Recipe: Gluten-Free Coconut Banana Bread
From the book, Food Matters, comes a delicious and wheat and gluten-free bread that can be used for breakfast and dessert! In my opinion, you could toast it and also use it as french toast!
Ingredients:
- 2 bananas; at least 1 heaped cup of chopped banana
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 4 organic free-range eggs
- 4 fresh dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup or raw honey
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Mash bananas with the chopped dates.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs until fluffy and then combine with the mash. Stir through the oil and maple syrup or honey. Add the dry ingredients and combine well.
- Transfer the batter to a loaf pan, greased and lined. The mixture will be quite thick; flatten and smooth with a spatula.
- Bake 35-40 minutes. Ready when a knife comes out clean and the edges are browned. Eat while still warm, or allow to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Note:
It’s best to use overripe bananas in banana bread! Coconut flourit doesn’t have the glycemic load of grain flours, has no gluten or anti-nutrients, but it also doesn’t yield the ‘fluffiness’ of regular glutenous flours, so it might take some getting used to. This recipe gives the best bread texture without using wheat.
Recipe: Homemade Baked Strawberry French Toast
My kids love breakfast. French Toast is one of their favorites. They will eat slice after slice, covered in fruit and drizzled with a little real maple syrup. I make homemade Challah Bread or other sweet bread and then slice it up, freeze it and then it is all ready to go when the kids want me to make this. It is super simple.
Sometimes when I am up at the crack of dawn, I will fix this up and put it in the oven about 45 minutes before everyone’s set to wake up. The house smells divine…it’s sort of like Christmas Morning…you have that warm fuzzy, it’s going to be an amazing day sort of vibe.
If you don’t have strawberries, peaches, blueberries and other berries work well. You’ll love the recipe…it’s so easy!
Baked Strawberry French Toast
1 loaf day old challah, sliced into 3/4” thick slices
1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced, plus more for garnish
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups milk
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh grated nutmeg
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon for dusting over the top
Butter a 9 x 13” baking pan. Arrange the challah slices so that they are overlapping, tearing a few pieces in half if needed. Tuck the strawberries between the slices.
In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, zest, and vanilla. Then pour mixture over the challah.
Make sure that all of the slices are just about covered by the egg mixture–add more milk or rearrange the slices until they are. If refrigerating overnight, cover and chill. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate for a half hour, or longer if you have time.
Then preheat your oven to 350 degrees and take the baking dish out of the fridge. Once the oven is up to temperature, bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until the french toast is a light golden brown and has puffed up nicely.
Slice and serve immediately with maple syrup and sliced strawberries. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
Recipe: Red, White & Blue-Berry Trifle
If you’re looking for a delicious dessert for Memorial Day or Independence Day that has simple ingredients and LOTS of fresh and juicy summer berries, you will love this Red, White & Blue-Berry Trifle. Make it any time of year!
Ingredients:
- 1 box red velvet cake mix (Note: Instead of red velvet cake, use 1 box chocolate cake & a bottle of red food coloring)
- 1 (16oz) tub whipped topping
- 2 pints blueberries, washed
- 1 pint strawberries, tops cut off, washed
Directions:
- Bake red velvet cake mix according to package directions. Allow to cool.
- With a serrated knife, cut the cake into 1-inch square pieces.
- Line the bottom of the trifle bowl with half of the cake squares.
- Using a spatula, spread about a 2-inch layer of whipped topping on top of the cake squares.
- Layer about 1 1/2 pints of the blueberries on top of whipped topping.
- Layer the remaining cake pieces on top of the blueberries to create a second layer of cake.
- Using a spatula, spread remaining whipped topping over the top layer of cake.
- Decorate the perimeter (along the bowl sides) with the strawberries by placing the strawberries cut side down.
- Sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top of the trifle inside the strawberry perimeter.
Recipe: Frozen Strawberry Crunch Cake
This simple take on an ice cream cake will be a big hit at your next family get together, or even just for dessert tonight! The Frozen Strawberry Crunch Cake from Spoonful calls for Nature Valley bars, but regular granola would work just fine as well.
Ingredients:
- 1 box Nature Valley Granola Bars
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 lemon
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups freshly chopped strawberries
Directions:
- Unwrap and put the Nature Valley granola bars (or regular granola) in a food processor until you it becomes a course crumb.
- In a large bowl, add crumbs, brown sugar, flour, and melted butter, then mix together. Spread into an 8×8″ pan covered with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then divide in half and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine eggs whites and sugar, then mix on high. Add the heavy cream and continue to mix for another 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and softened cream cheese to mixture, then mix on low speed until completely combined.
- Fold the strawberries into the cream mixture until as evenly mixed as possible.
- In a glass cake pan that has been buttered fully, press half of the crumb crust mixture to the bottom, then top with strawberry mix, then add the rest of the granola crumbs to the top.
- Cover and freeze for at least three hours. ENJOY!
Layered Patriotic Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipe
When it comes to the beautiful layered drinks, whether they are adult beverages or not, the way to get the drinks to have the layered look depends on the sugar content of each of the types (colors) of beverages. The higher the sugar content, the lower it needs to be in the glass. Thanks to Made From Pinterest for the easy (and pretty!) recipe!
- To make this beautiful Red, White, and Blue Patriotic and non-alcoholic drink, you just need Cran-Apple juice (of any brand), Sobe White Pina Colada, and Gatorade G2 Blueberry Pomegranate (the last two drinks do make a difference for sugar content and color).
- Grab your pretty glass and fill it almost to the top with crushed ice.
- Pour the Cran-Apple juice down the side of glass as close as you can to leave as little red on the upper parts of the glass as possible. Fill the red juice as high as you’d like it.
- Then pour the Sobe Pina Colada with as much as you’d like of white. You’ll see the Cran-Apple juice stays low since it’s higher in sugar content.
- Finish off the top of your drink with the Blueberry Pomegranate Gatorade.
- Add the straws and any fun patriotic decorations you’d like. Enjoy!!