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.

Agave, HFCS, and Some Banana Chocolate Dreams Fro Yo

Before I begin this post I want to answer I question I received about my yogurt post. I was asked why I don't buy fat free yogurt. The reason is because I just don't think it tastes as good as yogurt with a little fat. I don't buy the full fat yogurt (because full fat yogurt typically has a lot of saturated fat) but I usually buy yogurt with about 3-4 grams of fat per serving, simply for the creamy texture and wonderful taste!


I'm glad everyone enjoyed yesterday's Thurman Burger post! I loved reading about all of your recent indulgences. I was drooling the entire time ;)

Sugar is Sugar

The other day I was contacted by our local NBC4 station to provide my thoughts on High Fructose Corn Syrup. While I don't have a clip of the video, you can read the article here; High fructose corn syrup. If you read my blog regularly you know that I don't really consider HFCS any worse that regular table sugar. It's 55% fructose, compared to table sugar's 50% fructose. Not much of a difference in my opinion. Need more evidence? I tweeted this article earlier this week.

What about Agave Nectar? A few weeks ago I tweeted an article about Agave Nectar, which confirmed my opinion that it's really not any better for you than other sweeteners. To read the article, click here. The bottom line was this;

The bottom line is that refined agave sweeteners are not inherently healthier than sugar, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, or any other sweetener. Nutritionally and functionally, agave syrup is similar to high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose (Karo) syrup. It does contain small amounts of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, but not enough to matter nutritionally.



Question: What are your thoughts on HFCS and Agave?

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will also be posting a bit of info about the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Have you see the preliminary write-up yet? I will also provide a little update of my life. I've been quite busy!

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a wonderful day.

Soy Protein Isolate, and the Danger of Added Sugar

Happy Thursday everyone!! Only one more day until Friday, aka move-in day for Nick and I! Because we have lived in this tiny apartment for the last 3 years, we barely have any furniture. We plan to live without much furniture for at least a few months. It will be...interesting.

Some of you still have questions about bananas in the fridge. I'd like to clarify something. If your drawer is set at a high humidity, your bananas will get soft faster. You need to make sure it's set at low humidity (some fridges will say, others won't, but I'm not really sure how you find this out, sorry!). In general, just keep them on the counter if you don't know about the humidity, but always separate them if you want them to last longer.

SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE

A couple of you have asked me about soy protein isolate. What is it? Should it be avoided? Soy protein isolate is exactly as the name implies; isolated soy protein. It is made by removing the beneficial fat (omega-3) from the soybean, as well as the dietary fiber. What is left is the soy protein (isolated). It's used in many protein supplements, bars, and powders.

KASHI BAR

You'll find it in many other foods too, just start looking at the ingredient lists. In my opinion this is not something that should necessarily be avoided (I know I've heard about some bad chemicals in soy protein isolate, but I don't know enough about this to give you an honest opinion). Do keep in mind, however, that you don't want to eat too much because soy protein isolate has many isoflavones (phytonutrients that may help prevent breast cancer, but which may have a link to breast cancer if you consume too much). If you stay away from processed food (or at least consume them in moderation), you won't be consuming too much soy protein isolate, as it's really only found in processed foods! I try to get 25-30 grams of soy protein each day, but the best sources of soy protein are foods such as edamame, tofu, and tempeh, NOT processed foods with soy protein isolate.

Added Sugars

Remember back in 1990 when the "low fat craze" hit America? Ok, maybe you don't remember, but I do! That's about the time that America started to blimp and gain a bunch of weight. Ironic, right? Basically, as I've said in previous posts, once companies started removing the fat, they replaced it with sugar and salt. In reality, that just made most products even more unhealthy!


A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was published recently, which associated added sugar (found in so many foods these days) with decreased HDL (good) cholesterol and increased triglycerides. These are two important risk factors for heart disease. Check out the research here.

Just as a reminder, let's look at all of the sources of sugar in the bar below:

- Evaporated cane juice syrup
- Brown rice syrup
- Evaporated cane juice
- Pear juice concentrate
- Honey
- Barley malt syrup

Just to be fare, here's a Fiber One bar:
- Sugar (x4)
- Malt
- High maltose corn syrup
- High fructose corn syrup

** Both Kashi and Fiber One are companies I respect, quite a lot. Most of their products are fantastic. Their bars? Well, that's another story. I'm not a fan. But in reality, as I said before, I am not a fan of most bars. **

Coming Up

Saturday I will post some things about me that you may have never known. Curious?? You should be! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading :)