Banana Nut Bread- Gluten Free

 Super moist, Banana Discovery Bread- Refined sugar free

       You can rarely go wrong with a good banana bread. The trouble however, comes in finding that ideal recipe. Too many times I've been disappointed with breads too plain, too sweet, too dense, too dry etc. Granted, some of that may have been due to our broken oven,  which went undiagnosed for several months while everything was being cooked at 250. However, when this came out of the oven and I tasted my first bite, I considered calling it "Discovery Bread." It was shockingly tasty.
          This is substantial enough to serve for breakfast, add some chocolate chips and it's a dessert, the best part? It requires no toppings or spreads to make it complete. It's just perfect by itself, so maybe I should call it "Independent Bread."

 Ingredients

3 cups almond flour or almond meal
1  teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

 3 large eggs
2 large ripe bananas
1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup melted butter (or coconut butter)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 F; grease a 1.5 quart loaf pan.

In a food processor or mixing bowl mix the bananas, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and honey

Mix in almond flour, salt, and baking soda.

Stir in any additional toppings. I did half with nuts, and half chocolate chips only.

Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (depending on how you like it). Make sure you watch the top after 40 minutes because it can burn easily.

Made later in muffin form

 
LEFT: Banana nut RIGHT: dark chocolate chunk 

Enjoy- Let me know how it goes

ChREESE's Peanut Butter Cups

 Homemade nut butter cups revisited

A bit of personal peanut butter history

Unlike most kids, I didn't like normal kid food, including cake, frosting, wonderbread sandwiches, chicken nuggets, or peanut butter and chocolate. Then around 16, I made a quick turn around and peanut butter became a new staple. Something about college life, running, and working kept me coming back for it. When evacuating my dorm in the Santa Barbara tea fire, I grabbed a few valuables, including a jar of peanut butter in case I were to end up without food.  I always carried it in my travel bag until it was confiscated by security for being a dangerous liquid. Well, I would not consider peanut butter a liquid. But I would consider it dangerously good.

Especially when paired with chocolate. It's the chocolate that really makes this dessert with the sweet and salty combination. Now that dark chocolate is on the healthy list, there's a new family rule to always have at least one spare brick (1 lb) in the house.   

In comparison to the almond butter cups, these are easier to eat, and not quite as messy.  Using honey instead of sugar resulted in a thicker peanut butter mixture. Then increasing the coconut oil made them easier to bite into. These made 14 miniature cups,  2 large cups and enough peanut butter and chocolate for left overs.

Ingredients

• 300 grams or 11 oz dark chocolate
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 16 oz roasted peanuts (or 1 cup creamy peanut butter) Next time I'll try crunchy peanut butter.
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• dash cinnamon opt.

Step 1 Prepare chocolate cups

• Melt coconut oil and chocolate in a double boiler. 
• Coat the silicups or muffin papers evenly
• * Silicon baking cups- I find mine at William's and Sonoma
• Freeze for 8 minutes - enough time so they are firm

While they are chilling make the peanut butter mixture

Step 2: Peanut honey butter

• Poor 8 oz peanuts in a food processor and blend until smooth but not soupy. 
• Add honey and cinnamon and blend for 15 more seconds. Add salt if using unsalted peanuts.

Step 3: Fill Cups

• Add peanut-honey butter based on your desired peanut to chocolate ratio.  
• Cover with just enough chocolate
• Chill until firm  

"One of my greatest finds for this year was my discovery of peanut butter"- Peter Trudelle

Enjoy!

Expect something savory for next time.

ChREESE'S Almond butter cups

These almond butter cups are a spin off of the classic Reese's peanut butter cups, but far more nutritious, with a list of simple and pronounceable ingredients. The fresh quality of chREESE's cups makes them tastier, and definitely more satisfying. Made with dark chocolate and homemade almond butter (store bought works fine too), these could double as both a nutritious snack and a classy dessert. The banana nut version is a little lighter and could even be a pre-workout snack. These turned out well, and were approved by college students and family members alike. True peanut butter fans stay tuned. Next up will be a slightly less messy peanut butter version.

Step 1: Prepare Chocolate cups

• 100 grams 72% Dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• Melt in a double boiler
• Coat silicups or muffin papers evenly
• Place in freezer for 15 minutes

Step 2: Vanilla Cinnamon Almond Butter

• 2 cups of almonds- roasted or raw. Blend in
• a strong food processor until smooth
• use 1 cup almond butter
• add 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Step 3 Fill Cups

• Fill cups to desired level with almond butter. For a variation, as pictured below, add a slice of banana

• Top with melted chocolate and chill until chocolate is firm

Above: Banana nut

Below: original ready for consumption

Enjoy!