A healthy lifestyle translates into a healthy and happy family and this is what we all want, isn’t it? Rest, healthy food habits, hydration, exercise, stress management, and education are areas of our lives we have to work on in order to have a healthy lifestyle. Changing my bad eating habits has been a challenge! I have never liked sweets, chocolate, and ice-cream, so why was it so difficult? I LOVE baked goods! I was devastated when I had to give up gluten, but the benefits are manifold: improved nutrient absorption, weight regulation, reduced bloating, improved concentration, improved energy levels, and improved metabolism.
Once we have started a gluten free diet as a family and were deriving advantages from it, I got pregnant and I have decided to give up sugar as well. I have noticed that the more healthy, sugar-free choices I made, the more I was motivated to keep going, experimenting with new foods and recipes. One thing led to another and we have become a Paleo family. Most of the time! We don’t consume gluten or any grains (sometimes we have brown rice), no dairy, and no sugar. This made it easier for me to prepare meals that are healthy for us AND for our toddler. As I said, I love baked goods and what I miss the most from my gluten-filled days is a good bread. I’ve tried to find the perfect recipe and while I was experimenting, I ended up with a great Paleo banana bread. Here is the recipe:
Gluten/Sugar/Dairy Free Banana Bread
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup sugar-free nut butter (I used sesame and almond butter)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- a pinch of salt
- a handful of chopped walnuts for decoration
Mix all the wet ingredients together with an electrical blender or hand mixer.
Combine all dry ingredients, except the nuts.
Incorporate the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter it into a bread pan, sprinkle the chopped nuts on top and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Enjoy!