitness, drove a flashy sports car, loved vacationing and baking herself to a golden tan in the sunshine, had a job outside the home, and pretty much spoiled my brother, sister and I rotten.  My modern grandma made her own yogurt, dried her own fruit, and tried her hardest to get us to eat more vegetables. I’m pretty sure she is why I am so fearless and experimental in the kitchen – I’d eat anything new or different that she fed me.

My Grandma Skip used to make a wonderful, sweet, moist zucchini bread every summer.  It was one of my favorites, even if it did have walnuts in it!  I wonder how bananas would taste with zucchini.  And, as if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, I wonder if I can make it gluten free so I can share it with my friends who have issues with gluten.  Looks like another experiment!!  Off to the kitchen!

Gluten Free Zucnana Bread

  • Shred 2 medium zucchini in your food processor, Vitamix or using a hand grater.
  • Let sit in a colander in the sink so any moisture released can drain off.
  • Grease your 9×5 inch standard or 5.75 x 3 inch mini loaf pans with baking spray (I use coconut oil spray).
  • Preheat oven to 325° F

In medium mixing bowl combine:

  • 1 & 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour
  • 1 & 1/8 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Cup Oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats)

In same bowl add:

  • 1/4 Cup Agave Syrup
  • 1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
  • 2 Eggs (Room temperature is ideal)
  • 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (Room temperature/melted)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 3 Medium Bananas Mashed (not overripe, but with browning skins)

Using a large wooden spoon, stir in each addition until well combined.  Batter will be thick.

  • Stir shredded zucchini in by hand (using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon)
  • Pour into greased loaf pan (s)
  • Bake on center rack in oven for 55 – 65 minutes (9×5 inch pan), or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Like most ovens, my temperature is sometimes a few degrees off, so I start checking for doneness at about 55 minutes.

When finished baking remove pan (s) to a wire rack to cool about 30 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on the wire racks.  When cooled, wrap loaf (s) in foil then put into a zip bag and store in the refrigerator.  These loaves freeze well – wrap first in waxed paper (seal all edges), then foil and finally a securely zipped freezer bag.  Enjoy within 3 months.

I serve with whipped cream cheese, although you can make a simple glaze to drizzle over while the loaf (s) while still warm.

  • 1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
  • 2-3 Tsp Milk
  • 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Confectioner’s (Powdered) Sugar.  Add more or less milk as needed

TIP 1:  I normally use 1 Cup of Sugar in my Banana Bread.  When substituting Agave Syrup or Pure Maple Syrup (or a combination of both) for granulated sugar, make sure that you decrease the water (juice or other liquid component) by 3 TBLS (per 1 C equivalent/ sugar), add 1/8 tsp of baking soda (per 1/2 C equivalent sugar), and reduce your baking temperature by 25° F.  I have already made those adjustments above.  There is a really handy chart for sugar substitutions here.

Tip 2:  When using mini loaf pans instead of a standard 9 x 5 loaf pan, reduce the baking time by 25% (so in this case the baking time would be 43 – 53 Minutes – I start checking loaves for doneness at about 45 minutes).

Are you on Facebook?  You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Indulge Without Feeling Too Guilty This Weekend

Clean-Eating-CupcakesI try to stick to a mostly clean diet of lean meats, fish, fruit and vegetables during the week, but come the weekend all bets are off.  I am an admitted carb fiend and the weekend gives me just the excuse I need to indulge in as many “bad for me” foods as I can get my hands on.  I justify it by swearing that my weekday workouts will offset the weekend damage, although it never quite works out that way.

For once, I’d like to wake up the morning after a game without seeing a puffy face in the mirror, regretting a night spent drinking like we’re still in college, and trying to force my rings over chubby salt swelled fingers.

With USC playing an away game in Tempe, Arizona this weekend, I won’t be cooking for our usual tailgate crowd of 15-20 pre-game partiers.  It’ll just be two or three of us in front of the TV watching the game Saturday night, so, if I work it right, sneaking a healthier choice or two into the mix may not result in a game time mutiny (and call to have pizza delivered) at my house.  Fingers are crossed I can get away with it.

I’ll give into the boys’ need for “football food” by getting them all-beef hot dogs (Yuck!) to grill and devour with baked beans and whatever chips and dip they insist on eating.  After I’ve satisfied their need for game day stadium food, I’ll clean all of that crap food up and ease them into the experiment by baking up a gluten free cheesy bacon jalapeno bread (aka Cheesy BJ Bread) to snack on while we are watching the game.  If there is any left over, it will be great toasted and served with scrambled eggs Sunday morning.

jalapenoGluten Free Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno Bread

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9″ x 5″ Loaf Pan.

Whisk together 2 Large Eggs, 1/4 Cup Melted & Cooled Unsalted Butter and 1 1/2 Cups Room Temperature Buttermilk and set aside.  In a hot frying pan, cook 6-8 Slices Thick Cut Bacon until Crisp.  Drain and cool then roughly chop the bacon and add to the buttermilk mixture.

In a large bowl combine 3 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, 2 TBLS Sugar, 1 1/2 TBLS Baking Powder, 1 1/4 tsp Salt, and 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper.  Add 3 Jalapeno Peppers (seeded and diced) and an 8 oz pkg of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (2 Cups) to the flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few dry crumbs.  Cool in pan 5 minutes then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

I don’t think I’ll get a lot of grief for the bread.  It’ll smell great and they’ll never notice it’s Gluten Free if I have enough cream cheese, sliced jalapenos and maybe even some guacamole for them to slather on it.  Maybe they’ll be so happy eating the spicy, cheesy bread that they’ll start mindlessly nibbling without complaint on the vegetable tray that’ll be sitting beside it.

A girl can hope.

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