Ahhh, home again after a whirlwind week on the go!

I spent the first part of the week running around between Toronto, Muskoka, and my parents' house. Then, I met up with the women of S's family on Wednesday, and we took a quick trip to Ottawa. Meanwhile, S and the menfolk spent a week in northern Ontario fishing. Lots of fun all around!

I'll be posting more photos from my trip on Friday, but here's a sneak peak for now.

Morning runs meant beautiful views of a quiet city. Good morning, Parliament Hill and the National Gallery!

So today I'm tackling the laundry monster, getting back into a productive groove, blog planning, and baking some grain-free banana bread.

It's been forever and a day since I've baked anything. Since we came home to overripe bananas and I'm trying to stay grain-free for awhile, I figured it was time to give banana bread a go. I found a Paleo Banana Bread recipe that uses ingredients we already have via Civilized Caveman Cooking.

What you need

4 mashed bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup nut butter (I used a mix of sunbutter and almond butter)
4 tablespoons melted grassfed butter or coconut oil (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F and grease a glass or metal 9x5 loaf pan. Note: the metal pans will cook faster. (I don't have a
Blend bananas, eggs, nut butter, and oil together well in a food processor, blender, stand mixer, or with a hand-mixer.
Add remaining ingredients--coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt--to bowl and mix.
Pour your batter into the loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes for a metal pan or 55-60 for a glass pan. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Flip onto a wire rack, let cool, slice, and enjoy!

Everything came together quickly. I decided to add some blueberries, but I only had the frozen kind on hand. I thawed a cup of them, drained them well, and tossed them in a bit of coconut flour. Then, I folded them into the batter after adding the dry ingredients.

My loaf took about 45 minutes in the oven before the toothpick came out clean. It still turned out extra moist and fell in the middle. I suspect it was the blueberries, but I read in the comments that others experienced a more "pudding" type texture when using coconut oil.

The Results

It's not the banana bread I know and love, but I never expected it to be. The flavor is nice--banana-y with a hint of blueberry and sunbutter butter--without being overly sweet. The loaf is super-moist and heavy. It verges on being a bit too dense and eggy for me. If I try it again, I will probably omit the blueberries and reduce the coconut oil.

All-in-all it was a fun experiment for the day. I'm not completely sold on "paleo" treats, but the adventure of trying new recipes and expanding my horizons is half the fun.