Banana Goodness

I've been on the quest for a good banana bread for a long time.  Even before the allergies hit, to be honest.  I eat a lot of bananas, but I don't always manage to eat them all in time.  My freezer fills up with bags of banana chunks, or, if I'm especially pressed for time, bunches of whole bananas which have turned black from the cold.  (Which doesn't in any way impact the fruit inside).  I need something to do with these bananas, and banana bread is one of my favourite foods.  My mom used to make a fabulous banana bread when I was growing up, sweetened with honey and pureed dates and made with whole wheat flour instead of white.  It was healthy enough that she let me eat it for breakfast, which was the ultimate treat (cereal can get quite monotonous!)  But it's hard to puree dates without a blender, so I always knew I was going to have to find a new recipe.

Last summer, in my very brief spelt-flour baking stage, and in search of a recipe I could make for a baking-deprived diet-restricted friend, I discovered an absolutely fantastic recipe for banana bread.  It won me great accolades, and because it was vegan, whole-grain, high in flax and had no refined sugar, I deemed it healthy enough to eat at any time of day.  However, it didn't take long after that before my body to remind me that spelt was very definitely not gluten-free.  I spent months searching for a replacement recipe, and made some absolutely horrid banana breads along the way.  (One was flat, burnt, and the middle fell out when I tried to remove it from the pan.  Disaster!)  And then recently, I stumbled upon a wonderful, moist, whole-grain, high-protein, delicious spiced banana muffin recipe.  I'm not picky, I'll take my banana baking in whatever form it comes, and muffins were more than good enough for me.  The recipe claimed to be a cupcake, but I claim it was just banana bread in disguise.

Guest Post: All About Icing

Hey everyone!  I have a guest post up today on GeneGeek, talking all about the science behind icing (yes, the frosting kind), and how to modify icing recipes for hard-to-accommodate diets!  GeneGeek is a blog run by a friend and mentor of mine, and its focus is translating science (genetics especially) into English - how to communicate science to non-scientists, how to improve science education, how to relate science to the real word, etc.  You should check it out, it's pretty awesome!  And if you're looking for a way to jazz up a gluten-free vegan chocolate cake, or some tasty gluten-free vegan banana brownies, you should definitely check out my post for all your icing needs.  Happy baking!

Gltuen-Free Challenge Day 1: Shopping

Warning: This blog post does not contain recipes.  It is instead a series of observations and ramblings about food shopping when half the grocery store is likely to make me ill.  But if you tune into my blog primarily for food pictures and descriptions, this entry may disappoint.

My Two-Week Gluten-Free Challenge

A lot of reading I've done recently (and primarily accidentally) has brought up an interesting concept: the idea that gluten is addictive. On the surface, I'm not shocked.  I would be the first to confess to a past "muffin problem"; and of all of the foods I have to stay away from, bread products (and cinnamon buns) are some of the hardest.  But if you asked me, I would have put it down simply to carb cravings.  If sugar cravings are a thing (and I can certainly testify that they are for me), I would assume that white-flour based foods are equally addictive for their carbohydrate properties.  Now don't get me wrong, I like rice crackers and corn tortillas well enough, but there just isn't the same variety of carbs in my gluten-free diet to compete with my pre-allergy state.  So while I fully confess I have bread compulsions (the fact that both my jobs provide a lot of free bread doesn't help), I never would have thought to blame gluten.  I didn't need to get past the sugars.

But what this gluten addiction theory proposes is somewhat different.  It proposes that gliadin, the protein in gluten that is also the cause of the majority of gluten allergies, activates opiod receptors in the gut.  (Those would be the same receptors that recognize opium, morphine, and heroin.)  In other words, it's not the sugars at all that are the problem, it's the proteins.  And anyone consuming even trace amounts of these proteins are continuing their addiction.

So, being the curious scientist that I am, I decided I was going to investigate. This proposed investigation has two parts.  The first (and easier, if more boring) step is to conduct a better investigation into the science behind these claims.  I want to look at the research that exists, what conclusions have been drawn, and how much of this story is internet speculation.  The second, and much more impacting (and harder) step is to cut out gluten, entirely, out of my diet.  For at least two weeks, although I'm aiming for a month; we'll see how I do.

The Best, Bar-None, Gluten-Free Vegan Cake Extravaganza You Won't Stop Talking About

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated.  Seriously blogging fail.  The past few months have been crazy busy, but that still doesn't excuse neglecting my favourite pet project.  So, here's my attempt to get back on the wagon and keep everyone updated on delicious allergen-free eats.

It has been brought to my attention that I have yet to share my favourite gluten-free chocolate cake recipe.  This was, incidentally, the first-ever gluten-free recipe I tried.  I had googled a whole bunch of gluten-free vegan recipes without really knowing what I was getting myself into.  I don't remember why I picked this one - if it seemed the easiest, the tastiest, or what.  But I dutifully went out and bought several new ingredients I didn't understand and couldn't really pronounce, and rolled up my sleeves, and gave it a try.  I was absolutely panicked, especially after I tasted the batter - it was incredibly grainy.  But the graininess baked off (this is a common issue with rice flour batters), and the end product was heavenly.  Let me repeat that.  Heavenly.  I have frequently made this cake, for diet-restricted and non-diet restricted alike, and it has always been unbelievably beloved.  It doesn't taste like it's fake anything - it's moist and delicious and rich and decadent.  (Needless to say, it set my standard for gluten-free baking pretty high).