But at least we aren’t plaqued by gluten allergies like so many other families we know. This recipe wasn’t meant to be gluten free, but I needed to use up some over-ripe bananas and almond meal..so you go.

Gluten Free Low Fat Banana Bread

3 cups almond meal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup sweetner of choice

1/4 cup applesauce or coconut oil

1 tbs vanilla

Mash the bananas up (fun part for the kid to do if you are brave enough)

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Fold in the banana mixture into the almond meal.

Pour mixture into muffin cups or bread pan. Next time I will use muffin cups as the applesauce / oil replacement made the bread hard to get consistent texture throughout the bread pan. You live and learn, right?

We used a bread pan and cooked at 350 for 45 minutes.

A few weeks ago while trying to ignore the ice cream staring across the isle at me while I picked up my weekly supply of Chobani non-fat greek yogurt…I spotted this pint size wonder claiming to be delicious ice cream with only 150 calories in the entire pint!

Of course I rushed home to taste it, thinking I had just stumbled across the next best thing to sliced bread and I was mightily disappointed. Did you grandmother ever give you ice milk instead of ice cream..yeah..that’s what it tastes like.

The chocolate peanut butter flavor is edible but the chocolate…not so much. And this is coming from someone who hasn’t had real ice cream in probably over 8 months so any sort of creamy treat should have tasted delish to me. But it’s not creamy…at all. It’s icy.

My verdict is skip it. It’s expensive…costing a whopping $4.99 a pint and there is really no enjoyment in making yourself eat something just because you paid so much for it.

Believe me when I say I’ll take my plain ol’ fat free greek yogurt over this any day.

Partly because it is so-freaking-good and partly because I was in the throws of morning sickness with this current pregnancy and it was one of the few things I could eat that would fill my cavernous tummy up and make me feel good…for a few hours anyway.

Also..because this is one of the few sweet-ish things I’ve ever made that the hubs didn’t like..so since he didn’t polish it off in two days…I had to step up to the plate and take one (and many calories) for the team.

I’m planning on making it again this weekend, but this time instead of in a cake pan, I’m going the mini-muffin route so I can freeze some and not be tempted to eat half the pan in one day.

I also think this time I might try to use Truvia sweetner instead of real sugar. I ‘m totally into Truvia right now.

Lemon Coconut Bread

1 stick soft butter

1 tbsp lemon zest (I will add more next time)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup shredded and chopped coconut

2/3 cup almond meal

1 cup buttermilk

You know the drill..mix all wet ingredients in one bowl..all dry ingredients in another bowl..then fold them in together.

Bake at 320 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. I think I only baked mine for a little over an hour so check at the 60 minute point.

:side note: if you don’t have buttermilk you can use regular milk mixed with lemon juice

This would make a perfect gift bread. If, you know…you made it prettier…wrapped it prettier and didn’t eat it with your hands as soon as it was cool enough to touch like I did.

I blame the baby.

One day when I was starving and the cupboards were bare I threw this simple salad together and now oddly this hodge-podge is my favorite lunch.

Here’s what I threw in the bowl:

Almost an entire bag of broccoli slaw

canned chicken

2 tbsp of hummus

and a couple trips of crumbled up bacon

Just in case your families taste buds are pedestrian as mine…here’s how I threw this new family favorite together in about thirty minutes on a night that I thought we were going to be eating ramen noodles for dinner because there was nothing else left in the house.

Before I give you the ingredients, let me reiterate that this is ghetto…but its GOOOOOD.

You Need:

1 can grands style biscuits

chicken breast

extra crunchy (wait for it) shake n bake type product

That’s it. I told you it was ghetto. But I am so not above going ghetto to get the kids fed.

I cut the chicken with my kitchen scissors (seriously if you don’t have a pair of scissor designated for food only you are selling yourself short) to biscuit size…doused them heavily in the shake and bake and cooked according to package directions.

I put the biscuits in the oven for the last 13 minutes of the chicken time so they would done at the same time and viola!

But these sweet little Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries are. Easy. Delicious. And your sweetheart will think you are brilliant. I’m working on a Key Lime Valentine Desert too..so check back soon.

You Need:

16-20 smallish strawberries.

