Veggie-Loaded Lasagne

We are gluten and dairy-free at our house due to our youngest child having food intolerances. Fortunately there are many wonderful recipes out there that can mean you can still enjoy foods like pasta and lasagne even when you can't eat gluten. 

I've adapted this recipe from The Healthy Chef and tweaked it for our household's dietary needs. I recommend making the basic recipe below and then once you've got the hang of this go ahead and adapt it to your own palate preferences.

Ingredients

• 1.5L x tomato passata
• 1/3 cup of red wine
• 1 x brown onion, diced
• 2 x cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 x tin of brown lentils, strained (or 3/4 cup of rinsed red lentils)
• 1/2 bunch of basil leaves, chopped
• 1 x bunch of greens (kale, Swiss chard or spinach greens), washed and chopped
• 2 x tbs Extra virgin olive oil + extra for roasting pumpkin
• 1 x small butternut pumpkin, seeded and sliced thinly widthways 
• 1 x tsp of ground cinnamon 
• 1 /2 x tsp of ground nutmeg
• 2 x cups of raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
• 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
• 1 x cup of water
• Sprigs of rosemary or thyme for roasting (optional)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

1. Soak raw cashews in water (or speed up the process by soaking in freshly boiled water while you start the cooking process).
2. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced.
3. Place sliced pumpkin on a baking tray and sprinkle with ground cinnamon, nutmeg and prigs of rosemary/thyme if using. Drizzle with 1 x tbs of olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes until golden and pumpkin is cooked (roast for longer if needed).
4. Heat remaining 1 x tbs of olive oil in a small heavy based saucepan while the pumpkin is cooking. Once the oil is heated add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until translucent and slightly caramelised. Add garlic, lentils and salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
5. Add tomato passata and red wine. Stir together and reduce heat to simmer on low for 20 minutes to allow flavours to develop. Throw in chopped basil leaves at the end of cooking the tomato sauce. 
6. Sauté greens in a small amount of oil or water until bright green.
7. Strain cashews and blend on high with water, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper until combined into a smooth paste. 
8. Assemble the lasagne in an oven-proof ceramic dish starting with pumpkin, then greens, followed by tomato sauce. Repeat and then top with the cashew paste.
9. Bake lasagne in the oven for 30 minutes until cashew layer becomes a crust on top.

Serves 8.

Enjoy! Lucy x

Buckwheat Pancakes

When you are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free breakfast can feel like a real struggle. Some people turn to meat and veg for breakfast but when you are after something more traditional buckwheat pancakes can be just the ticket!

Buckwheat & Elimination Diets

Many women while breast-feeding undergo strict elimination diets if they suspect their breastfed child has a food allergy or intolerance. When undertaking an elimination optimal nutrition is really important - that's where pseudo grains like buckwheat can come in.

Buckwheat is nutritious because it contains:

• Magnesium - a important mineral to support brain health, mood and energy. 
• Manganese - an essential micro mineral needed for growth & immune system health
• B vitamins - needed for energy, growth and healthy mood.
• Vegan protein - protein is essential for brain, muscle and 
• Fibre - regulates blood sugar & fats and assist with moving stool along the digestive tract.
• Other minerals - such as zinc and iron which are critical to digestive health, cell repair and energy. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe and it becomes a family favourite like it is in our house. 

- Lucy x

Pancake Ingredients

• 1 x cup of buckwheat flour (untoasted)
• 1 x serve of chia eggs (see below)
• 1 + 1/4 cups of plant-based milk (I used cashew milk, but you can also use coconut milk, almond or rice milk)
• Pinch of salt flakes
• 1 x tsp of olive oil
• 1 x tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 x tsp of sweetener (such as maple syrup or rice malt syrup)
• 1 x tsp vanilla essence (optional)
• Coconut oil for frying (or any other safe oil you wish to use)
• Chopped fruit or extra sweetener for serving.

