Tarry Health Fitness, Weight Loss, Workouts and Healthy Eating
Hellooooo. How was the long weekend? Anyone else moving in slow motion this morning? ? How about a banana flour chocolate chip cookie to perk you up?
Behold, the latest and greatest on the gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo-friendly front:
Banana Flour
When I first heard about it, I was instantly intrigued since it’s fairly low in calories (100 per 1/4 cup compared to 160 in almond meal) and gives a hefty dose of potassium. And then I was like, “Ew. Bananas.”
Don’t get me wrong -I love bananas- but didn’t really want that flavor into everything I bake. The good news: there is no banana taste.
Pure magic, I tell you.
(Pretty carby and high in potassium. Not much else going on.)
More About Banana Flour
-You can use it for about 2/3 of what the recipe calls for in wheat flour recipes. From what I’ve read online, it’s best to mix it with other flours because of the high carb content and the fact that the recipe will yield and drier texture. The WEDO site has a lot of recipes if you’re looking for ideas. I figured I’d just play around with it a little and see what happens. It’s not like I haven’t had major flour disasters (ahem, coconut flour) in the past, so I had nothing to lose.
-There’s no need to add gums or additional ingredients to make it work. Just swap it out, and remember that less is more
-It’s a resistant starch, which can lower blood sugar levels, increase satiety and improve gut health
-There are over 5 lbs of dried green bananas in the 1 lb container.
-It’s made by peeling, drying and grinding green bananas into flour. The only ingredient is green bananas.
To put it to the test, I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies aka one of flour’s top jobs (at least in our house). If it works in chocolate chip cookies, it’s a baking friend of mine.
Banana Flour Verdict
-I really liked the taste. It has a nutty, buckwheat-ish flavor; it certainly tastes “healthy.” On the “super healthy” (aka things that taste like tree bark) scale I would rank it below hemp, but above almond meal. I also appreciated the fact that there was no banana flavor. Just a slightly earthy, neutral taste.
-The texture was a little dry, but that’s nothing some butter or coconut oil can’t fix.
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try!
Banana flour chocolate chip cookies
A grain-free recipe using banana flour, which is a resistant starch and packed with potassium. No banana taste!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: 16 1x
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups banana flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal or oat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a standard cookie sheet with nonstick spray or olive oil.
- 2. In a large bowl, combine the banana flour, almond meal (or oat flour), salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the chocolate chips and whisk to combine.
- 3. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, egg, coconut sugar and maple syrup.
- 4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to mix well.
- 5. Using a melon ball scooper, or a heaping spoonful, place the dough in round cookie shapes onto the baking sheet.
- 6. Bake for 10 minutes, and allow to remain on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to fully cool.
Have you tried banana flour?! What’s your favorite non-traditional baking ingredient? I really love almond meal, but this will be a fun way to switch things up. It’s also nut-free, for my friends with allergies out there.
Hope you have a wonderful morning!
Workout of the day: This drop set circuit. It’s one of my favorite ways to change your strength training sets and fully fatigue the muscles for awesome results.
