Gwyneth, Quinoa, banana cake & the Kale project | FOOD - BODIE and FOU

After being proud of myself for making all theses healthy changes to my diet without too much of a struggle (I actually felt my new way of eating was better and tastier), I was told yesterday that I had to leave dairy out for a while which really p$$&8*d me off.
Luckily I received some great advices on Twitter (thanks Tina) and Instagram and managed to find some nice alternatives so I’m all set for this week before heading off to New-York (read comments here if you want more info on alternatives).
To cheer myself up, I baked this gluten-free banana cake for the second time:

300 g (10 1/2 oz) smashed ripe banana
3 free range / organic eggs
60 g ( 2 oz / 2 tablespoons) raw honey or organic maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
60 g (2 oz/ 1/4 cup) macadamia nut oil or cold pressed olive oil
half teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda ( bicarb soda) + 1 tbsp lemon juice
200 g ( 2 cups/ 7 oz) ) almond meal (I still don’t have almond meal in my panty so I’ve replaced it with Doves Farm gluten-free flour)
25 g (1/4 cup / 3/4 oz) ground flaxseed (linseed) or chia seed. Preheat your oven to 160 C.

Combine smashed banana, honey, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, bicarb and lemon. ( the lemon activates the bicarb). You can do this by hand in a large bowl or with a good blender such as a Vitamix.
Add the almond meal and flaxseed and mix well.
Lightly oil one loaf tin and then coat liberally with extra almond meal or desiccated coconut – this will prevent the cake from sticking. The size I used was: 10 1/2 cm wide and 26 cm long.
Spoon batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour ( a skewer inserted into the centre should come out dry).
Cover the top with foil if over-browning.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out the loaf.
Makes 1 loaf serves 12 (if you follow Weight Watchers Propoint, it’s 4 points/serving)
Keeps in the fridge covered for up to 1 week.

I didn’t have chia seeds the first time I made it and Mila preferred it without and I kind of agree with her…. Without chia seeds, version 1 was nicer and tastier but I have a healthy snack option for the rest of the week and if you have kids, banana cakes are a great recipe to do something with all the bananas going black that the kids won’t eat!

After reading It’s all Good by Gwyneth Paltrow, I felt inspired to try her quinoa dish which is pretty basic (kale, salt, quinoa, garlic, fried egg) and was surprisingly very tasty! #perfectcomfortfoodforwintertimeorinMaywhenyoustillhavetowearajumper #crazyweather

Great thing is that I have some quinoa left over which will be perfect to accompagny Steve’s roast today. Another thing I wanted to share with you is The Kale Project (thanks Chantal for the tip) which is a page set up by an American lady who lives in Paris and is on a mission to introduce kale to the French. I couldn’t find it at the street market nearby our Summer house last time we went. The guy and my mum thought I was talking of coleslaw…

Kale is sold in 3 markets in Paris: the bio market in the Batignolles, the Bio Sunday market Blvd Raspail and at the market on Blvd Wilson. Kale looks like salad, a bit coarse, full of antioxidants and delicious. I mostly eat raw Kale now in my mixed salads and I can guarantee that is very tasty. Have a great, healthy Sunday xoxo

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