8 oz pkg softened cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 sleeve of graham crackers

Mix all ingredients together (except graham crackers) and then pipe into cleaned out strawberry hulls. An apple corer or small paring knife is all you need to to make these cute little strawberry bowls.

Put your cheese mixture into a zip lock bag..trim off one corner and pipe the cheesecake into each strawberry. Dip the cheesecake end of the strawberry in graham crackers crumbs and easy peasey Japanesy you are done.

His idea is cake with sprinkles. His idea is ALWAYS cake with sprinkles.

So I’m using my mommy override option and doing it my way. We did Football Brownies last year, and I’m not a big fan of Chocolate Covered Strawberries that look like footballs…I think I’m going to got the mini cookie/cheesecake route.

First on the list is the most loved cookie I think of all time. Seriously, I’ve never made these when a single one wasn’t eaten.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I usually make them the easy way…

(Put the entire bag of peanut butter cups in the freezer for 20 minutes before you have to place into cookie)

)ne pack of sugar cookie mix made to package directions – (or peanut butter cookie mix)

Form into balls and press each ball into a mini muffin tin – press indention with your thumb in each one

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes – press peanut butter cup into indention immediately

Let cool and then remove from pan

Then be on guard because they will all come running and try to sneak them off before the game starts!

If you prefer to do it old school and time consuming…you can find the home made recipe here.

More Super Bowl Bite Sized Desserts Coming Soon…..

Go Giants!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Source

I’ll get off my soapbox now but I will tell you that after I read The Perfect 10 Diet and Nourishing Traditions I completely restructured how my family eats. They fussed for a day or two about the absence of granola bars, rice crispy treats and chips but they got used the fresh fruit, nuts and seeds quicker than I thought. The result is that my kid is calmer at night and the hubs has lost a few pounds of course.

The most missed thing our new cleaner eating regime is boxed mac and cheese. I have made a promise to myself that I will never again feed my child something so full of dye that every time he eats it his eczema flares up. True story.

Here is how we do it in our house now. It’s no longer a convenience food but it is something my entire family looks forward to every few weeks.

Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese or whatever else I have in the fridge
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cook the pasta and set aside

Melt the butter in a pan, mix in the flour slowly to make a rue. Add the milk in slowly and stir until you have a thick sauce. Add shredded cheeses in slowly. Stir over medium heat until you have the most delicious looking cheese sauce that you really want to stick your head in a take a big slurp.

Pour the finished sauce over the pasta in a baking pan. 350 for 30 minutes and viola! Your family thinks you are freakin’ Betty Crocker.

You can also add extra cheese and breadcrumbs on top if you like but my picky kid needs it to be as close to the crap box stuff as possible to enjoy. Again…my fault. Wishing I had never introduced him to that non-food like substance that is crack in a blue box to a five year old.

I came across this cool chick and her weight loss story and was inspired by her success. And also impressed with her bravery..she’s got before and afters all over her blog! That’s my kinda girl!

Anywoo..she had this simple and fantastic recipe for a Sugar Free Gluten Free Breakfast Cookie and I had to try it. The boy will NEVER eat breakfast. It didn’t matter before he started kindergarten this year because we would just eat when ever he was ready. I was just living in his world then. But now he has to leave the house before the sun comes up to get to school on time and (much like his father) he is just not a morning kid.

I’m always trying to get something down his throat before he runs out the door but it rarely works…unless of course I want to feed him PopTarts or donuts every morning …which I have thought about …..but decided that is just a cruel thing to do his health and to his teacher.

He has an early snack at school so it’s not usually an issue, but last week he had to be picked up after only an hour at school because he threw up in the hallway. Amoxicillin on a empty stomach apparently isn’t a good idea. So I am renewed in my quest to find something he will eat in the morning. When I found this recipe I made it right away. He didn’t eat it of course….natch. But I did..and they rocked.

(You may notice in my picture that is sprinkling of chocolate chips on each of my cookies. Another cheap trick to try to suck the boy into breakfast.)

Sugar Free Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies

You need:

1.5 cups of oats

2 ripe bananas

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

raisins to taste

cinnamon

Mix it all up…divide into 12 cookies and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

If you are a points counter they are 1 pt each!

Thanks IROCKSOWHAT