Kumara and Banana Slice - Gluten-Free, Vegan, AIP, Sugar-free

Not much blogging going on around here, you say? That's because I'm currently on an autoimmune diet that occupies all my free time with food preparation.

I'm on day 15 now (half way!) and am getting the hang of it, but at first it felt a bit overwhelming. I'd say, when being as strict as this, you'd might as well forget about eating out. Finding a suitable lunch at the mall is impossible.

However, necessity often drives creativity, and sometimes, that even results in something edible. By that, I mean edible by other people, not just me. I can eat anything. Those long-ago days of bodybuilding diets rendered my tastebuds permanently tamed (or permanently confused, I'm not sure which).

Kumara (sweet potato) and Banana Slice

• The flesh of two large kumara, boiled to tenderness (this came to 400g boiled kumara.
• One medium sized banana
• 5 tbsp (~110g) coconut flour (or you can use dessicated coconut)
• 4 tbsp coconut oil (~70g)
• 1.5 cups water (use less if you are including dessicated coconut instead of coconut flour)
• 1 heaped tsp (~5g) of agar agar (or use gelatin if you're not worried about vegan-ness)
• Cinnamon and Ginger to taste (I used 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon - that's a lot of spice)
• tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Blend everything to a thick paste in a food processor.

Bake at 180C for about 20 minutes or until it is slightly firm. It will firm up a lot as it cools and the oil and gelatin set.

Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Cut into slices or squares.

I have found this a useful breakfast with some coconut yogurt (exhibit 'A', to the left), and it's easy to wrap a bar or two in foil and cart around for hunger attacks.

The flavour is sweet enough for me, and I wanted to avoid any added sugar, even natural ones.  You could add honey or maple, or even drizzle some over it before eating, if your sweet tooth requires it.

The bars freeze nicely.  My freezer is packed with things labelled 'AIP' right now, which helps instil a feeling of 'relaxed and organised'.  Now, how to obtain that same feeling toward my filing my tax return. .... ?

Avocado Bacon Muffins (paleo, gluten-free, SCD, sugar-free). Avocado Recipe Round Up.

This is, I promise, the last avocado recipe for now.  

I can't claim this as my own as I swiped the idea from Deb over at An Aussie with Chron's (recipe on the link).  I've since found that bacon and avocado muffins, mainstream version, are a kiwi fave. Who knew?  I never even met an avocado until my mid-20's and remember it being a bit hard to handle.

Slimy, green fruit?  How exotic.  As for baking with them, that's something really new-to-me.  You learn something new every day. Avocado muffins? YES!

As I didn't have the coconut flour required for Deb's recipe, I used almond flour instead and it did more or less work.  They were yummy, but a little soft.

After a little discussion with Deb via her comments, I think that a 50:50 almond meal and whole psyllium husks might work. You need something to soak up the liquid.

These muffins are suitable for paleo, gluten-free, diary-free, sugar-free and specific carbohydrate (SCD) diets.  I would say that one is a snack and 2-3 is a meal.

There is some argument about whether psyllium is actually 'paleo', but in my mind, it's a seed, and seeds are okies.  That having been said, I won't be eating any for a while. More about that tomorrow. If you do add psyllium, this makes the muffins unsuitable for the SCD.

Just in case you've missed the avocado-extravaganza, here's a round up:

Raw, Vegan Avocado Sauce
Mostly Raw, Vegan, Avocado Ganache Cake
Chocolate, Avocado Mousse
Bacon-Wrapped, Cheese Stuffed Avocadoes
Avocado on Mushrooms

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