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. 

Dinner idea: salad, marinated beans, and hard boiled eggs

                My favorite supper might be lettuce salad with marinated beans and hard boiled eggs. It is so yummy, fairly cheap, and packed with nutritious ingredients. It does take some prep time for cutting all the vegetables, but that can be done while the eggs are boiling. And of course it always is nice to recruit someone to help with the prep….

1. Boil eggs. I have found that the best way to do this is to bring the pot of eggs to boil, and set the timer for 10 minutes once the water is boiling. When the timer rings, spill out the water and refill the pot with cold water and let sit. The yolks should be perfectly cooked and still yellow.
2. Next is the lettuce salad. wash and tear a head of romaine lettuce, chop some tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, carrots, or whatever other vegetables you like. (Save your peppers for the marinated beans.)
3. The beans. Open and rinse 4 assorted cans of beans. I usually use chickpeas along with some combination of black beans, pink beans, kidney beans, black eyed peas, or whichever other beans I have on my shelf. Pour the rinsed beans into a large bowl, and add a small diced red onion, and half each of red, orange, and green peppers. The dressing is about 2 parts oil to 1 parts vinegar. I never quite measure these. I just pour from the bottles into the bowl with the beans. I use either olive oil or canola oil, and regular vinegar. Then, season with some salt, and a bit more generously with pepper. Mix well. The beans taste best once they have marinated for an hour at least, but they are also fine right away.
4. To assemble: place some lettuce salad on your plate. Place 1-2 spoons of the marinated beans on top. Finally, top with a hard-boiled egg sliced in half.

                There you have it. A work of art!

yummy supper!

                This meal is full of vitamin, mineral, fiber, and also a nice portion of protein to help keep you full. 

Yogurt Dilemma, Pancake Solution

                I had a yogurt problem. I had about 4 quarts of yogurt left, and the weekend was approaching. It was my yogurt-making weekend. What do I do with the extra yogurt? Well, I gave about 2 quarts to my grandmother who enjoys yogurt. Then it was time for creativity. I looked online for recipes that called for yogurt. A pancake recipe came up right away. Of course I was going to make pancakes. This was the yummy recipe I found, and I was ready to go!

                I like that the recipe was not super-sweet and did not call for butter. And they were so fluffy! As I was frying them, I realized that I could use less oil than I had originally used...aiming to make them less greasy. I have yet to master the perfectly light brown pancakes—you’ll see the darker color of these—but they were delicious. I wonder how they would have tasted with whole wheat flour.

my first pancakes on the stove while my milk for my new batch of yogurt is heating

some pancakes

some more pancakes

yummmm... yes, I did put some sugar on my pancake...we had no syrup! 

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.

Homemade Applesauce...Yum!

                I enjoy preparing my own food rather than buying things I can make myself. There are a few reasons for this. First, I actually enjoy preparing food. Second, I usually can make a healthier version of common packaged goods. And finally, I can often make the food for a lot cheaper than what it would cost to buy it in a store—though there is the increased cost associated with the time it takes me to make it. But again, usually I am enjoying myself in the kitchen.

                One food that I have been making a lot recently is homemade applesauce. Yes, it does take time to peel a bunch of apples. Yes, it does take time to chop them up. And yes, you have to occasionally mix it while it is simmering to make sure it does not burn. But it comes out so yummy and sweet, and it has no sugar!

                Here is how you do it. This will make a large-ish batch

1. Peel, core, and dice 8 medium or 4 humongous apples.
2. Put the diced apples into a large pot.
3. Add enough water to fill up to half the height of the apples.
4. You can add a cinnamon stick at this point. Then, you will get yummy cinnamon flavor and retain the light color. Or you can skip the cinnamon stick, and it will still taste delicious. 
5. Simmer on a low flame, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft enough that they mush when touched with a spoon and there is barely any water left.
6. Remove from heat and stir well until the apples become applesauce texture.

                One of my favorite ways to eat applesauce is on my oatmeal. It gives it plenty of sweetness without adding extra sugar.

 

you can barely see the oatmeal, but it is under the (homemade) yogurt and applesauce

                

Popcorn Attempt

                This past weekend, I had a few friends over, and I made some popcorn. It was bad popcorn. Think a tad charred and too salty. I had tried to make kettle corn. I have successfully made it in the past, but have not in the past many years. Standard kernels popped over the stove top in oil I can do. But adding sugar and caramelizing it to perfection without getting it burned—I can’t replicate my past results! This is where my popcorn ended up: in the garbage can.

popcorn that didn't work out

 How to pop popcorn kernels the simpler way:

1. You need a large pot. Cover the bottom with oil, and add 2 kernels of popcorn.
2. Heat on medium to high flame until both kernels pop.
3. Now add enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pot.
4. Once you hear the kernels start to pop, give the pot a shake every 10 seconds or so to prevent burning.
5. When the popping slows down, turn the stove off.
6. Pour the popcorn into a paper bag, sprinkle with salt, and shake well

                When you do that, you should get this:

                Onto the nutrition now. Popcorn itself is considered a whole grain. Three cups of air-popped popcorn contains 90 calories, 3 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fiber. Popcorn popped over the stove top in oil and microwave popcorn are another story. The added fats and/or sugar in those make the popcorn a high calorie food. The calorie content in those versions can be double or more the calories in air-popped popcorn. Be an educated eater!

                If anyone has advice on how to make kettle corn, let me know!

Juice…It’s All-Natural! What could be Wrong?

                Way too often, my patients tell me proudly that they are drinking only natural juice with no sugar. However, I do not congratulate them on that choice. :’( Many assume that natural juice must be good for their diabetes or whatever health condition they have. But what is it with juice? Why is that often not the best choice?

                Even without adding any sugar to a cup of 100% fruit juice, it will have 25-35grams of sugar. The differences depend on the fruit used to make the juice, with grape juice having one of the highest amounts of juice per cup. Any sweet food will have sugar. Many foods have naturally-occurring sugars. All fruit will have naturally-occurring sugar, as will vegetables, milk, and honey.

For someone who is working on achieving a healthy weight, there are a few points that are relevant. Fruit juice does not have fiber. When fruit juice is made, all the fibrous parts, such as the skin, are removed. Because it is fiber-free liquid, it will not help increase your satiety, as juice pretty much goes right through you without stimulating any fullness receptors. Its 120-140 calories per cup provide a sweet drink, but not the same fullness as 120-140 calories of a fruit. For example, a large apple is around 120 calories, and also give you 5 grams of fiber…now that will keep you going a bit.

Next time you want a sweet treat, reach for a whole fruit. My favorites are Honey Crisp apple, bananas, and strawberries. What are your favorite fruits?