Friday, May 25, 2012

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Over the last week I have been experimenting with my diet to see if I can get to the bottom of my recurring tummy issues. I seriously don’t think that it is normal to pop Tums like they are skittles.  I have experienced some positive results by removing some gluten from diet. Things that I have not been eating over the last week include: bread, pretzels, clif bars, crackers, etc. So far by not eating any of those, I have felt better and have experienced no stomach pains or bloating. I obviously don’t have celiac (tested negative for that back in 2010) and I don’t have a gluten sensitivity. I am no medical professional by any means, but I think that it is safe to assume that I just have a mild form of a gluten allergy. Dealing with this will be manageable for me and I think by the process of elimination and some experimentation I can eventually be free of the tummy pains.

I love to bake and I love banana bread. I decided to attempt to make some GF banana bread the other night to see if it would be any good. It far exceeded my expectations and I wanted to share the recipe with you since several people asked for it on Twitter. On a random side note...Mr. Healthy Diva loved this recipe  & he is picky with a capital "P". 

Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 medium bananas)
1 cup sugar (I used stevia)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix ingredients. I mixed all of the ingredients together in the same bowl with my kitchen aide mixer. It will appear “runny” but don’t worry, it will be okay.

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray (I used pam) and transfer the batter into the pans.
Instead of using two loaf pans I used one muffin pan to make muffins and then put the rest of the batter into a loaf pan.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
Might take less time if you just make muffins, will take more time to bake (40-45 minutes) if you just use two loaf pans.

Nutritional Facts (1 slice or 1 muffin) (I am not sure how much this changes with using stevia vs. sugar)
140 calories, 6 g fat
21 g carbohydrate
 2 g fiber
3 g protein

YUM. DELISH. AMAZING.


Questions for you:
Do you love to bake?
What are some of your favorite GF recipes (if you have any)?
Anyone else experience symptoms of a gluten allergy? If so, what did you take out of your diet?

I hope that everyone has a fun & safe MDW!!!!

--Tasha

23 comments:

  1. Have you seen any difference when taking gluten out of diet? I'm always curious.

    I sort of think gluten tolerance is like lactose tolerance -- everyone has some degree of intolerance, but it is very varied -- so some may be very affected, while others may not notice anything.

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    1. Yes, I have noticed a difference and it has only been 6 days. I haven't been popping tums like they are skittles. The only things I have taken out of my diet are breads, pretzels, clif bars, crackers etc. It seems to have helped me. I love that I got my Picky Bars the other day. :-)

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  2. I've been claiming a "slight gluten sensitivity" after doing an elimination diet and discovering that without gluten I have far less tummy problems! I thought sensitivity = slight allergy. Maybe that's not right! I can still have some gluten, but I don't eat it everyday and try to not have too much when I do have it. I used to eat a lot of cereal, oatmeal, and granola bars, but now I don't. I do still eat Chex and Kix, since they're GF! I don't particularly like buying GF products because they're so expensive, so instead I just eat my fair share of rice, veggies, fruit, nuts, and meat. (I really do eat a lot of rice though!)

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    1. Becky we probably have the same gluten issues! Over the last week I have eliminated a lot of gluten products out of my diet and added more fruits and veggies. I feel a million times better. I can still have dairy because that doesn't bother me, but I removed bread and snacky stuff like pretzels and clif bars.

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  3. I have a wheat sensitivity but I haven't tried to eliminate it since that would make me too sad:( I love everything that includes wheat products. I really should try eliminating it though since I have tummy issues too and it would be nice to be free of them:)

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    1. I bet you will feel a lot better if you did eliminate wheat. I know that it is hard, but I am finding a lot of great GF options out there. Plus you live in Seattle right? There are tons of great grocery stores for you to find GF food options.

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  4. THANK YOU for posting! Can't wait to give it a try. I make a mean pumpkin gingerbread loaf/muffins in the fall and winter... I'll have to see if I can find a way to get that recipe to be GF too.

    I've never experienced an intolerance quite like you have been, but I do notice that when I munch on too many bar products (clif, luna, powerbar, etc) for consecutive days I start feeling less than stellar in the gut. I've never noticed it from breads, pasta, crackers, or other products with gluten though.

    Can't wait to get baking!

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    1. I hope that you like this recipe. Even my hubby liked it which is a good sign :-)

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  5. I'm glad you're getting your issues figured out. Tummy problems are the worst! I used to have problems just during long runs and figured out that I just can't do the sugar in the gels and sports drinks. I hope it continues to go well for you!
    Congrats on your latest marathon finish! You are super speedy!

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  6. This sounds delicious. I don't have any gluten sensitivities but do try to have less processed wheat products as much as possible, and not make wheat my sole source of grains. I hope your health issues settle down!

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  7. Yum! I love to bake! I am not gluten intolerant, but I do eat some GF items and they are really good! Truth be told, I think that if we all took some to all of gluten out of our diets it would help. Hope you tummy issues get better!

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    1. Brandi I totally agree with you! I think that too much gluten is bad for anyone.

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  8. GF baking is definitely something I haven't mastered yet! I hope you don't have to be GF, but if it helps, I am sure it is worth it! I want to try this recipe - maybe we can learn about GF baking together! I KNOW there is a perfect GF flour mix out there, I just haven't figured it out yet!

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    1. I love baking, but the GF baking will be a learning curve for me. I don't think I will ever need to be entirely GF, but so far eliminating some gluten items from my diet seems to be helping me a lot. Especially the over processed ones. YUCK. Don't know how I ate some of that crap for so long! I love to cook also so it has been fun to try some new things in the kitchen.

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  9. I have experienced tummy issues and used to eat Tums ALL the time. I thought this was normal. I thought it was simply anxiety that made me feel sick everyday. Turns out I had gallstones and had to get my gallbladder out. I do feel so much better now and have learned these types of things are not normal! The thing was - no one found gallstones for over a year and a half. So I think it's great that you are trusting your gut (Yikes! bad pun!) even though you may not get a firm diagnosis - you are the one who knows your body best!

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    1. Amy I am glad you are feeling better! I used to eat Tums like skittles (YUCK), but I didn't need any last week. I am hoping I won't need them anymore at all. I would have to go to Costco and buy them there because I went through so many of them. Haha.

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  10. I have also tested negative for Celiac, though I kthink it causes issues for me - I get arthritis! I had sore finger and toe joints for a few months at one point in my life and after cutting gluten grains out for a week the problem was solved! Gluten does inevitably creep into my diet again, but it takes a while for the achy joints to build up again... cutting gluten out for a period fixes it every time.
    I have had great success baking GF using regular recipes and susbtituting my favourite flour blend (1 part tapioca starch, 1 part sorghum flour, one part oat or brown rice flour). I also add in ground flax to the wet ingredients for good measure since reading that xanthan gum isn't so great. Flax helps bind.

    Thanks for the recipe!

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  11. Oooh, girl...
    These look great! You know I love to bake ;)
    I haven't been getting your blog updates! What the heck?!
    I think I have it fixed now, so I can stalk you and everything!

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    1. This bread is really tasty Michelle. You would love it!!!

      My blogger gets weird sometimes and deletes blogs I read on occasion. I have no idea why.

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