This ain't your grandma's Banana Bread

I think I've come to realize that I will always be a teacher. When did I become a huggy, helpful, do-good, happy-face-stickers teacher! Well not exactly, I don't do happy face stickers, and its an inside joke among my students when they attack me with hugs everyday since I'm not a exactly huggie person. I like hugging my high school students. However when I taught Fifth grade they use to mob me and they always smelled like dirt and sugar. yuck.

Tonight I decided that rather then bake alone, I'd invite some students over too. So we made a night of it. We made classic chocolate chip cookies because its comforting. Then moved on to gluten free, sugar free banana bread. The night ended with some Gluten free cupcakes.

This may sound silly but it wasn't until college that I discovered you could bake outside of a box mix. I had no idea how to build a cake batter with raw ingredients. The concept sounded too domestic for a city girl. I soon learned it was better and just as easy to work with raw materials. Yet I was still just following a list of instructions. It was only recently that I really learned the purpose of each item added. I needed to know these things so that I could figure out how to replace it. For example, "why did I need canola oil for certain baked goods?" -- It was basically used for moisture, of which I could easily replace with cold pressed coconut oil. It has the same consistency but is much healthier.

Learning the necessity of each item allowed me to spot a conventional recipe, modify it and make it better. The best part was being able to teach it to someone else. Showing my students that the healthy sub can taste just as good as the real thing. Ok that's a lie. You can't replace the taste of buttery goodness that is needed to make a puff pastry or a pie crust, BUT, What is true, is that knowing what your putting into you body is healthy and fresh...for me at least, it allows me to feel good, happy and guilty free. As always moderation is constant must.

Cooking tip:
In this recipe I've replaced its original call for a few items, please read below to understand what I did:

Canola oil Replacement: Cold pressed coconut oil. It comes in a solid state, you need to heat it up in a pan until it liquidfies. When any recipe calls for a fat you want to replace with coconut oil, whether it be butter, margarine, or oil the ratio is always 1:1. Its very easy! Coconut oil is great for frying or baking because it can withstand high heat with out burning and become carcinogenic. It also helps the body metabolize fatty acids.
Brown sugar replacement: Dark Brown agave syrup. Agave syrup may cause baked items to brown more quickly, so you may want to reduce the heat by 15-25 degrees. For each cup of white sugar replaced, use 2/3 of a cup of agave and reduce other liquids by 1/4 to 1/3 cup. This substitution will also work for Demerara Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, or Sucanat. These sugars are better then white, but keep in mind sugar is sugar. Because the moisture content of Brown Sugar is higher than that of white sugar, liquids may not have to be reduced as much when substituting agave nectar.

White Sugar replacement: Sucanat- SUgar CAne NATural, a natural sweetener

Kosher salt replacement: Sea salt, Substitute sea salt for your regular salt reducing the amount by at least one-half; three-quarters if you are using course grind sea salt.

White Flour replacement: Bob's Redmill Gluten free all purpose flour. The replacement is 1:1 for any flour.

(was impatient and took it out of the pan before it cooled so it broke, oh well)

Not your G-ma's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Cold pressed coconut oil melted

• 1/2 cup Dark Brown agave syrup

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp. Vanilla

• 1 3/4 cup Bob's red mill Gluten free all purpose baking flour (is a combo of 4 different types of flours)

• 2 tsp Baking Powder (makes dough rise)

• 1 1/4 cinnamon (metabolizer)

• 1 tsp xanthan gum

• 1/3 tsp Fine sea salt

• 1 1/2 cup Banana-mashed (the more ripe it is the sweeter your recipe, I prefer my bananas fresh and yellow but grandma will definitely like them spotted, less sweet means less sugar, your choice)

• Add other things that may tickle your fancy--in this batch my students wanted chocolate chips, shredded coconut and walnuts. (each a small handful)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 360F

• Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, or grease with coconut oil

• Cream together oil, vanilla, sugar, eggs in large bowl with electric mixer

• Add flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, cinnamon to wet mixture. beat. till mixed

• beat in bananas until smooth

• fold in chocolate chips, coconut shavings and nuts

• batter will be somewhat soft

• transfer to pan

• bake for 1 hour (check with toothpick, stick it in several places around 50 mins. If toothpick comes out clean its ready to come out)

• let cool serves 10.

I apologize for my photos this time around. Its hard to bake, instruct and photograph. But I tried anyways just so you have an idea what it could look like. I actually didn't make this I just instructed. For their first stab at baking, I don't think they look half bad. Good job girls!

And just for fun some chocolate chip cookie shots: