While wandering the cookbook aisle at my local library about two months ago, I came across this amazing little cookbook, The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook by Erica Herwien. I loved all the photos on the cover and then I read that it contained more than 100 grain-free, gluten-free, paleo-friendly recipes for every occasion. So I had to check it out. I brought it home and couldn’t believe how many recipes I wanted to try. After renewing the book twice I decided to buy my own copy.
I never really intentionally cooked with coconut flour before so I looked forward to exploring with it in my kitchen.
First let me share a few health benefits and why it might be something you might want to incorporate into your recipes:
It’s naturally high in fiber ans low in carbohydrates (let’s face it, we need that especially with all the yummy temptations over the holidays every little bit helps.)
It’s better for our blood sugar because the fiber content in coconut flour is low in digestible carbohydrates so it doesn’t have the same effect on our blood sugar compared to other carbohydrates such as wheat grains and rice.
Typically when we eat carbohydrates they are broken down into glucose that can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, which forces our body to work hard to respond to it. This quick rise causes stress on the body and over time, high blood sugar levels can lead to or complicate some of our big health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, weight gain and our overall health. But with coconut flour you don’t get that sugar spike and the high fiber makes you feel full and cleans out the residue before leaving the body.
So using it as an alternative to traditional all purpose flour is a great thing. It also is a great alternative for that small percent of people that have gluten intolerance.
So today I tried making the Chocolate Banana Bread recipe from the cookbook. It is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and paleo-friendly. I am lactose intolerant so the fact that the book includes ways to remove the dairy makes me happy.
I couldn’t find my smaller loaf pan so it came out more of a long wide shape. I also tried a new dark chocolate brand which I used the food processor to shred it. Well I had three tasters including myself. Leao, who is working from home, said he liked it but wanted more banana flavor. Apollo and I loved it. I liked the moist inside with a slight crisp to the edges. It pairs well with my Honeybush tea from Numi. It’s perfect for the drab rainy day we are experiencing today.
I will try to write posts as I try some of the other recipes in this book. I hope they are all just as yummy as this one. I also noticed that I didn’t feel sleepy after eating it. So I didn’t get the normal sugar spike like many desserts and breads tend to do to me.
If you do use coconut flour let me know what you think.
Have a blessed day!
Belinda
I love seeing the old cars in the parade. The owners are always so proud and friendly. It adds to the charm of the parade.
The boys wanted to walk down to where the memorial is in the town center to hear the talk. So off we went and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of our shadows as we walked. I love the sprinkling of leaves.
As we got there we managed to find a spot that was unfortunately closer to the back of the crowd so I could barely see the speakers. But I could hear them when they approached the microphone. So while I was listening, a part of me was peekint to see the people standing behind the speaker and noticing not one person of color or female for that matter. So I drifted off into thought and complained about the lack of diversity. When all of the sudden the crowd shifted and I couldn’t see the speaker anymore and he began to introduce his keynote speaker. Well what do you know, he introduced Lieutenant Colonel Gayle-Bennett as the keynote speaker and as he began to talk, I was thrilled to find the speaker was a female and African American. Below is a little bit I pulled off the internet about her:
Good evening! It’s day 17 of the challenge. Yesterday we went to the Boston Museum of Science with the boys and had a blast but I was wiped out when we got home so no coloring was happening at my house!
