Gluten-Free Banana Bread

I love banana bread.  My mom and grandma used to always bake banana bread when we'd have ripe bananas.  So here is my take on gluten-free banana bread.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large or 4-5 medium bananas medium ripe (some brown spots) smashed
• about 1 cup sugar (can use less 3/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I use Gluuteny flour)

What to do:

• Set your oven to 350*
• Mix the bananas and melted butter together
• Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, then baking soda and salt - beat with hand mixer on medium speed
• Add in the flour slowly to the mixture and beat with hand mixer
• Put in a 4x8 pan
• Bake for 1 hour
• Eat delicious banana bread!

Let me know what you think!

This can also be made with regular flour if you wish (but it wouldn't be gluten free!)

With Love,

Mel

Delicious Gluten-Free Creamy Maple Polenta

Breakfast.  The most important meal of the day!  Growing up my grandma would make my brother and me breakfast - either cereal, eggs, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, or bagels before going off to school.  Today, I don't have the time to sit down and eat or even make something.  So, I naturally set my Keurig every morning and make my coffee and run off to work with a Larabar.  [Which, let's be honest, gluten-free breakfast items are not cheap.]  Only on weekends do I actually "make" breakfast.  It wasn't until a few weekends ago when I had Polenta for breakfast, that I actually thought: "How wonderful would it be to actually have a warm breakfast!"  Not only does it taste amazing but it's much less expensive to make than to keep eating $2 breakfast bars everyday.  I knew I had to have this warm, creamy, gluten-free dish again and had to figure out how to re-create it in the most natural way possible [without all of the fillers and additives that can be in food]...

So after much research, here is my take on a wonderful, creamy, maple, warm polenta breakfast:

• Ingredients:
• 3 cups organic non-fat (or regular) milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup organic corn meal [I like mine on the finer side vs. course - I used Hodgson Mill Organic]
• 1/4 stick salted butter
• few dashes of Cinnamon
• 1 spoonful sugar (if you prefer)
• About 4 TBSP Organic 100% Maple Syrup
• Dried or fresh fruit/nuts (if you prefer)
• TIP: Use a "larger than medium" glass or metal pot to cook in - a 2.5 L Vision Clear Sauce Pan

Below are some of the ingredients I used:

OK guys this is seriously yummy and you can alter it to your taste if you like more or less sweet or creamy.

• What to do:
• Bring the 3 cups milk and 1 tsp salt to a simmer - medium heat
• While you have the milk on, combine the corn meal and the water then slowly add it to the milk
• Keep whisking, turn up the heat a little more and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil (just a few min.)
• Add in the butter
• Add in the maple syrup to taste (you can use more or less, add then taste, add then taste)
• Put in a few dashes of cinnamon
• Top it off with a spoonful of sugar if you'd like
• Let it cool for a min and then dish out to you and your family!
• Feel free to top off with nuts or fruit (dried or fresh)

This makes a pretty large helping of Polenta - it filled half of my sauce pan - so it makes about 1.75 L or about 7 cups worth.

Enjoy!

Let me know how you like it!

With love, 

Mel