Moist and Delicious Avocanana Bread (Gluten Free)

One day, not too long ago (in a beautiful kitchen far, far away. haha), I opened the fridge and realized that in our bottom drawer there were two bananas that were brown, but not rotten. I grabbed the bananas and threw them in the freezer, assuming I'd eventually turn them into banana bread. Three days later, no joke, I found the following great recipe in Today's Dietitian Magazine.

Avocanana Bread
(Modified version of a recipe from Today's Dietitian)

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Makes 1 loaf
Serves 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup brown rice flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 ripe, fresh avocado, seeded
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 T lemon juice

Instructions

1. Line a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with nonstick foil and lightly grease the bottom only.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine dry ingredients: oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Scoop the avocado into a large bowl and mash lightly.
5. Add oil and brown sugar to the avocado. Cream together using an electric mixer, until light and creamy.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Stir in bananas, then almonds and dry ingredients.
8. Stir in almond milk and lemon juice, beat just until the milk and juice are incorporated.
9. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

This bread is very, very moist, and almost tastes like it's not quite done when you take it out, but once it passes the "knife-test" (as in, you insert a knife and it comes out clean) it should be ready!

This is what it looked like prior to baking.....nice and green.


Thankfully it looked normal once it was cooked (although still slightly green inside).

Estimated Nutrition Facts

Serving Size (1/8th loaf)

Look at all the fiber! Even the protein content is pretty decent, for a slice of quick-bread. Also, bear in mind a lot of that sugar is from banana and avocado, so it's not considered "added sugar" (although most of it is from brown sugar....I won't lie).

I can't even explain the taste to you, other than it was moist, sweet, and delicious. I actually ate this with a bit of real butter (yes, I said it, real butter!! Yum.). I will definitely make this again. I might even try it with higher-fiber oat bran flour next time.

QUESTION: What's your favorite fruit or vegetable to add to quick breads? I love pumpkin breads myself.

A Reduced Fat and Lower Calorie Avocado?

I can't remember who blogged about SlimCados about two or three weeks ago, but ever since I saw that post I really wanted to try one. Last week I finally found one at the local supermarket and of course I just had to try it.


They claim to be 50% lower fat and 35% lower calorie compared to the leading California avocados. I'll tell you right now, it's not worth it.

I'm not just saying that because I'm being picky. I mean, I eat Better'n Peanut Butter all the time and it's clearly not better than peanut butter. I think with the SlimCado it's just so bland and void of flavor and creaminess that it's just not worth it to me.

It's almost as if the green color in avocados is what holds all the flavor, because as you can see the SlimCados are more yellow. I could have done without them on my lean beef tacos with grilled red pepper, brown rice, and baked beans (yeah, I said baked beans!). Nick agreed.


In case you were wondering, SlimCados are still a great source of vitamin E, fiber, B-vitamins, potassium, zinc, and monounsaturated fat. It may be worth it to try one if you are really trying to watch your fat and calories, but for me, as with most things, I'd prefer to eat the real thing, just less of it.

And on another note, can you tell which tomato is home grown?

If you guessed the bright red one on the right, you would be correct. All that extra red pigment signifies more health-promoting lycopene. What's not to love?! After our bountiful tomato summer, I doubt I'll ever be able to eat another non-homegrown tomato again! Ok, maybe I'm lying.....

QUESTION: Have you ever tried a SlimCado??

In other news, I said YES to the DRESS on Saturday! I know I have an entire year before I get married, but I'm a planner so I thought I would start early. The lady at the dress shop said it would take six months to get in, so I'm pretty happy that I started so early! I can't wait to show everyone. And for all of you who have yet to get married, I have one tip; try on all dresses that you like, even if it's not something you ever imagined wearing. The dress I chose was one I would never have imagined choosing, in a million years.

Avocado Ice Cream and Perfiteroles

Nick's sister, Meghan, is not only a surgeon but also a master chef. A few weeks ago she made dinner for Nick, Nick's mom, my family and me, and of course it was amazing. As I usually say, the best part was the dessert. She made profiteroles (fancy name for cream puffs). If I would have made these, I would have used this recipe (Rachael Ray's easy version), but Meghan did it the hard way and followed this recipe.




The "cream" inside this profiterole is actually gelato. She offered us one of three flavors; vanilla, coffee, or caramel. I chose vanilla and coffee, because....I wanted to :) If you've never made profiteroles (or cream puffs) I suggest that you do. Even if you use the simple recipe, it's a great way to impress guests. And of course, they taste amazing. I think if I ever do make profiteroles for a dinner party, I will fill them with Avocado Frozen Yogurt. Yes, you read that right, Avocado Frozen Yogurt!

I based the following recipe off of this recipe for Avocado Ice Cream, but I'm calling it fro yo because there is zero cream in this recipe (and zero added sugar!).

