Clean Eating Banana Bread

The reason this is considered "clean" is: only 1/4 cup of sugar, egg whites, no gluten, no dairy, no corn, and no soy. Thats a lot of NO'S! But those no's are awesome. Try out this form of banana bread. I'm sure you will love it!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 C gluten free flour (I used 3/4 oat flour, 3/4 white rice flour, and 1/4 almond meal)
1 tsp xanath gum
1/4 C almond butter
1/4 C white sugar
3/4 C splenda or stevia
3 mashed bananas
2 egg whites
1/4 C dairy free butter
3 Tbs honey
1 Tbs cinnamon

Pre-Heat oven to 350
Yeilds 8 large slices

Directions:
1. In a small bowl combine flour, xanath gum, and sugar. In a large bowl mix together egg whites, almond butter, and bananas.
2. Combine wet and dry ingredients together
3. Place in a greased loaf pan for 35 minutes.
4. While cooling, whip butter, honey, and cinnamon together. Place atop hot bread. This will soak into the bread infusing it with flavor.
5. Enjoy

Cheesy vegetable sauté

Being cows milk intolerant, broccoli and cheese no longer exists. Heck I never have even had it even before this intolerance. I wanted to change up a normal sauté. I was bored. I had some whipped goat cheese dip on hand and decided to pour it over vegetables. Ummm yum!!

Seeing size:
1 meal portion or 2 side servings
Ingredients:
2 cups of mixed frozen/fresh vegetables (I used carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
3 tablespoons of whipped goat cheese dip
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

Directions:
1. Sauté the vegetables until softened.
2. Add in the dip and nutritional yeast.
3. Serve immediately or stores well in the fridge for three days.

Whipped goat cheese dip

I visited a restaurant recently that served an amazing goat cheese dip. That inspired this recipe.
Serving suggestions:
Pretzels
Pita chips
Fried Zucchini
Sliced pepper

Ingredients:
1/2 log of goat cheese (can you vegan blocked cheese found at whole foods)
1/4 cup of nut milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder, tyme, onion powder

Directions:
1. Mash the cheese.
2. Add the spices.
3. Slowly stir in the milk.

Juice: The Pink Lady and The Hulk

Juices seem to be a new fad diet. All throughout social media, T.V shows, and magazines, you see juice cleanses. I personally think they aren't a smart idea. Juice contains an enormous amount of sugar. Yes, i's natural, but even too much is a bad idea. It can lead to spiked blood sugar levels, which progresses into a crash. Energy and motivation becomes harder to find. Juicing removes fiber from your fruit and vegtables. Thats what all the left over garbage is. Unless you just blend and make more of a smoothie.

That said, juice is the easiest way to get the daily recommended amount of fruit in your diet. A normal body weight for your height, 6 servings of fruits are recommended! Thats really difficult for me....I hope I'm not the only one. Juice's benefits are great for just a glass a day or a few a week. So here are some that I created.

The pink lady leads with grapefruit. This fruit speeds up metabolism, therefore aids in weight loss. Both oranges and grapefruit are high in vitamin c boosting your immune system naturally.

The hulk speaks for itself. This powerhouse of a drink will erase a guilty indulgence. Kale is considered a superfood, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and carrots really do improve eye sight. I will admit the visual aspect is not appealing, but give it a try. Its delicious!!

Some helpful juicing tips:
If you juice multiple times a week, consider buying frozen fruit. Just de-thaw a small portion 30 minutes before juicing time. This cuts down cost drastically.
Always peel the fruit if it has a think rind
Quarter fibrous ingredients
Use the left over "junk" in your garden. The plants will thrive when the pulp is in the dirt
Can make the night before, but give a nice shake to the juice in the morning

Each serve two

The Pink Lady:

1 Grapefruit
1 Orange
2 Medium sized apples (I used Gala)
1 Carrot stalk
Optional: Add in honey if you prefer a sweeter drink. Grapefruit is very bitter!

The Hulk:

5 handfuls of kale (approximately 7 cups)
2 Medium Apples
2 Carrots
1 orange
1 cucumber
1/2 Cup blueberries
2 Celery stalks

Directions:

Peel the orange and quarter the apples. Then place everything in a juicer. DONE!

Whipped Cream

This form of whipped cream is simple. It's also extremely healthy. There is no added sugar or unnatural ingredients. All it is, is a can of cream of coconut. Isn't that awesome??

Try adding some lemon juice, cocoa powder, or jams into the frosting for a healthy twist on a plain flavor.

Ingredients:
1 Can of cream of coconut

Directions:
1. Empty can into a glass container. The entire can, can be added, or just the hardened part for a thick frosting.
2. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Whip with electric mixer.
4. Store for up to a week in the fridge.

Vegetable Saute

Ingredients:

5 Mixed Baby Peppers, Chopped
1 Onion, Chopped
1/4 Cup Sliced Carrots
1/2 Can of sweet corn
1/2 Can of Kidney Beans
1 Zucchini, Diced
2 Cups Spinich
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Parsley
Garlic
Oil
Cheese to garnish

Directions:
1. Place all chopped vegetables into a pan. Add water just covering the vegtibles. Boil until all water evaporates.
2. Add in oil to cover the vegetables nicely. Saute with beans and all spices. Add spices till desired amount is reached.
3. Add spinach and cook till wilted.
4. Serve with freshly shredded cheese of choice. I like manchego.