Thursday, March 22, 2018

Sunbutter banana cake (peanut-free, gluten-free)


                Back in the fall, I was visiting my cousin and his family for the weekend. He is a great bargain hunter, and he had found a 5 pound container of Sunbutter on Amazon for a few bucks. Thinking that he would use it to make sandwiches for his daughters’ lunches, he purchased 2 containers. Unfortunately his daughters did not like it...but fortunate was I! He offered me the closed container, and I took it hoping to use it in baking. And I did! I made oatmeal cookies, thumbprint cookies, and a banana cake. But I definitely had not used up the entire 5 pounds of Sunbutter.

Yesterday, the baking bug hit me again, and I remembered that I had 2 bananas in the freezer that were waiting to be used in baking. I even had extra time today, because my office closed early for the falling snow… It was baking day!

This recipe is great, not just because it is yummy. It happens to be gluten-free, which makes it work for those with celiac disease. It also happens to be peanut free, which is awesome for those with a peanut allergy. It is definitely not a health food. It is a yummy cake that those who can and can’t eat gluten can eat. It looks like a cake, tastes like a cake, acts like a cake, and has a nutrition profile of a cake.

I got the recipe from the Sunbutter website. It was intended to be a muffin recipe, but I put it in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and baked it for about 50 minutes. For the ingredients and instructions, click here.
Sunbutter cake!
Wait, what is Sunbutter? It is a sandwich spread made from sunflower seeds. It looks fairly similar to peanut butter and spreads like peanut butter does. It is great for kids with peanut allergies and kids who go to peanut-free schools. 

6 comments:

  1. You specify that gluten free foods aren't healthier. Can you explain why a gluten cake is the same as a gluten-free version

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    1. There is a health aura around gluten-free foods that they are somehow healthier. While some gluten-free foods may be healthy, others definitely are not. There are also many gluten-containing foods that are healthier than the gluten-free alternatives. One example is flour. Whole wheat flour usually has more fiber than gluten-free flour substitutes. Additionally, labeling a cookie as gluten-free does not make it a health food. On the other hand, all fruits and vegetables are gluten-free, and those are healthy. With all types of foods, gluten-free or otherwise, a good indication of a healthy food is to ask if it is a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, and if it has added ingredients that are known to to have detrimental effects on health, such as trans-fat and saturated fat.

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  2. Interesting... How does sunbutter nutrition compare to peanut butter?

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    1. It is fairly similar in terms of calories, grams of fat, and micronutrients.

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  3. I never eat peanuts or their offspring, peanut butter. Everyone has heard a story about a missing cat or dog finding their way home, who was at some point exposed to peanuts, had an anaphylactic reaction, and nearly died. Why take the chance? What if I am allergic to peanuts, what if I become allergic to peanuts? I think everyone should steer clear of these babies.

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    1. I hear your concern. You can speak to an allergist for allergy testing if you are concerned.

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