I knowingly put absolutely no refined sugar in my body, but I can still enjoy a very healthy sweet treat of Blueberry Banana Nut Bread, now that I know how to sweeten the treat the healthy way.
I use a couple of different sweeteners in this creation but the secret sweeter is of all things, overripe black bananas.
Basically, the longer you let bananas get ripe, the more they will convert themselves to sugar. You may have noticed how yellowish green bananas are not as sweet as yellow bananas that start to get dark spots because they are ripening. I am really into the power of the coconut, and I have been getting into Coconut Flour. I found a really good recipe from Tiana Organics, a web vendor of coconut products. They have a few good recipes on their website and the can be found here.
I don't believe in fighting those urges, just working with them. Since I took all that refined sugar out of my diet, I really don't crave sugar anymore. I never believed that the way to get rid of sugar craving is to force yourself to lay off the sweets. I say accept the that fact that you like sweets, use natural sweeteners, and your body will naturally go into a zone over time that is not addicted to refined sugars. Over time, you will see that the sugar cravings will naturally go away, as they are not necessarily"natural" to our system. You will still have a desire for something sweet here and there, but it won't be all out of control. At least that is what happened to me.
Here is my modification of their original recipe with works very well for me, it gives me a very filling sweet snack when that urge comes up.
COCONUT FLOUR BLUEBERRY BANANA BREAD
1 to 3 ripe banana, mashed
8 to 10 free range organic eggs
½ cup coconut milk (use the fullfat kind, forget the fat free)
1/4 cup Xylitol sweeter (can also use Sweet Leaf Stevia Sweetener but Xylitol has better taste to me )
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt (or sea salt)
¾ cup sifted Organic Coconut Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (or any other favorite nuts)
Organic Butter or Organic Coconut Oil grease loaf pan (Butter seems to work slightly better for me) 1 cup of blueberries
Method
Blend together mashed banana, eggs, coconut milk, sweetener, salt, vanilla and almond extracts. After washing blueberries, make sure to pat them dry with a paper towel. This prevents moisture form building in inside the bread while cooking. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps. Although instead of the whisk, I prefer to use plastic cooking gloves and mix everything together Fold in nuts. Pour into greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and bake at 175C (350F) for 60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. ~dw~
The Chef's Corner
I knowingly put absolutely no refined sugar in my body, but I can still enjoy a very healthy sweet treat of Blueberry Banana Nut Bread, now that I know how to sweeten the treat the healthy way.
I use a couple of different sweeteners in this creation but the secret sweeter is of all things, overripe black bananas.
Basically, the longer you let bananas get ripe, the more they will convert themselves to sugar. You may have noticed how yellowish green bananas are not as sweet as yellow bananas that start to get dark spots because they are ripening. I am really into the power of the coconut, and I have been getting into Coconut Flour. I found a really good recipe from Tiana Organics, a web vendor of coconut products. They have a few good recipes on their website and the can be found here.
I don't believe in fighting those urges, just working with them. Since I took all that refined sugar out of my diet, I really don't crave sugar anymore. I never believed that the way to get rid of sugar craving is to force yourself to lay off the sweets. I say accept the that fact that you like sweets, use natural sweeteners, and your body will naturally go into a zone over time that is not addicted to refined sugars. Over time, you will see that the sugar cravings will naturally go away, as they are not necessarily"natural" to our system. You will still have a desire for something sweet here and there, but it won't be all out of control. At least that is what happened to me.
Here is my modification of their original recipe with works very well for me, it gives me a very filling sweet snack when that urge comes up.
COCONUT FLOUR BLUEBERRY BANANA BREAD
1 to 3 ripe banana, mashed
8 to 10 free range organic eggs
½ cup coconut milk (use the fullfat kind, forget the fat free)
1/4 cup Xylitol sweeter (can also use Sweet Leaf Stevia Sweetener but Xylitol has better taste to me )
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt (or sea salt)
¾ cup sifted Organic Coconut Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (or any other favorite nuts)
Organic Butter or Organic Coconut Oil grease loaf pan (Butter seems to work slightly better for me) 1 cup of blueberries
Method
Blend together mashed banana, eggs, coconut milk, sweetener, salt, vanilla and almond extracts. After washing blueberries, make sure to pat them dry with a paper towel. This prevents moisture form building in inside the bread while cooking. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps. Although instead of the whisk, I prefer to use plastic cooking gloves and mix everything together Fold in nuts. Pour into greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and bake at 175C (350F) for 60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. ~dw~
The Chef's Corner