Chia Egg Ingredients

• 2 x tbs chia seeds
• Filtered water

Method

1. Grind the chia seeds in a coffee grinder or in a heavy duty motor and pestle. When using the motor and pestle, all up this process takes about 5 minutes (just grind until your hand feels tired, step away and then come back to grinding).
2. Once ground add 1 x tablespoon of the ground chia to 1/4 of cup of water and allow to for 10 minutes so the chia can become like a gel.*
3. Once the chia eggs have gelled add buckwheat flour, chia eggs, milk, olive oil, cinnamon, sweetener and vanilla essence (if using) to a food processor and blend on high for 3 minutes.
4. Add coconut oil to a heavy based saucepan and place on stovetop on high heat.
5. Once the oil starts to shimmer reduce the heat to lowest setting add about 1 generous tablespoon of the pancake batter to the pan. Heat until bubbles begin to show on the surface of the pancake. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side until golden.
6. Place cooked pancakes to cool on kitchen towel to soak up any extra oil.
7. Repeat process with oil and pancake batter until you have finished the batter.
8. Slice up some fruit and serve with pancakes with some extra sweetener.

Makes 12 pancakes

*Tip: any leftover ground chia meal can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 month.

Apple & Strawberry Gluten Free Muffins

I've been working on a gluten free muffin recipe that was also egg/soy/dairy free (so it excluded the most common food intolerances that I encounter) AND wasn't too dense AND delicious. I knew I was onto something when my kids literally gobbled up the first batch that I made using the following recipe!

As with all of our recipes, you can swap things like the gluten free flours for regular wheat/spelt/khorasan flour, the milk for any milk your prefer, the coconut sugar for regular cane sugar and the apple puree for banana (or even pumpkin puree).

These gluten free muffins are perfect for lunch boxes or day trips, they keep well for up to 5 days (although best stored in the fridge) and freeze well. Enjoy! -Renee x

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

• 1/4 cup besan (chickpea) flour

• 1/4 cup arrowroot/tapioca flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (you can also use regular cane sugar)

• 1/3 cup coconut oil

• 2 flax eggs (2 tbs ground flaxseed combined with 4 tbs water, mixed well and set aside)

• 1 cup apple puree

• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• 1/2 cup milk (nut, soy, rice etc)

• 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped (you can use any berry)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease two muffin trays and place both on a large baking tray and set aside.

2. Combine the apple puree, sugar, vanilla essence and coconut oil until well mixed.

3. Add the flours, salt, baking powder and soda, salt, flaxeggs, cinnamon and milk and process until smooth. 

4. Gently stir in the chopped berries, then pour the mixture into the muffin trays (should make 10-12 muffins.

5. Place tray in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from trays. Best stored in the fridge if not eaten within 2 days and they freeze well.

Quinoa Porridge

This one is for all the mums who are breastfeeding child with allergies or intolerances. Why? Because I can still distinctly remember staring blanking into my pantry searching for a satisfying breakfast while undertaking an elimination diet for my 2-year-old's eczema and non-IgE allergies. 

Only a breastfeeding mum, 3 weeks into an elimination diet, knows just how much a pain in the bum preparing breakfast can be.

If you are egg-free, soy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free, nut-free, oat-free and dairy-free breakfast you can feel like there's no safe foods to turn to - especially for breakfast when you can't reach for a simple omelette or muesli. 

That's where your seeds and gluten-free grains can come in. Staples like quinoa, brown rice and buckwheat are filled with minerals, proteins and starches to help you feel full, have regular bowel motions and give you plenty of energy for chasing your crazy kidlet around the place.

My youngest has stopped breastfeeding but our whole family still continues to eat quinoa porridge for breakfast....because it tastes delicious!

Want some more support with healthy diet options during your elimination diet? Get in touch book an appointment. 

