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. 

What's the Problem With Margarine?

What’s wrong with margarine?

1. The process of turning oils to margarine changes the chemical structure of the fats into trans fats. These fats act like saturated fats in our body. Saturated fat intake is associated with heart diseases.
2. Margarine is a high calorie food, so large amounts can contribute to excess calories in our diet.
3. Usually margarine is in foods that are not the healthiest…such as cakes, cookies, and pastries.

                Okay, okay, I know, most people do have treats every so often. Here are a few points to consider. Having margarine-containing foods as a regular and frequent part of the diet—that is not ideal. If you are baking at home, you can often substitute an oil for margarine, but you will have to decrease the amount and possibly alter other parts of the recipe. See my cookies post. I know that many people do not feel adventurous enough to do that. Instead, you can look for recipes that do not contain margarine (or other solid fat) to begin with. I guarantee you can find recipes that use oil for everything from cookies to fancy pastries. Remember that using oil instead of margarine does not make your dessert into a health food. You are just eliminating the negative effects that margarine has on heart health. Of course, occasionally having a dessert that contains margarine is not the end of the world, but recommended intake of trans fat is as close to zero as you can get.