Enough with Labels.

Well, here goes, yet another foodie blog. As if cyberspace needs another one to further confuse it about food quality. You can find blogs about everything these days: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free-vegans, almost-but-I-can’t-give-up-eggs-vegans, gluten-free foodies, sugar-free-health-nuts, kosher-flourless, organic-cruelty-free, raw foodies, food-network-addicts, blah, blah, blah. Everyone has a different aspect on quality food. Every person has a different reason that they are looking for “healthy”. For people with allergies or intolerances, “healthy” takes on a different definition entirely. If you try and follow all of the different opinions, lifestyles, exclusionary diets and LABELS out there, you will end up  just drinking water, because as far as I know there has not been a trend started against that. Yet. But you probably would call yourself “water-free”. It would be something like vegan-nonfat-gluten free- kosher-raw-sugar free-low carb-all organic “foodie”.

For me, food is a journey. Food has been a healing process. Food is something that the more I get into, the more I feel I am in over my head. I am a self proclaimed health nut. Because of all the different definitions of “health” on the market today, sometimes it gets confusing doing research for my own kitchen. From my point of view though, food should not be exclusionary. I should not be constantly trying to rid my palate of certain elements of cuisine. Food should be inclusionary. In every dish that I prepare, I would like to know that it is doing my body the most good that it possibly can. Granted, I have no allergies, I can digest just about anything my palate desires. But that is why this blog is not to benefit anyone carrying a label. If it can help you in your own quest for health, great; but these recipes are being tailored explicitly for the kitchen of Brenna Cliver, and her quest for health. If you keep reading I hope you come to understand how this blog functions as a band aid, as therapy, as education, and most of all, a battle.

Nutty Banana Bread (Take 1)

(Gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan, no added fat)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw walnuts

½ cup whole, rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 TBL erithritol (4 packets Truvia)

2 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 TBL ground flaxseed + 6 TBL water

2 aged bananas

1 cup plain soymilk (or non-dairy milk of choice)

1 tsp vanilla

1.       First, grind your flaxseed. You can buy ground flax, but I prefer to grind them as I need them, it keeps the omega-3’s from being destroyed or going rancid. (I keep my flax seed in the freezer, and my walnuts) Mix your flax meal with water, stir, set aside to thicken. This is your binder, since there are no eggs in this recipe.

2.       Next, make your flour from the almonds, walnuts and oats. You can do this in your blender or food processer, just remember to clear around the blade frequently or it will bind up. Whisk together with rest of dry ingredients.

3.       Puree together the bananas and soymilk.

4.       Fold together the dry, the wet and the binder. Pour into well greased loaf pan. (If you flour your pan, remember that adds a minimal amount of gluten.)

5.       Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 for another hour.

Okay..If I was attempting to make a delicious custard-style banana bread with a nutty crust, I would have been extremely successful. Tomorrow I’ll adjust the moisture content and I have a few ideas on how to make fluff-not-fudge. We shall see. Other than the obvious flaws, this recipe is a powerhouse of good-for-you-stuff. Fiber, Omega-3’s, potassium, natural sugar, metabolism boosting cinnamon, lean protein..there’s really not much to not love.