- Lucy x

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of quinoa (see notes)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of safe milk 
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp of sweetener (see notes)
• 1 tsp of cinnamon powder
• 1 medjool date, pit removed (optional)
• Extra water for rinsing and soaking
• Extra fruit, seeds and nuts for toppings

Method

1. If possible soak the quinoa overnight in the bowel with plenty of water.
2. In the morning strain the quinoa in a sieve and rinse throughly.
3. Place quinoa and the cup of water in a small pot on high heat.
4. Cover and bring to the boil.
5. Reduce to a low heat and cook for about 10 minutes until most of the water is absorbed.
6. On the low heat break the banana into pieces and add it to the pot with your choice of milk, the cinnamon and date if you are using it.
7. Stir over low heat until the porridge is a consistency you like.
8. Spoon into a bowl and top with slice fruit, crushed raw nuts and seeds.

Serves 2

Tips

• For quinoa I recommend you use tricolour or plain white variety as they make the porridge a creamier consistency.
• It's not critical that you soak the quinoa but doing this will release phytates from the seeds. This anti-nutrient compound can prevent the absorption of some minerals so soaking and rinsing helps to remove this from the quinoa.
• Safe milk may be coconut milk, almond milk, rice milk.
• I prefer to use maple syrup for a sweetener but you can use honey or rice malt syrup depending.
• Store any leftover porridge in an air-tight container to use for tomorrow's breakfast.

Hot Cross Cookies

I love hot cross buns, and usually make a couple of batches around Easter for the kiddies because they love them too! But with my youngest being off gluten, dairy and soy and me not having enough time to play around with a gluten free recipe for hot cross buns, I decided to work on something a little easier and different, hot cross cookies!

And boy, have they been a hit! They are soft, with a hint of spice and just the right amount of dried fruit. Easy to make, and easily adapted to suit any other intolerances, such as nuts or eggs.

I hope you enjoy these hot cross cookies, just in time for Easter but they are literally perfect for any other occasion x Renee

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15-20 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ½ cups plain flour (for gluten free use: 1 cup almond meal, 1 cup brown rice flour, ½ cup tapioca/arrowroot flour)

• ½ cup coconut sugar (you can also use regular sugar)

• ¼ cup nut butter (you could also use sunflower seed butter or use more coconut oil)

• ½ cup coconut oil

• 2 tsp vanilla essence

• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom

• 1/8 tsp ground fennel

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 2 tbs cacao powder

• 1 large egg (for egg free use 1 large banana mashed)

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¾ cup dried fruit (1/2 cup sultanas, ¼ cup dried cranberries, ¼ cup apricots, roughly chopped)

‘Cross’ batter

• 2 tbs plain flour (for gluten free, use tapioca/arrowroot flour)

• 1 tbs rice malt syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1-2 tbs milk (dairy, non dairy etc)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

2. Cream together the eggs (or banana), sugar, nut butter, coconut oil and vanilla essence.

3. Add all the remaining cookie ingredients, except the dried fruit, and combine until well mixed. Then add the dried fruit and mix in.

4. Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture out and form into golf ball sized balls. Place on the baking tray, evenly spaced (these will spread) and gently flatten with your hand or with a fork.

5. Combine the ‘cross’ batter ingredients, adding the milk in 1/2 tsp increments, until smooth and without lumps. You want this mixture to be thick enough to squeeze through a piping bag (or drizzled over the cookies) and not too runny or it will spread. Pipe the mixture across each cookie, forming a cross.

6. Place trays in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from baking tray.

Mini Choc Chip Cookies

OMG, who doesn’t love tiny little choc chip cookies??? These babies have this lovely kinda wholemeal texture, but the chocolate makes them feel decadent and indulgent. Amazingly they stay really soft if kept in a airtight container, so I take a little box to work at the beginning of the week, for little arvo pick me ups, and they work a real treat! And bonus, my kids absolutely love them which is great as it can be difficult to find treats that are gluten, dairy and soy free for my two year old.

I generally bake them using coconut sugar, but have recently started using rice malt syrup instead in order to cut the sugar content down even further and love them! With rice malt syrup, they're more of a chewy, flat cookie and a little softer so be gently with them. If you're a real sweet tooth, stick with the coconut sugar, otherwise rice malt syrup is the way to go!

