Gluten Free Banana Blackberry Bread #NationalHeartMonth

Valentines Day means heart shaped boxes filled with chocolate, candy hearts with cute messages on them and  even Teddy Bears holding a little stuffed red heart reading   "I Love You".  But did you know that February is also National Heart Month?  Now is the time to start making small or big changes and getting into healthy habits for your heart and over all health.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. The good news is that heart disease can be prevented by making healthy food choices, exercising even moderately and getting regular checkups with your doctor. 

While I was pregnant with my 4 and last baby I had signs of preeclampsia, a dangerous condition that causes a sudden onset of high blood pressure. Luckily for me, it was a mild case and I didn't need to take anything for it. I've always been very  healthy and so hardly ever saw a doctor. A year or so later, I started getting frequent, excruciating headaches and saw several doctors who all wanted to treat me for "migraine like" headaches and sent me off with migraine and narcotics prescriptions (the latter I never filled). One said they were stress headaches and gave me muscle relaxers. My blood pressure  was  high at the office visits but since I'd never had HBP before, they said it was high because I had such a bad headache.


It wasn't until I began lifting weights last year and was becoming very dizzy and nauseous during my workouts that I started randomly taking my blood pressure. I then realized that I now had very high blood pressure. I'm very lucky that I didn't have a stroke or cause some permanent damage as high as it was for as long as it had been going on! In fact, most often HBP does not cause any symptoms and so people don't even know they have it. It's called 'The Silent Killer' for that reason.

According to the Center of Disease Control

"Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. In fact, more than 67 million Americans have high blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are 4 times more likely to die from a stroke and 3 times more likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure.

High blood pressure often shows no signs or symptoms, which is why having your blood pressure checked regularly is important. It's easy to get your blood pressure checked. You can get screened at your doctor's office and drugstores or even check it yourself at home, using a home blood pressure monitor."

TIME        60 MINUTES            YIELDS     2  *SMALL LOAFS


1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas
1/2 cup melted real butter
4 eggs
1/3 cup real Maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter for greasing pan or use disposable paper bread pans as I did here.
1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (can also use strawberries, chocolate chips, nuts etc.)





Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease a small 8x5 inch bread pan with coconut oil or butter. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit just on the bottom of pan.


In the bowl of your stand mixer with a cookie paddle attachment, mash the bananas. Add butter and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add Maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and salt, mix to combine. Add the flours and baking soda Mix on low until just combined.


Spoon the batter into prepared bread pan. Bake on 350F for 35-45 minutes (depending on altitude, your oven and type of pan using.)  When a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean, remove bread from oven. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. If you used a metal pan, take a butter knife and carefully slide it around the edges of the pan to help loosen the bread. Carefully, turn the loaf over and place the bread on the wire rack to cool another 10-15 minutes.


Serves warm as is or with a small slab of real butter. 

notes

If you don't have buckwheat flour, substitute with equal amount of almond flour. Coconut flour is very absorbent so I wouldn't use more of that.

When baking gluten free breads it's best to stick with smaller loaf pans so as not to create dense bread. I like this pan or small, disposable ones like these or these.



As always, thank you for purchasing my recommended products through the links I provide or through Simply Healthy Family's store at the bottom of this blog and thereby supporting this site.







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American Heart Association

Coconut Crusted Baked Chicken Strips {gluten free}

I remember when I was in college I thought grabbing some chicken fingers at Wendy's was a healthier choice than grabbing a cheeseburger, I mean no bread right? Wrong, duh me. I'm not going to lie, I still love a good, crispy chicken nugget but avoid the drive through like crazy nowadays. It's a good thing, a very, very good thing that home made chicken nuggets happen to be one of the very easiest things you can make. Yippee!







Anyone can make these even if you don't like to cook or it's not really your thing. This is one of my "go to" weeknight simple dinners. I'm bored to death with plain baked chicken not to mention the whole humane issue with eating cooped up chickens. Of course eating Organic & cage free chicken gets pricey when feeding a family of 6 so we don't have it very often.

These would be a perfect appetizer at a party!

When we do I make sure it's gonna be tasty and serve it up with lots of fruits and veggies. In this case, an amazingly sweet and creamy mango yogurt dipping sauce! I could have eaten it by the spoonful. Not ashamed.



