All the people at my house are feeling under the weather, and I had a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on the counter, so I decided to try to  perk us all up with some cake for an afternoon snack. I adapted a recipe I found on Pinterest, jotting down my modifications in case it turned out (happily it did). My pickiest kid asked for three servings.

I used a blender to whip this recipe up (mostly because I'm lazy), but it's not totally necessary. (If I were not using a blender, though, I might substitute a half cup of gluten-free flour for the oats, for a smoother texture.)

As usual, this recipe is super customizable, so do what works best for you and what you have available. 

Flourless Blender Banana Cake
(Gluten and Dairy Free, Vegan and Nut-free option)
Adapted from Ceara's Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

5 overripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
small handful mini chocolate chips
(optional, Enjoy Life brand are allergen free)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 and grease or spray an 8"x8" baking pan (or line with parchment). 
If using a blender, add all ingredients to blender and puree until blended. Stir in chocolate chips (optional). 

If not using a blender, combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl, mashing bananas well. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and make a well. Add wet ingredients and mix well; fold in chocolate chips (optional).

​However you blend your batter, transfer to pan and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. I sprinkled mine with oats to make it look fancy, but that is totally unnecessary. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or when it springs back to the touch. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, if your people let you (mine did not).

Substitutions
To make vegan: substitute egg replacer or a flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water) for the egg 

To make nut free: substitute 1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour blend for almond meal. 

Substitutes for maple syrup could be coconut sugar, honey or cane sugar. 

I hope you enjoy!

I feel like I'm the kind of person who is supposed to like kale. I want to, I do. I get it, it's hardy (and hearty) and can grow even in cold temperatures; it's a superfood loaded with nutrients. Yes, I even tried making the chips. I just don't really like it.

But, it's January in Virginia, and we're lucky enough to have a co-op of farms that delivers seasonal produce to our door just about year-round. And we are firmly in kale season. A couple of years ago, while cooking for a dear family whose son was battling cancer and who had a host of food sensitivities, I stumbled across a way to accommodate all of the food sensitivities, and use up the kale. And actually enjoy the result. (And I'm thrilled to report our friends' son is happy, healthy and cancer-free!)

So here it is, my creamy sweet potato kale soup. It's gluten and dairy free and easily customizable to become vegan (just sub vegetable broth for bone broth). My picky kids eat it; our three-year-old even asked tonight if I could make it again so he could have some tomorrow.

Creamy Sweet Potato & Kale Soup
(Gluten and Dairy Free, Vegan option)
adapted from Momtastic

Ingredients
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (ghee, butter or coconut oil would work too)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3-5 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large bunch kale, deveined and roughly chopped
4-6 cups broth (bone broth or vegetable)
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk 
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste



Directions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 
Add onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes, or until onion begins to soften
Add sweet potatoes and kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes
Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper
Add 4 cups broth and bring to a boil, cook additional 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are very tender
Add coconut milk
Use immersion blender and blend until smooth (or carefully transfer mixture to a blender, being careful to allow steam to escape) 
Once blended, add broth as needed if soup is too thick and add additional salt and pepper to taste 

Since we are not vegan, we top ours with uncured bacon and/or homemade (gluten-free) croutons. But it's delicious with a dollop of sour cream, a drizzle of olive oil, or just as it is. Hope you enjoy!

Can we all go ahead and acknowledge that I am not a food blogger? Or photographer?  And, in general, I'm not fan of terrible food photography.

So, if that's the case, why am I posting a recipe with bad photos, you might ask. Mostly because pretty much every person I've made these for asks for the recipe and I've been stingy with it until now. They're not the prettiest muffins you've ever seen. But I've yet to meet a child (or a child's mother) who doesn't like them. 

I have been tweaking this recipe for years. I found the source in a 2012 Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine article about spas. The recipe came from the Aulani Resort, and I'm sure their muffins taste better because Hawaii. But we've eaten these in Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia, and they were still really good.