Gina's Avocado Frozen Yogurt

Serves ~8

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
~6 tablespoons Truvia (or any natural, sugar-free sweetener)
8 ounces plain yogurt ( whichever kind you prefer, but I used Stonyfield)
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Transfer to a a bowl or ice cream maker. If not using an ice cream maker, freeze in an airtight container for at least 2 hours. When ready to use, let it thaw slightly, giving it another stir.

** If you want this to be a vegan recipe, use soy or coconut yogurt instead of regular cow's milk yogurt. **

Since the frozen yogurt is sugar free, it did freeze rather fast, and became really hard. In fact, it turned into a frozen ROCK in the freezer.

After letting it sit out for about three hours, we were finally able to "chunk" it out (not scoop, it wasn't smooth enough). While the end product wasn't so pretty, it was the best frozen yogurt I've ever tasted (and Nick's mom agreed!).

I will be making this at least ten more times this summer. It was tasty even before it was frozen!

Nutrition Facts (estimated)

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

QUESTIONS: Do you like avocado? Have you ever tried it frozen in fro yo?! I actually made this recipe for work, but didn't put it in the ice cream maker. In other words, I made the fro yo base, but gave it out and called it "avocado yogurt", not fro yo, because it wasn't frozen. I added some granola on top for a nice crunch. Some people loved it, others hated it....it was interesting. I loved it. What can I say, I'm an avocado FREAK!

Sweet Potatoes + Avocados = Heaven

Before I begin today's post, I would like to address a couple questions I have received in my comment section:

1) Someone asked me where I get my nutritional analysis from when I supply the nutrition facts on my posts. I get them from the CALORIE COUNT website! You have to create a member name and password, then you will have access to the recipe analysis.

2) I was asked how I make my frozen yogurt/ice cream. I use a Cuisine Art ice cream maker (the best investment I've made in my life) and all of my recipes are on my side bar under "Desserts", with the rest of my recipes (not the 2010 cookbook recipes, but further down).

Ok, now on to today's post!

When Jessica posted this recipe for chili cheese sweet potato fries, I knew I had to make it! Lately Nick has been telling me he's sick of all the sweet potatoes I keep making (SICK OF THEM?! No way. Not possible). So when I saw this recipe on Jessica's blog I knew I could suck Nick back into the world of the fabulous sweet potato. And I did.

Here is my modified version of Jessica's Chili Cheese Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients
(serves 2)

2 large sweet potatoes
4 ounces lean ground beef (90/20)
1/2 cup reduced fat cheese
1/2 cup black beans
1/4 cup avocado slices
1/4 cup sliced marinated bell pepper
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
10 sprays of EVOO

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into thick, long steak fries (or chunks of that's what you prefer). Spray with EVOO, sprinkle with pepper, cumin, and cayenne. Put into the oven for about 35-45 minutes.

2) Prepare the ground beef however you'd like. Meanwhile, slice the avocado, open the can of beans, the jar of marinated bell pepper (or use plain sliced bell pepper), and measure out the shredded cheese.

3) Once the sweet potatoes are finished baking, take them out and lay them in a bowl or on a plate. Top them with the meat, beans, avocado, peppers, and cheese. Zap in microwave for about 1 minute (or put these all in the oven and heat for about 10 minutes, if you don't like to use the microwave!).

Nutritional Benefits

- Beta carotene (precursor to vitamin A)

- Calcium

- Fiber (insoluble and soluble)

- Monounsaturated fat

- Lignans (a type of phytoestrogen that may prevent the growth of hormone-sensitive cancers)

Rating: 10 out of 10

Avocado Nutritional Benefits

Sadly I can't eat avocados because they are high in fructose (and on the FODMAP list). However, avocados are such a healthy food so I manage to sneak them in my diet on occasion (when I don't plan on being in public afterwards). Here are some reasons to eat avocados!

- They are available all year round

- One ounce has about 5 grams of fat, most of which is the "healthy monounsaturated fat"

- Research suggests avocados may help improve blood lipids, benefit weight loss attempts, and help maintain glycemic control

- Avocado is a great substitute for spreads, as it contains significantly less saturated fat and calories than butter or mayonnaise

- Avocados contain folate, potassium, vitamins C, and E, vitamin K, and fiber

- Avocados contain zeaxanthin and lutein (two types of carotenoids), which benefit the eye (similar to spinach)

Question: What's your favorite way to use avocado? And, have you tried sweet potatoes with avocados?!

GIVEAWAY

SPEAKING OF nutritional benefits....win some Clif red wine here!

Coming Up

Later today I'm subbing for someone at my old job, The Central Ohio Nutrition Center. I'm actually pretty excited, as it was a fun part-time job (and a great job for any new RDs out there!).

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great day!