One of my nutty kids doesn't like coconut (the shame) but the rest of us loved these sweet and crunchy chicken tenders and were more than happy to swipe Jack's chicken nuggets right of his plate. Ya gotta be quick around this joint when it comes to protecting your food and making sure you get the very last chicken nugget from the pan.

6-8 pieces chicken tenderloins (preferably Organic free range)

11/2 cups almond or other nut flour 

1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

4 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons milk (dairy free if possible)

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon oil for coating pan 

2 ripe mango's + 1/2 cup yogurt = mango dipping sauce

peel mango and slice fruit away from pit. Discard pit, place fruit into blender or food processor. Add yogurt, blend.

Preheat oven to 400F

Arrange 3 deep plates on counter. Add flour to one,  beaten eggs to the second and coconut to the third.

Working one at a time, place chicken tenders into flour and dredge on both sides to coat. Using your other hand, dip coated chicken into egg to coat. Next, lay chicken in coconut and dredge to coat, flip, coat other side.

Place on a lightly oiled pan or one lined with parchment. 

Continue to do this to remaining chicken. 

TIP 

 Only put half of the flour and half of the coconut onto plates as they will become gooey.

Half way through your chicken, quickly rinse off plates if needed and dry.

 Add remaining flour to one plate and remaining coconut to the other. 

Cook at 400F for 4-5 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip the chicken pieces over. 

Cook an additional 5-6 minutes until golden brown.

Don't over cook chicken as it will become dry and taste like cardboard.

Enjoy!

Do you cook less when the weather gets warmer? 

What is your favorite warm weather dish?

Cottage Cheese Pancakes {gluten free}

I think these pancakes could fall under the paleo diet guidelines.  Wait, did cavemen eat cottage cheese? Oh well,  I'm pretty sure that cave men ate pancakes. After all they apparently ate muffins, cookies and pie why not pancakes. O.k. so I haven't read up on this new fad. I know it's a pretty basic concept of eating whole foods but as far as trying to figure out exactly what cavemen ate, I'm not sure I really get it. Like coconut for instance? Did cave men eat coconut? Maybe if there were cave men in Hawaii. Coconut is good for you but if cave men didn't eat it then are Paleoians not allowed to eat it either? Why?






These are the random things I think about when I am stalling cleaning the house. I'll bet cave men didn't have to clean their houses errr caves.  The closest to living like a cave man that I get is living with 4 crazy kids running around the house like little neanderthals.

Honestly. Not sure what got me on this subject. Just seeing an awful lot of Paleo recipes out there in the blogosphere. Paleo must be the new gluten free. I'm sure there's some great science behind it.

At any rate, in an effort to reduce our intake of processed carbs/sugars and limit GMO foods in our bodies I have been trying to remake some of our favorite foods without white or wheat flour.

These pancakes turned out to be super easy and tasted great without the wheat flour. Score! Dare I say,

"So easy a caveman can do it!" 

Sorry. Had to.

My mom used to make cottage cheese pancakes for us when we were little. We all loved them. Substituting almond and coconut flour for regular flour adds protein and vitamins. 

Bye Bye wheat belly!

If your thinking cottage cheese sounds really weird in pancakes let me tell you, it's amazing! The pancakes turn out moist and the cottage cheese somehow gets sweet when cooked and tastes very similar to a cream cheese crepe IMO.

Topped with strawberries for extra sweetness and these pancakes will be your new 

favorite healthy breakfast I promise!

*NOTES  I also have used 1 cup spelt flour in place of the almond and coconut flour. Spelt flour is not certified GF but it is a nutritious ancient grain with a deep nut like flavor. Spelt dates back long before many wheat hybrids. Many of its benefits come from the fact that it offers a broader spectrum of nutrients compared to many of its more inbred cousins in the wheat family. It can be used in many of the same ways as wheat including bread and pasta making. Spelt does not seem to cause sensitivities in many people who are intolerant of wheat. 




adapted from my mom's recipe

TIME    15 MINUTES      YIELDS    8-10 SMALL PANCAKES

Cottage Cheese Pancakes {Gluten Free}

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/2 cup plain, fat free yogurt
1 1/2 cups large curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
real butter to coat pan


toppings
chopped strawberries
honey
or real maple syrup


Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add yogurt and cottage cheese. Sift in flours, baking powder and salt.
Using a 1/4 measuring cup, slowly pour batter into hot skillet. The batter will be thin and spread quickly so pour slowly.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on first side until bubbles cover the top. Flip pancakes over and cook 1-2 minutes more. Lower heat if necessary.