I made the recipe as written for my then 4 and 2-year-old daughters, and they were not having it. Visible zucchini and carrots in breakfast was just not happening. My initial changes were to disguise the veggies, and then to make the muffins simpler and healthier (eliminating cake flour, replacing vegetable oil with coconut oil, eliminating refined sugar).

This week we got zucchini in our garden box (digression: if you're in Richmond, Hampton Roads or--soon!-- Northern Virginia, you should check out The Farm Table for fresh, local produce delivered to your door for less than most CSAs. They're not paying me, I just love them that much.). My daughters, who previously turned up their noses at zucchini, immediately asked if we could make these muffins, and also proceeded to eat zucchini for dinner. Double chocolate muffins: the gateway to higher vegetable consumption.

Double Chocolate Carrot-Zucchini Muffins
(Whole wheat, dairy and refined sugar free)

What You'll Need:
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 cup oat bran (I grind rolled oats in my Nutribullet with the milling blade; you could probably use a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (or generous 1/4 cup honey)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil 
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/4 cup grated carrot
Pinch salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand are dairy, soy and nut free)

What to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grease mini or full-size muffin tin or use paper liners
3. Combine dry ingredients  (flour through nutmeg)
4. Make a well and add oil, egg and applesauce, sugar (or honey)
5. Stir in veggies and salt; fold in chocolate chips
6. Fill muffin cups halfway. Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, if you want to get crazy, and  bake mini muffins 12-14 minutes (18-20 minutes for full size muffins) or until muffins spring back in the center when touched lightly.

Friends, I am so pregnant. Increasingly there are days lately that I am just. not. feeling it. Like today. While family and friends in Maryland, Connecticut and even Tennessee enjoy a snow day, here in southeast Virginia we are enduring the fourth straight day of a chilly, driving rain. I braved it all day yesterday to run errands with the kids, and I just couldn't do it again today.

We are only about two weeks in our new house, so projects abound, but again, the mojo is elusive. Our doulas are coming over tonight for our big prenatal meeting, so instead of cleaning for that I decided we should make some real food chocolate chip cookies. To share with the doulas, of course.

I adapted a recipe I found online with what I had and felt in the mood for, and it must have worked, because I've had to be a bit forceful about the two-cookie rule. With the kids, anyway. So far mine is an at least three cookie rule. These cookies are hearty and a bit crunchy-- Tollhouse they are not-- but I like the texture from the oats and subtle sweetness from the coconut sugar.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen small cookies
Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Magpie

What You'll Need:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar (could substitute sucanat)
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (my very favorite are Enjoy Life brand, which are free of soy, dairy, nuts and other allergens and often available in organic sections of grocery stores and Whole Foods).

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream together softened butter and sugar. Once combined, add egg, then vanilla.
3. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Once well incorporated, fold in oats and coconut
4. Fold in chocolate chips. I'd start with a 1/2 cup and see if you want to go all the way to 3/4.
5. Roll tablespoon-sized scoops loosely into balls, place on cookie sheets (I did not use parchment or a silpat) and bake for 6-8 minutes. 
They will spread slightly, but stay small and golden brown.

My house is still messy, my kids are already bickering again, and it's still raining. But I maintain that these helped. When our company arrives later, I'll hope the cookies will distract them from the clutter.

Over the last few years, my family and I have taken steps toward a healthier lifestyle.  For us, this has meant making changes toward a real-food diet and gradually "greening" our life.

Sometimes, this has meant living more frugally, sometimes it hasn't.  Some things, eventually, have been quite successful (like my homemade yogurt), while others (I'm looking at you, homemade dishwasher detergent) have been disastrous.  I am by no means an expert on this topic (or really anything, for that matter).  But I'll use this space to share what I've learned, what has worked, what hasn't, and great resources I've found to help me on what is sometimes an overwhelming journey. I hope it's helpful and that, eventually, we might learn from each other. Welcome!