Harmony in Baking

I love baking.  Pumpkin breads, banana breads, muffins... I have an old bread machine that was one of my friends grandmothers and I was on that kick for a little while.  But what I don't like is all the white flour, white sugar, oil and butter that these delicious goodies call for (my favorite pumpkin bread calls for 3 cups of white flour and 3 1/2 cups of white sugar- yikes!).  I tried subbing in whole wheat flour and applesauce for the oil but I wasn't able to find anything for the sugar except a very popular sugar substitute found in a little yellow packet... which after some research I found that the stuff in the little yellow packet is a sugar molecule with a chlorine molecule surrounding it.  That's right- chlorine like what we put in our swimming pool.

O to the M to the G

That can't be good for you AT ALL!  Hello, chemicals??  Ack!

So I started doing some reading and talking to my husband's cousin S who is very much into organic eating and cutting out GMO food (genetically modified).  She recommended something called Xylitol.  I learned from my reading that it's a plant based sugar substitute but you need to be careful as to which kind you buy.  The kind I got from my favorite online shopping site with "the smile on the box" is made from birch trees in Utah.  There is another kind I found that's made from GMO corn from China.  Oh, no thank you.  It's less expensive than the one made in the USA but I'd rather pay the extra because frankly genetically modified foods scare me a tad.

I then stumbled upon something called... Coconut Oil.

....and the heavens open up and the angel's began to sing....

Why have I not heard of this before?  So when I was on my favorite online shopping site getting the Xylitol I also ordered Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

It came in a jar and looks just like what it is- solidified oil (but pure white).  But then you unscrew the cap and... ahhh the smell is out of this world!  Go to your favorite search engine and look up the health benefits for coconut oil.  Some say that it's beneficial to eat a tablespoon a day.  I will admit that I did taste a little right out of the jar.  It melted in my mouth and had a very pleasant coconut taste (duh).

I looked online and found a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Bread With Coconut Oil.

Let's do this.


The rundown on the ingredients is very simple:

1 cup sugar (I subbed Xylitol then added another 2 tablespoons after tasting the batter - I know, raw egg is bad but it's all in the name of baking science!)

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 eggs

2 cups mashed bananas (5-6 medium)

1/3 cup water

1 2/3 cups soft whole wheat flour (I ran it through my food processor to make it finer - not sure if that's right but it worked out)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds because that's what I had but I'm sure it any would work)

1 cup shredded coconut

** I also added 2 tablespoons of milled flax seeds for the health benefits and because of the nutty flavor

The recipe said that it made one loaf.  That didn't seem right because I had a lot in my mixing bowl.  So I put it in 2 loaf pans and came out to be 1/2 way full for each pan.  It said to cook for 1 hour at 350 but I started checking it after 35 minutes and I think it only took about 45 minutes.

It.  Is.  Awesome.

Baking WIN!

I don't feel super guilty having two slices for breakfast because it doesn't have any white flour or sugar in it and is filled with some healthy stuff.  I'm so proud of my win over "white foods."

I am currently waiting for a delivery of Chia Seeds... another very healthy food that I am going to experiment with.  More to come in my kitchen adventures!

See- this blog isn't all whiny and "woe is me."  LOL