paleo banana bread

Do you love bread? I grew up my mom’s (grandma’s originally) pumpkin bread. To this day, the smell of that pumpkin bread baking brings me a warm cozy feeling of being at home. But, as most of you know, I am no longer able to eat gluten 😦 but really it’s 🙂 because I am so much healthier + happier (especially my tummy) without it.

That all being said, I still love some bread/muffins for a quick and easy snack. And it doesn’t have to be unhealthy either! This weekend I made some paleo banana bread, and it came out so tasty! I hope you guys enjoy!

Paleo Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf + ~6 muffins

5 eggs

4 bananas

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 T cinnamon

2 T coconut sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1. Mash your bananas. Mix the eggs, and coconut oil in with the bananas.

2. Add the cinnamon, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla.

3. Mix thoroughly.

4. Spray coconut oil/rub butter on your pans, and pour the batter in.

5. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Enjoy! Especially with butter.

^some delicious paleo banana bread with butter!^

Naked {Chicken} Burrito Bowls

 Yesterday morning started bright and early with a ~3 mile walk while I listened to a sermon (podcast style). I’ve been practicing this little morning routing for the past few days (since finishing the MCAT) and it’s been so lovely. A quiet morning walk, with just some scripture, some praise and my thoughts. Plus- getting out before 7 am is pretty much the only time it’s under 80+ degrees out. The highs for the rest of the week are approaching 100.. woo let’s see if I make it!

Is it wrong to repeat a church outfit for an interview the next day? By my logic, I only wore this for about an hour, so putting it on for a few more hours the next day was basically the same as wearing for one whole day. Right? 🙂

Breakfast- simple and yellow. Eggs and banana + almond butter. I’m always in more of a simple mood for breakfast, and this did just the trick.

After breakfast I drove all the way out to the mall and shopped around for a little before getting to my lunch meeting/interview a little early. Unfortunately the woman I was supposed to meet had to reschedule last minute. I ran back to my apartment after that and put together a ‘snack plate’ for lunch. Turkey, spinach, celery, goat cheese, salsa. hummus + chips. The perfect little mix.

For dinner- the star of the show!

Chicken Burrito Bowls!

This recipe is one of the simplest things I have ever made for dinner and it was ready in less than 20 minutes. Plus, you can customize your bowl with whatever toppings you like, which makes it even more delicious.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/2-3/4 lb chicken (pre-cooked)
• 16 oz frozen corn
• 8-16 oz black beans
• 16 oz salsa
• Brown Rice (optional)

Topping:

• 1 avocado
• Shredded Mexican Cheese
• Tortilla Chips

Directions:

1. Place the corn, black beans, and salsa into a medium sauce pan over medium heat. If you haven’t already cooked the chicken, do this in a separate pan now. You want the chicken cut into small chunks or shredded.

2. Boil water for the rice, and add it in when ready. Or, grab some frozen brown rice from Trader Joe’s and it steams itself right in the bag! Soooo easy and convenient on a busy day.

3. After the mixture is starting to get warm, add the chopped up chicken into the pot.

4. Once the mixture is hot all the way through, your job is done! Add all the toppings you want. I like to crush up a few chips to add some crunch to the bowl. Delicious!

 

It’s Treat Yourself Tuesday y’all! Treat yourself with a delicious, easy recipe (maybe mine?) because easy recipe = all the more time to relax and treat yourself any way you please :)!

Quick & Healthy Dinners.

Even though ‘summer’ has technically began- my schedule hasn’t really calmed down. Studying all the time doesn’t have to mean unhealthy dinners though! I’ve been cooking dinner for my parents and me a few days a week, and I thought I would share a few of my quick and healthy dinners (+1 breakfast) with y’all!

First off: breakfast.

 Overnight _____ (oats, sweet potato, chia pudding). Anything that you can mix up and leave to ‘cook’ itself in the fridge overnight is a great option. This is a sweet potato, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1 T chia seeds, and some cinnamon. It’s perfect for a quick breakfast is the morning. I like to grab mine after my morning walk with my mom. It’s the perfect quick breakfast while I check email or start my studying for the day.

 

Now, some dinners.

1. Stir Fry. With the help of some frozen vegetables and shrimp, a stir fry like this can be ready in 20 minutes. I just took 2 bags of frozen vegetables and a bag of frozen shrimp. I defrosted the shrimp while the vegetables started to cook, and added some low-sodium soy sauce as it cooked. The vegetables and shrimp were so delicious, they didn’t need much seasoning. I added the shrimp into the wok, and allowed everything to cook, before adding a little more soy sauce and voila, it was all ready!

 

2. One thing that really saves me for dinners is prepping before hand. For example- if I have some free time on a Saturday or Sunday, I’ll cook up some broccoli,  asparagus, brussel sprouts- anything I know I like to grab from the fridge for a healthy dinner. Then, all I have to do is make the chicken, or fish and dinner is complete!