-Renee x

Makes 15 or so

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

• 1 cup (or just under) Loving Earth mylk chocolate, chopped (use 90% Lindt chocolate instead to reduce fructose content further)

• ½ cup unrefined coconut oil

• ½ cup coconut sugar*

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/3 cup brown rice flour (you can also use almond flour)

• 1/3 cup of each besan (chickpea) flour and tapioca/arrowroot flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 flax egg (2 tbs ground flaxseed + 4 tbs water mixed together)

• 1/3 cup of plant based milk (soy, nut, rice, coconut)

• 1 tbs vinegar

*swap for ½ cup rice malt syrup; adjust milk to 0

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper, grease with a little coconut oil (you 100% need to do this if using rice malt syrup) and set aside. Add the vinegar to the ‘milk’ and roughly chop the chocolate and set both aside.

2. In a large bowl cream together the coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract.

3. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and combine well, then add the milk/vinegar combo and mix well. Stir in the chopped chocolate and sunflower seeds.

4. Form the dough into walnut sized balls, place on the baking trays and gently flatten with a fork (if you're using rice malt syrup the mix will be quite wet, spoon 1 tbs of batter per cookie, keeping them spaced apart even further). Keep them fairly spaced out because they will expand a little.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Keep an eye on them because they can overcook and will lose their chewiness.

**Please note these can dry out pretty quickly, so once they are cool (if there’s any left!) it’s best to keep them in an airtight container. If it’s really hot, best to keep them in the fridge and they’ll last close to a week.

Not So Berry Teacake

I don't know about other families, but my kids will positively rip through a box of organic frozen berries if they're in the freezer so I wanted to come up with an alternative to berries that I could use in desserts and smoothies. I start playing around with stewing apples and beetroot with citrus juice in order to create a faux berry flavour and it worked!

I do love a good hidden veggies recipe, and if its a sweet one too than it makes me even happier. Beetroot have exceptionally good nutritional value, and are a great source of fibre, folate,  manganese, iron, potassium and vitamin C, as well as potent antioxidants. They are also naturally sweet so a addition to sweet treats to help lower the added sugar.

Although this recipe is gluten and dairy free, you can sub the flours and milk for any that you like. Swap the nuts for sunflower seeds if it needs to be nut free, or omit altogether. Although cooking the apple and beetroot is a bit time consuming, you actually make enough for two cakes so you can freeze the other half for another time.

This teacake goes so well with a cup of tea on a lazy Saturday afternoon, however if you're a parent to young kiddos like myself, its realistically best eaten with one hand and a lukewarm cuppa in the other! Great for playdates and birthday parties too!

Enjoy! Renee x

Serves 8-10
Prep time: 15 mins
Total cooking time: 55 mins

INGREDIENTS

Not so berry mix:

• 2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1 cm cubes

• 1 1/2 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes

• juice of 1 lemon (you will need to keep the zest)

• juice of 1 orange (you will need to keep the zest)

Crumb mix:

• 1 tbs coconut sugar

• zest from above 1 lemon

• 1/4 cup almonds/pistachios/pecans

Cake mix:

• 1 1/4 cup plant based milk (rice, soy, nutmilk etc)

• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar (ACV)

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1/3 cup coconut oil

• 2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

• 2 cups flour= 1 1/2 cup brown rice flour + 1/4 cup arrowroot/tapioca flour + 1/4 cup besan (chickpea flour)

• 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

• zest from above orange

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Grease cake tin (I use a springform tin) and set aside.
2. Place the apple, beetroot, lemon and orange juice in a small pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cover with 3/4 with a lid. Cook for 20-25 mins until soft. Ensure that there is enough water at all times otherwise it will stick and burn.
3. Pour off any excess water, puree and set aside. You will only be using half for this cake, the other half can be frozen for future cakes.
4. While the beetroot and apple is cooking, combine the coconut sugar, lemon zest and nuts in a food processor until roughly chopped and set aside.
5. Add the ACV to the milk and set aside.
6. Cream together the coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla essence.
7. Add the flours, baking powder and soda, salt, orange zest, and cinnamon and combine well. Pour in the milk + ACV mix and combine until smooth, ensuring there are no lumps.
8. Pour batter into cake mix, giving a bang to get out any air bubbles. Gently add half the apple beetroot puree (freeze the other half for another cake), distributing it throughout the cake mix.
9. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the cake, distributing it evenly.
10. Cover the cake with foil, place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Gluten free cakes can become quite dry if over baked, so ensure it isn't left in the oven for too long.
11. Once cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Vegan Red Velvet Cake with Salted Caramel Ganache

