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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White Asparagus Goat Cheese Soup

I’ve been meaning to make this soup for quite awhile now. Since last June, in fact, when I tasted it at a conference in Washington D.C. I’d never had white asparagus before, and it tasted so good and creamy in soup form. Plus, add goat cheese to anything and I’m a goner. Anyway, it’s a rainy and cold day, so I figured today would be the perfect time to post this recipe. Since I only knew that the original recipe contained white asparagus and goat cheese, I kept it pretty basic.

A fair warning though- white asparagus MUST be peeled before eating. As I had never worked with this variation of asparagus before, I was unaware until I started chopping it up and came away with long, woody pieces. So yes, there is a bit of prep required for this recipe. Luckily for me, I was in the middle of my 13 Reasons Why Netflix binge while peeling. Made the process so much easier as I was sympathizing with Clay while having ill thoughts about several of the other characters the whole time. Most addicting show ever.

White Asparagus Goat Cheese Soup

1 lb white asparagus, PEELED and chopped into 1 inch-sized pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

2 cups water

2 oz goat cheese

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: chives

Directions:

Add the asparagus, onion, broth, and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. With an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add in the goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until the goat cheese has melted. Top individual bowls with chives before serving.

Raw Carrot Cake Balls (Paleo)

Easter recipe- carrot cake bites on the go!

Raw Carrot Cake Balls (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup nut butter of choice

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 dried ginger

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup carrot chunks* + extra for garnish (optional)

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut + extra for garnish (optional)

3 tbsp raisins

Directions:

In a bowl, stir together the nut butter, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix VERY well (the mixture will seem dry at first, but it all comes together once the carrots get mixed in well). Roll your carrot cake dough into balls.

Optional: Place the extra carrot chunks and coconut into 2 separate shallow dishes. Roll your carrot cake balls into one of the toppings

Sweet Potato Tater Tots (Paleo)

For the last few weeks, I’ve got to experience what it’s like to be a “hockey (goalie) mom” while nannying for a family. And goodness gracious, let me tell you, there’s a lot of lugging around bulky gear to a different arena each day. And wondering which rink you’re supposed to be at. And sitting in cold seats. And eavesdropping into other people’s conversation. And intaking all the scents coming from the concession stand and wishing there was actually something healthy there that I could eat.

Thus, my desire to make tater tots was born! Honestly, I’m impressed how these turned out! I was expecting a total fail since I just added ingredients as I went. But the end product has a crisp outside and soft inside. Score! (Hockey reference intended).

After making these, I would highly suggest waiting for the tots to COMPLETELY cool. The flavor intensifies. In fact, eating these on the second day made them taste the best 🙂   

Sweet Potato Tater Tots (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into thick coin slices

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

1 tbsp hot sauce

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a baking pan with oil. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in sweet potato. Let boil for 5 minutes. Afterwards, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Place into a food processor and pulse until the sweet potatoes are in small pieces and starting to turn into mash. Transfer potatoes into a bowl.

Place your cauliflower into the boiling water and also cook for 5 minutes. Afterwards, drain and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until you have cauliflower  rice. Measure out 1 cup of cauliflower rice and place in the bowl with the sweet potatoes (save the remaining cauliflower rice for another recipe!)

Stir in the hot sauce, garlic, salt, and egg to the bowl. Add in the flours and mix altogether. Let batter sit for 3 minutes to thicken. Using your hands, roll the batter into individual tater tots and place on the oiled baking sheet. Lightly salt your tater tots. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out, flip over with a spatula, and bake for another 8 minutes. Let cool before eating (tastes best the longer you wait).

Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup (Paleo)

Last week, I had my annual Super Bowl Sunday Home-Alone-Cook-Off. Not going to lie, I’m no a football fan. I’ve tried watching games, but every time my mind begins to wander off to the 100 things I could be doing instead. And no, the Super Bowl is not the exception.

So every year, I have the house to myself and have my own party where I create my own recipes that I know my family would put their noses up to if they were around.

The arrangement works out nicely: I get to experiment in the kitchen and end up with a week’s worth of yummy food. I then eat while watching some Netflix with the game on in the background (for the halftime show and commercials).

Anyway, this was one of the end results:

Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp red palm oil (or avocado oil)

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp sage

1 lb. organic, grass-fed ground beef

1 cup chopped carrots

1 (13.5oz) can of full-fat coconut milk

1 (15oz) can of pumpkin

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

salt and pepper

For soup version– add in 1 cup vegetable/chicken/beef broth (if you just want a sauce, omit)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pot and add in the onion, garlic, and sage. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the carrots and meat and cook until the meat is entirely brown. Add in the coconut milk and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper, to taste. If you are making the soup: Stir in your broth here. If not, serve over rice or cauliflower rice.