 

 

3. Brinner! When in doubt- breakfast! Eggs are such an easy and quick meal, and I don’t know many people who don’t like eggs. This is an easy way to make a protein-packed dinner. Plus- scrambled, fried, sunny-side up- you can customize the eggs to everyone’s liking!

 

I hope y’all enjoy these tips!

What’s your favorite healthy dinner when you’re short on time?

Easy & Quick Gluten Free Banana Bread

Yesterday was a crazy day! I spent the entire day in the city with my mom. It was a perfect day of fun and an awesome (needed) mental break from all the studying I’ve been doing. But- before a recap of our day trip, a quick post and recipe for y’all!

Friday was a busy (studying + doctor + workout) day with healthy eats to keep me fueled.

First up: oats, banana, almond milk, and a little yogurt. Simple throw together breakfast- my favorite.

After wayyyy too long, (because of the doctor’s office) I was able to eat some lunch. An ‘everything’ salad and some banana bread on the side.

Then, workout time. Friday it was 60 minutes of straight cardio, plus an arm workout I did at home. I’ve been getting in more strength truing lately, and it’s awesome. I feel strong…and sore.

After some more studying, I made a bowl of leftovers- chicken, eggplant, spaghetti squash, marinara sauce, and a little mozzarella on top. Delicious!

 

^^And this..just for proof that I still wear real clothes (however rare it may be..)!^^

Ok, on to the good stuff- the recipe!

This recipe is super easy and you don’t need special gluten free flour! Just rolled oats!

Prep:

Make the oat flour!

Take your oats, and process them into oats. I used a smaller attachment of my Ninja, but any food processor or even a good blender should work. Make them as coarse/fine as you would like.

Recipe- Gluten Free Egg Free Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium-large ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups oat flour (I just blended 3 cups oat flour in my Ninja)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a bread loaf pans. Mash your bananas (I find this easier on a plate, but whatever works for you). In a bowl, mix bananas, melted coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla.

2. Next add in the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together until completely combined.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake in 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into center of loaf. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.

5. Enjoy with almond butter, butter, chocolate chips, jam- whatever floats your boat!

Recipe Link Up

Paleo Banana Bread #yesplease.

  I have a delicious recipe for y’all! Paleo Banana Bread.. it’s so delicious! First a quick recap from yesterday.

My classes are officially over- but finals are not. Most of my Tuesday was spent packing up and cleaning my apartment. My first final isn’t actually until next Tuesday, but those few days will be a whirlwind. A final Tuesday, one Wednesday, an event for my internship on Wednesday night, and then flying out Thursday night. My goal is to get most of my packing done today (it’s looking good!) so I can study for my finals without that looming over my head.

Breakfast yesterday was simple and delicious- some apple cider vinegar (read about the benefits here and here). For eats- my banana bread with almond butter, and an apple on the side. I was in a flurry of packing, so this quick breakfast was just what I needed.

For lunch, I took a little break from the packing madness and headed over to campus. The walk outside was just what I needed, and a quick meal with friends was incredibly refreshing. Salad– fueling up on those vegetables!

Since I was already over on campus, I headed to the gym for a workout. 45 minutes of HIIT and some abs to finish it up!

The rest of the afternoon was cleaning (and some procrastination..). But some of that was good- like making this delicious Banana Bread!!!!

I’ve been looking for fun ways to use my coconut flour, and decided to try out a delicious bread. It came out really well, and I can’t stop eating it!

Recipe: Paleo Banana Bread

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 bananas
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted OR unsweetened almond or coconut milk*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until very smooth. Grease a small bread pan and fill about 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*I made this with the almond milk, and it was great. Just as a note though, without any eggs or oil, it isn’t very filling. If you are looking for something more substantial I would add 1-2 eggs and the oil instead of the milk!

Enjoy!

Paleo Sweet Potato Bread

 Last weekend, I was packing up for my Spring Break trip, I realized I had 3 cooked sweet potatoes left in my fridge. I didn’t want to pack those up, but I hate wasting food. The solution? A quick and easy gluten free Sweet Potato Bread.

I based my recipe off of Dianne Sanfilippo’s from Balanced Bites for Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins.

It turned out really well, and it was a nice healthy bread to have on Spring Break with me!

Recipe:

makes 1 loaf- serves 4-6+ depending on if it’s a breakfast/snack portion.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cooked sweet potatoes (mine were relatively small, and gave about 1 1/2 cups), mash them*
• 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend** (substitute honey/maple syrup if you are strict paleo/primal)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tso baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or to your taste!)
• dash of salt

Preparation

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
• Prepare a bread pan, or a muffin tin. This recipe made one loaf of bread perfectly. Grease with butter/coconut oil.
• Combine wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl together until well beaten: coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, mashed sweet potatoes and Truvia.
• Measure dry ingredients (coconut flour, baking powder, and cinnamon) and slowly combine them into the wet. Beat them with a whisk or fork to make sure it is smooth and not lumpy.
• Pour batter into the pan (or muffin tin) and  bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.***

* You can substitute one 15 oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) and it should come out similarly.

