"Be Careful With It!" Banana Bread....

Yep, you heard it...I didn't stutter. BE CAREFUL with this stuff! Between me and you...after making this, I OD'd on it not once, but TWICE, before learning my lesson of not having them around all the time - lol.

There are a ton of Paleo banana bread recipes floating around out there. Most of them are fairly unimpressive, too similar to the last, don't have much of a "bread" consistency, blah blah blah. This gem, however, is so delightful that a smile comes to my face just writing this post about it :)

I'm giving credit to tahini being in it, which has to be the "culprit" of creating such a delicious, moist, bread-y treat. I got the original recipe from whatrunslori.com. It is her pumpkin swirl banana bread. Seems pretty delicious on her site...but I, of course, had to make an alteration or two ;) The first being to eliminate the pumpkin swirl in it. It is too pasty, heavy, and makes the delicious banana part of it sink in and change texture. And, as maple is the key to this big girl's heart...I added a touch of good ol' Grade B syrup in there.

Here it goes!

This is with the pumpkin swirl. 1/4cup pumpkin puree, 3 Tbsp cocoa powder (although not exactly recommended) 

1/3 cup almond butter
1/4 cup tahini
3/4 cup shredded, dried, unsweetened coconut
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs (or 1/3 cup egg beaters)
2 tsp maple syrup (get the good stuff!)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease loaf pan (or muffin tin) with coconut oil
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl
3. Put your mixture into your loaf pan, or evenly distribute into muffin tin
4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the center is firm. Let it cool for a bit, remove from pan (or tin), and allow to cool on wire rack.
5. Have a chaperon around so you don't make the same overdose mistake I did (and have to cut your run short lol)

oh. em. gee. SO good! Be careful, and enjoy!

Mexican Turkey & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

As per the request of Sarah Deutschmann, my triathlete badass client (who may also carry a gun, so don't mess with her)...who spent a load of $$ on stuffed peppers at a local cafe recently...and wished she hadn't. :) so...I decided to put these on the "Better Than" Menu this week. Based on a onelovelylife.com recipe....here we go!

4 bell peppers, sliced in half step to tip, seeds removed
1 16 oz. package of fresh ground turkey breast
1 cup quinoa
1/2 medium onion, dived
1 - 15 oz - can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 - 4 oz - can diced green chiles (don't drain!...extra flavor!)
1/4 cup cilantro (optional), minced
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1 can enchilada sauce of choice
1/2 cup lite mexican cheese blend (got mine from Trader Joe's)

1. Add quinoa and onion to a medium saucepan w/ 2 cups water (or chicken stock for more flavor). Bring to boil over medium-high heat, and keep at boil for 5 minutes. Cover, turn off heat, and let steam for 15-20 minutes. Fluff with fork
2. In large skillet, brown ground turkey with salt/pepper.
3. Pour quinoa/onion mixture into large mixing bowl. Add ground turkey, black beans, tomato, green chiles, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour enchilada sauce into 9x13'' baking dish. Divide filling among peppers, and nestle stuffed peppers into the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes. Serve peppers drizzled with sauce spooned out from pan. Enjoy!

Pretty easy, fairly easy to pack for meals later in the week. Tasty! If you're a saucemaster like I am, you can also serve with a bit of salsa on the side or drizzled on top. Yummo!