Wheat and Egg Free Banana Bread

So a few weeks ago my daughter was diagnosed with wheat and egg sensitivities, and so that means we have been welcomed into the new world of elimination dieting. While none of her sensitivities are life threatening (thank God!) or even very serious, we are still tying to be conscious of the amount of these products we give her. Therefore, I get to start experimenting with how to make some of our favorite dishes and treats wheat and egg free.

For today's experiment, I started with banana bread (we had a lot of too ripe bananas laying around so that seemed like the good place to start!). I am not much of a cook, but I do love baking, so I am trying to find ways to make very simple adjustments or substitutions to baked goods that won't change the flavor or consistency much and don't (hopefully) require too much trial and error.

Well, I am pleased to report that this experiment went very well! And here is how I did it:

First, I scoured the internet for information on how to make wheat (gluten) free flour. I know there are plenty of ready made options, but they are pretty expensive, so I thought I would save money combining the ingredients myself, which I did! I discovered Gluten-Free Gigi, who has some awesome information on her site on how to live and cook gluten-free.  I read her recommendations for gluten-free baking on this page, and then used her recipe for Gigi's Everyday Gluten-Free Flour Blend (gum free). I made a double batch of the the flour from Bob's Red Mill ingredients purchased at my local HyVee (but any supermarket that has gluten free items will have it, or you can order online). This recipe makes a create cup-to-cup replacement for regular flour.

The banana bread recipe I use is a traditional Betty Crocker recipe:

Traditional (Makes 1 loaf)                        Modified (Makes 1 loaf)
2 1/2 cups flour                                           2 1/2 cups Gigi's Everyday Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 cup sugar                                                 1 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder                  2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt                                            1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil                                         2 tablespoons oil (I used canola oil this time)
3/4 cup milk                                                3/4 cup milk (I subbed Almond Milk)
1 egg                                                           1/4 cup plain applesauce
1 cup of bananas (2 large bananas)            1 cup of bananas
1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)       1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Grease and flour (with flour substitute) a bread pan. Add dry ingredients and then wet ingredients to a mixing bowl. Beat ingredients with a mixer on medium speed until mixture is mostly smooth. Fold in chocolate chips at the very end. Pour into greased pan and bake at 350º for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. I don't like to over cook anything, which helps keep it a little moist and since this recipe has no eggs, you don't have to worry about under cooking (just don't leave it doughy). Also, your bread pan will be very full, but that's okay, it won't overflow when you bake it.

The applesauce and flour substitutes worked perfectly. The bread turned out moist on the inside, with a nice crispy outside. I didn't detect any flavor difference from when I have made it previously and my daughter loved it! (And she is an extremely picky eater)

The Pomegranate: Simple ideas for a super food.

It's Pomegranate season! While I have always loved pomegranates (they are the perfect replacement if you love sweet and sour candies), I have never been brave enough to try and deal with one on my own. They are kind of intimidating. But these past couple of weeks we have been experimenting with different foods in our house and so I thought I would try it.  Well, guess what? It isn't as hard as it may seem. Just requires a few simple tricks.

There are lots of websites and videos that will show you how to open and de-seed a pomegranate, but this is the one I liked the most (click here). This site shows you how to get into the pomegranate and get the seeds out with relative ease and without losing too many of the little precious jewels. The key to easy pomegranate opening is to soak it in water and remove the seeds with your fingers while it is submerged. This loosens the seeds and makes them pop out quite nicely.

Seeds after they have been drained and rinsed.

So what is the big deal about the Pomegranate? Well apparently it is super rich in antioxidants, even more than cranberry juice or green tea and provides a number of health benefits. Pomegranates or pomegranate juice may help improve blood flow and keep plaque from developing in your arteries reducing your risk of heart disease and it could also help slow the growth of prostate cancer. While more research still needs to be done, even the possibilities make this little gem a must on your shopping list.

So what do you do with a pomegranate once you get the seeds out? I have found that pomegranates make a great addition to just about anything you would want to put fruit on (this is if you don't just want to eat them plain, which is also delicious). It makes a great addition to a fruit salad as well as lettuce salad. Here is a couple of my favorite ways to use them.

1. Add it to yogurt.
        For this I used Kalona's organic vanilla yogurt and gluten free granola mixed with pomegranate seeds and raspberries. You can mix to your own proportions, but I usually follow the recommended serving sizes.

2. Add to a salad.
        Here I used sweet, organic baby greens and topped them with pomegranate seeds, green peppers, feta and almonds (you could do whole, slivered or even candied to add sweetness).  I topped it all with my favorite sweet apple cider vinaigrette.
                     
                   Sweet Apple Cider Vinaigrette
                       1/2 c. sugar (you can replace the sugar with Stevia if you want lower calorie but still sweet)
                       1 T poppy seeds
                       1/2 tsp Worchestshire sauce
                       1/4 c. cider vinegar
                       2 T sesame seeds
                       1 1/2 tsp minced onion
                       1/2 tsp paprika
                       1/2 c. salad oil
                          Mix all ingredients in a container.  Mix or shake well and add to salad.

This fruit is so versatile, though, you can pretty much do whatever you want or think might be good, so try experimenting!