Banana Flour Chocolate Banana Muffins and A Farewell

Well, it’s currently 1:13am in the morning and in a few short hours I will be on my flight to Thailand! Words can’t even describe how I felt/feel/will feel. Sorry for the dramatics, but I think this year abroad is bound be a life-changer for me.

However this brings me to a topic that I am not too happy about… the future status of this blog. No worries, this blog will still be up for those who need some recipe ideas. I don’t plan to ever take it down. It’s cringe-worthy, yet kinda cool to go back and read my posts from 5 years ago. (Yes, 5!) In an odd way, this blog has been a record of my college years. For those of you who have followed this blog, a big shout out and thank you to you!

Unfortunately, I’ll be unable to continue this blog for long in Thailand as I will not have a kitchen in my new home 😦 So, for the next few weeks, I’ll post recipes I’ve been meaning to. After that, it’s only if I have the opportunity to cook.

If you would like to know about my adventures in Thailand, feel free to follow my new blog, Teach. Eat. Travel. Repeat. I would love to share my journey with you!

For my last post, I wanted to write about this awesome new flour I’ve discovered- banana flour! It’s grain-free, paleo, and no,  it does not make your food taste banana-y.

Well, for this recipe it does because I used the flour to make banana chocolate muffins. So good. I can’t even…

Eat one for me while I’m away! 😉

Banana Flour Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup banana flour

3 tbsp cacao powder 

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup mashed banana

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch stevia extract powder

1 egg

Optional- Chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together in a food processor. Pour batter into a greased muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before eating.

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Double Chocolate Chip Cake (Paleo)

Chocolate cake time! Tomorrow is my brother’s 18th birthday and since I won’t be seeing him then, we’re having cake tonight! I’ve been working with this recipe for a while now and am so happy to have perfected it in time.

The recipe makes one layer. I was too lazy to make layer II, so I just cut the layer in half and placed the one half on top of the other (with homemade “frosting” in between, of course) to make a half cake. Since there’s only 3 people here to eat the cake, this is the perfect amount for us. However, feel free to double or triple the size to feed a crowd!

Double Chocolate Chip Cake (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/3 cup cacao powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of stevia

3 tbsp coconut flour

3 tbsp chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and oil a 8-inch diameter springform pan.

In a food processor, pulse together coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add in eggs and pulse again. Add in cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, stevia, and coconut flour until all the ingredients are combined. Stir in your chocolate chips.

Transfer and spread the batter into your pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Once done, let cool before moving.

*Makes 1 layer.

**I cut the one layer in half and place one on top of the other for a half cake.

Chocolate Avocado Muffins/Cupcakes (Paleo)

I don’t know if it’s just me, but baked avocados kinda have a weird taste. Luckily, I’ve learned the secret to using them in a baked good. Wait a few hours (or even the next day) before digging in! Not only does all traces of avocado disappear, but the baked good gets a super rich, chocolatey taste and stays nice and moist!

Score!   

So, I usually make these chocolate muffins/cupcakes early in the morning (to have that night) or at night (to have the next day). They are so worth the wait!

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado

2 eggs

1/3 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey

6 tbsp almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp stevia

Optional: chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray oil over muffin tins.

In a food processor, blend together the avocado, eggs, applesauce, honey, milk, and vanilla. Add and blend in coconut flour, coca powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and stevia. Stir in chocolate chips, if using. Pour into muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool completely (to get rid of slight avocado-y taste). These taste even better the next day!   

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

I probably shouldn’t be posting this recipe right now. 1) It was 70 degrees out today. Not necessarily hot chocolate weather… 2) I shouldn’t have even played around with this recipe today as I’m supposed to be studying for finals.

But in my defense, 1) peanut butter and chocolate conquers all and should be enjoyed in any weather and 2) I needed to make this today precisely because it’s finals time. Plus I’ve just finished my seminar paper. I feel a tiny celebration is in order. 3) I just dug out my holiday mug this weekend, so it was begging to be filled.

There. 3 reasons why I should bets 2 reasons why I shouldn’t. I’m clearly in the right 😉

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Directions:

1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp coconut sugar, honey, or pure maple syrup

1/2 tbsp peanut butter

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cinnamon

pinch of stevia

pinch of salt

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small pot. Place over low heat until peanut butter is melted throughout and cocoa powder is no longer clumping.

Butternut Squash Chocolate Cookies (Paleo)

All I want to do is make these cookies.

All. Day. Long.

But, finals are once again upon me and I only have time to look at this picture and salivate. The struggle is real.

I think this will be the first thing I make once my semester is over.

Here’s to 2 weeks from now!

Butternut Squash Chocolate Cookies (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pureed butternut squash, COMPLETELY cooled

1/4 cup coconut butter, melted

1 tbsp pure maple syrup 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Combine squash, coconut butter, syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth and then scoop out all contents into a bowl (make sure to scape sides and bottom of food processor with a spoon as the coconut butter tends to stick!) Add in cocoa powder and stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Place in the fridge for 5 minutes. Take out, drop into desired cookie sized-shapes on parchment-layered pan, and press down lightly. Transfer to the oven and let cook for 12 minutes. Let sit to harden before eating.