This is one of those hidden veggies, low refined sugar, sweet treats that we love here at Westside Wellness! It's been made for many a tea or birthday party, the ganache can be swapped for icing and it can even be poured into muffin tins for easier portioning.

The recipe is egg, dairy and gluten free so useful for families with intolerances and great for parties where different diets need to be catered to, but you can swap all of those for regular flour and dairy milk if preferred. 

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium beetroots, peeled and chopped into 2 cm cubes

• ½ cup coconut sugar

• 1/3 cup coconut oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence

• 2 cups of flour: 1 ½ cups brown rice flour, ¼ cup corn flour, ¼ cup besan (chickpea) flour *

• ¼ cup cacao

• 1 tsp bicarb (baking soda)

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¾ cup of plant-based milk **

• 2 tbs vinegar

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Add vinegar to milk and set aside.
3. Place the chopped up beetroot into a small pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes. You will need to keep an eye on this, stirring occasionally and adding a bit more water if it starts to dry out. Stab beetroot with a fork or skewer, you want it fairly soft, a bit firm is ok though.
4. Once beetroot is cooked, puree it until smoothish (it will have a bit of texture to it).
5. Cream together the pureed beetroot, coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla essence.
6. Add the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt and process until smooth.
7. Add the milk and vinegar mix, again processing till smooth (this is quite a runny mixture, do not add more flour).
8. Pour mixture into a greased cake tin, bang on bench to release any air bubbles.
9. Bake at 180 degrees for 20-30 minutes. The cooking time will depend on your oven; gluten free cakes tend to cook quicker and will dry out if over cooked. Check with a skewer, if it comes out clean, or with dry crumbs on it, the cake is ready.
10. Gluten free cakes can be soft and crumbly, allow to completely cool before turning out of tin.

CARAMEL GANACHE INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 80 g block Loving Earth 'salted caramel' chocolate
• ¼ cup coconut cream (I freeze the remainder of the tin if I won’t use it in the next few days)
• pinch of sea salt

METHOD

1. Using a small saucepan and bowl as a double boiler, half fill the saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
2. Break up the chocolate and add to the bowl on top, when most of it has melted, add the salt and coconut cream.
3. Whisk gently until you have a smooth caramel.
4. Allow to cool for a minute or two, then pour over your cake. You’ll want a plate slightly bigger than the cake to catch the run off.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbs coconut oil

• 1 tbs coconut paste (I use loving earth)

• 2 tbs rice malt syrup

• 1 ½- 2 tbs cacao powder (use less or more depending on how strong you’d like the chocolate flavour)

METHOD

1. Melt the coconut oil and coconut paste over a gentle heat.
2. Once melted, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together until smooth
3. Remove from heat and continue whisking, allowing the mix to cool slightly
4. Spread over cooled cake and caramel ganache. As the mixture cools, it will firm up more. If you store the cake in the fridge, it will get a whiteish sheen, this is just the coconut oil and will go away once the cake is at room temp.

* You can use any combo of gluten free flours, this is the combination that I’ve found works best, but you could probably use just brown rice and corn flour if you don’t have besan. Regular wheat or spelt flour also work great

** Any plant based milks will work, as will regular dairy milk

Wheat & Refined Sugar Free Lactation Cookies

Lactation cookies are loaded with nutritious ingredients that also double as galactogogues, foods that may help to boost breastmilk supply. Oats, brewers yeast and flaxseed all work together to get that supply up (in conjunction with regular feeding and/or pumping).

