2 Slings and Banana Bread

Well, I got got around to making a couple of ring slings today. I found 2 inch nickel rings at the hardware store. Much better price than the ones they sell as sling rings  but super heavy duty. So I made one for my pregnant friend and one for my etsy shop. 2 down, 10 to go. At least for now. When I work my way through that pile I'll have to go back to Hancocks for more. I never know what I'll find. I'm very picky about my sling fabric. I only use 100% cotton and it has to be reversible since I only use one piece. That keeps it light and breezy, 0 bulk but they're completely adjustable. And I try to stick with sale items to keep my costs down. I want slings to be affordable for every parent. I don't know what I would have done without my sling with my Zoe. She was such a crier. The sling was the only way I could calm her sometimes, or get anything done. And she still loves it even though she just turned one.  That's how she rides when we go out. I say God bless slings!

Well enough rambling about that. While waiting for the chicken to bake for tonight's supper I whipped up a few loaves of glutenfree banana bread. Kaiya has eczema which is aggravated by food allergies and intolerences. She is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish and intolerant of gluten. So we've had to make some major adjustments to our diet. But once you get used to it, it's not really hard at all. It's always an adventure to de-allergen my favorite recipes. The banana bread recipe I use was originally gluten free anyway but I find that I get better results to just use a gf all-purpose mix than to use the recommended flours. Though sometimes I do use 2/3 mix and 1/3 soy flour. The soy gives baked goods a wonderful nutty taste and I  like the texture it adds. Not too much though, as soy flour does add weight to the finished product and I wouldn't recommend tasting the batter when soy flour is involved. Yuck! Same goes if you're using bean flour. Fully baked it's delicious, though. I recommend Arrowhead Mills All-purpose Baking Mix or their pancake mix. They are both quiet versatile.

So here's the recipe. I add quiet a few alterations to the original recipe, actually. I haven't found any gluten free recipes that I like better than my own altered recipes, not to toot my own horn, but that's just the truth. If they don't know, no one can tell that my baked goods aren't made with traditional ingredients. They are just as good if not better. So, enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup milk (dairy, soy, nut or rice)

3 Tbsp.canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. molasses

1 3/4  cup all-purpose gluten free baking mix or 1 cup mix and 3/4 cup soy flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. xantham gum

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground flax

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 3 5x3 loaf pans.

2.Using an electric mixer, cream first 6 ingredients until thoroughly blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly (batter will be soft; you can manually stir in the chocolate chips and flax at this stage). Smooth into pans and smooth the top of batter with spatula.

3.Bake 35-40 min., or until tops are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and cut with a serrated knife.

Of course you can use wheat flour with this recipe, just omit the xantham gums as it is just to improve texture in gluten free baked goods.

Comments

[Hamlette]

I say God bless slings!

Amen! I never would have been able to pack for our move if I hadn't been able to put Dano in a sling to nurse and nap! Now I mostly just use them when going shopping or taking a walk, but for a while there, I wore them for hours and hours.