Banana Muffins

While browsing the grocery store for my weekly purchase of bananas. I came across bananas that were super ripe and perfect for baking. I just couldn’t pass them up. Considering all the rest of the bananas were green. I refuse to eat bananas until they are really ripe. Otherwise they are gross to me. Anyways, seeing these literally made me crave banana bread. But Caleb requested muffins this time. I don’t really see the difference between banana bread & banana muffins…but I guess there is 

With being really busy lately, I haven’t had time to bake anything. Which I don’t like, so it was time for me to bake. I really missed baking. I think it’s been a month since I baked something. I’m not quite sure. But it’s been way to long. I used to every week! Even when I “could” bake, I have not had the energy to. It’s a viscous cycle. But I was determind to make muffins this past week. And that is what I did.

These muffins are the most moist muffins I have ever made. They are light and fluffy, and just perfect. If I could eat wheat/gluten, and had a choice, between these muffins, or some gluten filled muffin….I’d choose these over any muffin, any day. Serious.
These are THAT good.
They make you forget they are gluten free.
Crazy.

Banana Muffins 

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon,
• 1 3/4 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour brown rice flour blend (I used King Arthur Flour)
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) Coconut Oil, softened
• 2/3 cup Evaporated Cane Juice, or raw sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses or honey
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Medium very mashed ripe bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan, or line the pan with papers, and grease the papers.

2. Whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and flour or flour blend. Set aside.

3. Beat together the soft coconut oil, evaporated cane juice, and honey.

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between additions.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl in three parts, alternately with the mashed bananas, beating well between additions and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl one or two times during this process.

6. After everything is added, scrape the bowl again and beat at medium high speed for 30 seconds

7. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, mounding the cups full. The batter will rise above the level of each cup; that’s fine.

8. Bake the muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Best served warm.

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Additional mix-ins: Walnuts, chocolate chips, peanut-butter, almond-butter.

Next time I make these, I’ll defiantly add in some extra ingredients.

Enjoy!!

Healthy Sesame Chicken And Brown Rice

Life has been really busy for me lately and I haven’t been able to blog and update as much as I would like to. Between working and just getting caught up in life, I have pushed this to the side. Which I shouldn’t have because I have had people tell me they look forward to my updates and tips. So I really apologize! I’m going to try to do more posts 

So an update on my health here

I always bake and cook very little. I’ve had a dinner recipe that I have just never posted. Why? No clue. I think I forget about it because I focus on my baking a lot more. Anyways, I give Caleb credit for this recipe because he was the one who put it all together. We were both craving chinese. Side note..I’m so picky about chinese food. I refuse to eat it anywhere but where I’ve grown up going. To me, it’s what I like and I think it is the best. Plus, since the owners know my family, they always give us extra stuff. And it’s really cool. We don’t live in a small town by any means, so it’s really cool that the owners know my family. I know chinese food isn’t the healthiest thing, unless you eat just plain white rice with steamed veggies. My favorite meal, hands down, is Sesame Chicken. Always have loved it. But what goes into their sauce is beyond me. Most likely it’s sugar filled…..goodness 

Anyways, how does a healthy spin on Sesame Chicken sound? Amazing right? Well of course! Making “take-out” at home doesn’t taste the same as when you actually order it. But with it being healthy, and you know all the ingredients, it tastes pretty darn good. Once we decided we were going to make this for dinner. I browsed the web for recipe ideas, but literally all of them had TONS of ingredients and also ingredients I didn’t want to add. A little fact about me, if a recipe has over 20 ingredients…I won’t make it. Or I won’t add things. I’m a simple person. I love big flavors, but it doesn’t take much to make things taste good. ANYWAYS, after searching, we decided to just wing it and follow a bunch of different recipes and make our own.  And this is what we came up with:

I apologize for the crappy images, we made this before I started blogging and taking good quality pictures.

Yes, it is sesame chicken without that deep red color glaze that most sesame chicken has.

Healthy Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

1lb Organic Chicken, chopped into pieces
3 Tbsp Raw Honey, heat to melt it
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Use Bragg Liquid Aminos, no wheat)
2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Pinch of Garlic flakes
1/4 Cup Diced Onion (optional)
4 Large Egg Whites
1/3 Cup Tapioca Starch (Like cornstarch)
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 lb Fresh Broccoli, cut thin.
1 Cup Organic Brown Rice

Directions:

Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 1 inch water; set aside for broccoli.

Prepare the rice according to the package directions. Be sure to follow them carefully!
To make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat sauce evenly over all chicken.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked all the way through. No pink! 6 to 8 minutes is the recommended time. But I like to cook it longer, just to be sure. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chicken. Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and onions, and toss to coat.

Place saucepan with steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Now it’s time to serve!

So whenever you have the craving for take-out, try this healthier version instead!

Enjoy