Renee created this recipe when she had her second son, firstly because she needed a tasty treat to get her through those hours and hours of breastfeeding and secondly because so many recipe out there contained white flour, white sugar and not much else. She wanted a recipe that was delicious but also nutritious, providing protein and good fats and could be eaten with one hand (she knows what its like to spend months eating with only one hand!).

You can sub the gluten free flours for spelt, khorasan or wheat flour, the coconut sugar for regular or rapadura sugar and the oats for rice flakes, almond meal or extra flour (although the oats are a key milk boosting component in the recipe!).

We love baking a fresh batch of these and including them in food hampers we take to our mumma friends who've just had a baby. They can be made in advance and freeze/defrost exceptionally well. Enjoy! (.)(.)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour *
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour *
• 1/4 cup besan (chickpea flour) *
• 11/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarb (baking soda)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbs ground flaxseed (linseed)
• 2 eggs (or 2 flaxeggs: 2 tbs ground flaxseed & 4 tbs water combined then let sit for 10 mins + 1 tbs plant based milk)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup coconut sugar, depending on how sweet you’d like them
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup oats
• 3 tbs brewers yeast
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 fresh dates, cut up
• small handful of almonds, crushed (optional)
• *(1 cup total flour so you can use wholemeal wheat or spelt flour instead)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Cream together sugar, vanilla, dates and coconut oil. Add eggs/flaxeggs and combine until well mixed.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, except the crushed almonds, and combine until well mixed (I do this in a food processor to make the mixture quite smooth).
4. Add the almonds and stir through by hand.
5. Divide the mixture into golf ball sized balls and place even only a greased (or line with baking paper) baking tray. They don’t spread hugely but keep them a bit separate. Using a fork gently flatten the dough balls slightly.
6. Bake at 180 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

These will last around 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen.

Healthy Banana Bread

Banana bread is an absolute staple in our house, whether it’s a quick snack with a cuppa, served with nut butter for breakfast, or a special piece of ‘cake’ for the toddler, it’s something that always needs to be in supply.

I love this recipe because it’s versatile, you can use whatever is in the cupboard, make it vegan and gluten free or not, and it’s always tasty. This is the gluten free version, however I’ve made it with regular wheat and wholemeal spelt flour and it’s been just as good. I generally use the Mayver’s cacao peanut butter, but any nut butter will do, tahini works great too. If there’s a nut allergy just substitute the nut butter for the same amount in coconut oil.

Up until recently I always made it with only 2 bananas, as that seems to be what we had on hand to spare, however I’ve been trialing 3 bananas and it’s freakin brilliant, sweeter with a stronger banana flavour and even softer while still firm enough to toast. What more could you ask for?

Banana Bread

WET INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup of non-dairy milk
• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 3 tbs rice malt syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 ripe bananas (2 bananas gives a milder flavour, but 3 will give that typical banana bread flavour)
• 2 tbs nut butter (tahini is also amazing instead)
• 3 fresh dates, seeds removed

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• ¾ cup besan (chickpea) flour
• ¼ cup cornflour (or arrowroot powder)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp ginger powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Grease a loaf tin with coconut oil and set aside.
2. Place all the wet ingredients into a bowl and ‘cream’ together with a hand held mixer until smooth.
3. Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl, process and again process until smooth.
4. Pour batter into greased loaf tin. Bang it on the bench to remove any air bubbles, cover with foil and place in the middle of the oven. Bake at 150 degrees for approximately 1 hour, this will depend on your oven and the flour you use. I’ve found that the gluten free version takes around an hour, whereas spelt and wheat flours take more like an hour and a half.
5. You will need to keep an eye on this the first time you make it. If the top browns too quickly lower the heat. The banana bread is ready when it is brown on top, firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool before turning it out of the loaf tin.

This will keep up to 5 days in the fridge or a few days on the bench. If we manage to not eat it in a day or so, I actually like it going a little stale as it toasts nice and crispy! However, this banana bread is still excellent for toasting.

If you have time and the ingredients, bake two loaves and slice one and freeze it, I love having a pre-sliced loaf in the freezer for when I don’t have any snacks for me and my toddler.