Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Muffins

Banana Bread Bonanza!

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Yes, I did it again.

Many people have asked for more grain-free recipes after the Grain-Free Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Bread, so, of course, I had to get to work and create another recipe for all of you!

This recipe uses 3 over-ripe bananas, so it is the perfect go-to recipe when you have too many brown bananas to deal with.

Grain-Free Sugar-Free Banana Bread

~This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and of course, sugar-free!

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons Ground flax
  • 3 Tablespoons Chia Gel (For each tablespoon of chia, mix 2-3 tablespoons of water and let sit for 15-20 minutes. The chia seeds will puff into a gel)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350*. First, mash the bananas. Then, mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour batter into a lightly greased bread pan-or even try a muffin tin! Bake for one hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.

The bread will rise while in the oven, but will sink when taken out. Let the bread cool for fifteen minutes in the pan (this is necessary for the bread to set since it has no flour in it), and then plop it onto a plate or cutting board and enjoy!

 

 

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What are your favorite ways to use up all of those overripe bananas? Usually, I freeze them to make banana ice cream or smoothies, but this bread recipe is now my favorite!

I started collecting recipes for overripe bananas a couple years ago because I thought a book title, “101 Ways to Use Overripe Bananas” would be great! Because this happens to all chefs and non-chefs across America-what to do with all those brown bananas? What do you think? Would you read a recipe book like that? What recipes would you put in it?

****Also, are you sticking to the sugar-free New Year’s Resolution??

Bake Night!

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One boring Wednesday evening I had the itch-the itching desire to bake! I baked for 3 hours straight and had a blast!

On the menu:

I even wore a dorky fruit hat to bake in:

My mom bought the hat for me at IKEA.I have to say that I do love it! My family teases me, and my brother steals it sometimes…All for good fun! Plus, it is very comfy.

My creations of the night:

I gave them to my mom’s bible study group, and brought the leftovers to my tennis practice. They were a hit!

Want the recipes?

Click HERE for the Carrot-Apple Bran Muffins.

For the mini-cheesecakes I used the recipe found HERE. But instead of freezing it in a glass container, I put them into mini-muffins liners and froze them in the muffin tin. I made some strawberry cheesecake (mix with frozen strawberries and topped with a raspberry), blueberry cheesecake (mix with frozen blueberries and top with blueberries), and Key Lime Pie cheesecake (mix with lemon and lime juice and top with lime wedge).

The Peanut-Chocolate Fudge Balls and the Chocolate Chunk Monster cookie recipes will be coming soon! So stay tuned!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you ever have the urge to bake? I do a lot. I think it is very calming, and stress-relieving!

Big Thanks With Muffins

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Wow! I can’t believe all of the wonderful feedback I received from my last post about McDonald’s “Real” Fruit Smoothies. If anyone needs anymore ideas for smoothies, just look at the plethora of comments from yesterday’s post! Thank you so much to everyone who helped spread the word, and to those who provided great insight! I loved reading every single one of your comments, and tried to reply to as many of you as I could. If you didn’t receive a reply and would like to, please just send me an email or leave another comment. I’d be happy to chat with you!

Also, thank you WordPress for featuring me on your homepage, Freshly Pressed. I am extremely honored!

Now, to all of my new readers, I’d like to know what you want to read on my blog.

  • More revealing products and reviews
  • More sugar-free recipes
  • Tips on eating Sugar-free at the store, restaurants, or other places
  • More health facts about food items
  • Other: Leave a comment telling me what you want to see!

To say thank you, I leave you all with a recipe I promised.

Print
Carrot-Apple Bran Muffins

Yield: 18 muffins

Carrot-Apple Bran Muffins

~These muffins are optionally vegan, dairy-free, high-fiber, whole grain, and of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups bran
  • 1 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (I used almond milk)
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil (this can be omitted for those watching their fat intake)
  • 1 egg or egg substitute (I used a chia egg. which is 1 tablespoon of chia seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water-let sit for 20 minutes before using)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 chopped apple (I kept the skin on)
  • 2 carrots-chopped or blended
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (or more vanilla)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. First, whisk the apple cider vinegar with the milk to create a buttermilk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, Stir together all of the dry ingredients. Next, add wet ingredients and fold in the apples, walnuts, and carrots until well-incorporated.
  4. Grease the muffin tins, or add muffin liners. Then, pour the batter into each cup until it reaches the top without over-flowing (the muffins will rise to create that nice muffin-top look).
  5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2010/09/11/big-thanks-with-muffins/

 

 

I was very excited when I made this recipe, because they were so good! I think I ate 6 in one day 😛 Good for breakfast and snacks! They also have a good amount of fiber in them. I calculated about 4.25 grams of fiber per muffin!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What do you want to see me write more of? I truly value your opinion!

Why I Love Muffins

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First off, I know that I have left you in suspense for the winner of my Namaste giveaway…But now that I have finally settled down I can announce who it is! Using random.org, I RANDOMLY selected the winner…..#42! Congratulations Erin! I hope you enjoy your gluten-free goodies 🙂
Now, onto what’s important, Muffins! Lately, I have been experimenting with different recipes, and also enjoying many of the results. I have a few of these sugar free recipes coming (like apple-carrot bran!).
Why I Love Muffins
  • They are super versatile
  • They can be made extremely healthy
  • Easy to bring on picnics, to lunch, during work or school, when you’re in a hurry, while you’re hiking…
  • They taste like dessert!
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
  • I can smear some coconut butter “frosting” on a carrot cake muffin and eat it like dessert!
  • I can bring them on the plane for an easy breakfast
  • I can eat them for lunch with a smoothie
  • I can eat them before I work out for some energy
  • Adding protein powder is easy, and tastes good

  • Whole wheat, bran, chia, flax, are all high fiber add-ins that make them powerful muffins!
  • I can eat them for any taste I’m looking for (blueberry, carrot cake, nutty, poppyseed, chocolate…)
  • They are fun to make with family
  • They make great gifts! Just put them in a cute basket and tie them with a bow 🙂
  • They can provide servings of veggies and fruit!
  • They smell good in the oven
  • I like to share them with friends
  • They taste good!

Why do you love muffins? Or do you love muffins?

Also, check out this giveaway for Artisana butters at Gluten Free Muse!