**I didn’t want this super sweet, so you can adjust the sugar to your liking.

***For me, the bread continued to harden after it came out of the over, so don’t worry if it’s a little mushy when you take it out.

Enjoy! This bread is great with nut butters, bananas, honey, eggs.. anything your heart desires!

Gluten Free Fun: Breakfast Round Up.

Being gluten free can seem like a burden. Especially when you wake up starving/craving one of your old favorites. Here are some great alternatives for your gluten-free lifestyle, that won’t leave you craving/missing out on the good stuff!

^Gluten Free Cinnabon Copycat Recipe. {unreal!!} via Recreating Happiness.^

^Gluten Free Granola. via Enjoy the Journey.^

^Cinnamon Quinoa Bake. via FitSugar.^

^3 Ingredient Banana Pancakes. via Gluten Free Fix.^

^Gluten Free Banana Bread. via Foodista.^

^Vegan Breakfast Cookies. via Minimalist Baker.^

^Gluten Free Breakfast Egg Cups. via Lacy and Meg.^

^Gluten Free Bisquick Pumpkin Bread. via Birgit’s Daily Bites.^

Gluten Free Fun- Treat Roundup!

Ever since going Gluten Free, the one overly abundant thing I’ve noticed is how many treats are not gluten. I’m not suggesting  that desserts and treats are a necessary thing, especially in every day life. But, it has definitely been nice to find some gluten free treats that allow me to share in the fun without any damaging effects.

So… here are some awesome  gluten free treat recipes. Some are simple, some are fancier. Perfect for whatever party/occasion. Also perfect for your to just.. treat. yo. self.  Because you’re awesome and you deserve it!

^Cinnamon Rolls  {and they’re vegan!}. Via.^

^Buckeye Brownies. Via.^

^Pumpkin Swirl Brownies. Via.^

^GF Spiced Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie. Via.^

^The Very Best Brownies. Via.^

^Queen Mothers Cake. Via.^

Back On It

Y’all! As of today… there are officially on 80 days left until my half marathon! Seems so close yet so far..

So this Monday, I drafted a legit training plan, and got back on the running bus! I’ve been running minimally for the past 2 months (compared to earlier this fall when I was doing 8 and 9 mile runs…). I wanted to give my body a break from all the hardcore runs because I have been prone to hip/knee injuries in the past {aka when I was a freshman and would run 3 miles every morning… and not do anything to strengthen my knees/hips/joints}.

This is the plan:

I have a moderate 3-4 days a week running schedule {with Wednesday runs being an optional trade for cross training} which will gradually build me up to that 13.1 miles I need!

I’m also working on my outfit for the run…it is the Princess run after all! More on that to come 🙂

Other recent news:

^I love leaves! All over this campus. Unfortunately this was right before they vacuumed them all up.. I guess leaves aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing/practical for a college campus…sigh.^

^my breakfasts this week have all been some variation of this… apple, egg whites, a slice of Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Wheat Bread, and some delicious pumpkin cream cheese from Trader Joe’s. If it ain’t broke..^

^just had to share.. 37 mpg…I’m a proud mama of my little Civic^

  

^scene from a little 3 mile run^

^this delicious Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Basil Soup that I’ve been working on all week. It came in a giant box, so I need to finish it before it goes bad! I just pour it into my mason jars for a quick and easy serving size reference!^

^eaten on the side of my soup.. gluten free pretzels, kale, and hummus. great combo!^

 

^I made this Two Ingredient Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake this weekend. yum! It’s been a nice little treat to have around this week! All you need is a box of cake mix {of course regular cake mix works as well} and a can of pumpkin. Then follow the baking directions for the regular cake.^

Hope you all are having a great week?!

Any races you are training for?

gluten free pumpkin bread {with chobani}

This afternoon I was getting bored studying.. so I decided to use up some frozen pumpkin {from before my beach weekend} and a container of greek yogurt I had around. It turned out quite well! I actually got the idea for using greek yogurt from Elise at the Hungry Hungry Hippie with her “chocolate cherry quick bread”. This is a variation of her original recipe!

^^grinding my oats for the flour^^

 

^^the previously frozen pumpkin thawed out perfectly in about an hour^^

I didn’t have any Pam on hand, so I went with some butter– more natural anyway!

 

^^ready to go… I didn’t get any pictures afterwards but, it didn’t raise that much, so this is basically the idea.^^

Recipe- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

• 2 cups oat flour {with certified gluten free oats}
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 container of Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt {16 oz.//1 lb}
• ~1/2 cup {~7.5 oz pureed pumpkin}

–Mix in the dry ingredients together. Then, add in the yogurt, followed by the pumpkin. Mix all together

–Bake in the oven at 375 for 35-45 minutes {until a knife comes out clean}

This recipe turned out really well! I didn’t add any sweeteners {of course there were already some in the yogurt}. It turned out a little on the ‘healthy’ tasting side, but definitely still good! Enjoy!