Banana Choc Chip Muffins

These sweet treats are simple to prepare and taste delicious! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Preparation time: 10 min       Baking time: 30min

Ingredients: 

3 small ripe Bananas, mashed

2 large eggs 

3/4 cup lactose free milk 

1/4 cup oil (rice bran or sunflower)

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups gluten free self rising flour

1/2 cup raw sugar

1 cup almond meal 

2 tsp maple syrup 

pinch of cinnamon 

pinch of salt 
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 12x muffin tin. 

2. Combine bananas, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla essence and maple syrup into a medium bowl. 

3. Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Whist wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined. Add chocolate chips and mix through evenly. 

4. Pour into the greased muffin tin. Bake for 30min, or until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer. 

Gluten Free Nutella Muffins

I have a confession to make: I love Nutella. I can eat it in every way imaginable - on toast, with a banana, on top of ice cream, or just by itself on a spoon. 

 

So my boyfriend bought me a 5kg tub of Nutella for my birthday! And although I love Nutella, 5kg is a lot to get through (and moderation and healthy eating is important!) I decided that it would have to be used in other ways, so I came up with this simple recipe - and trust me, these muffins are divine! 

Nutella Muffins

Ingredients: 

2 cups gluten-free self raising flour (I use the one by Aldi) 

1 cup Nutella

1 cup lactose-free milk

1/2 cup lactose-free butter, melted (I used nuttelex)

2 tsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup raw sugar

A pinch of salt 

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, sift through flour, cocoa powder and salt. 

3. In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugar until combined. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add in the milk, followed by the Nutella and continue to mix until mixture is smooth. 

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until completely combined. 

5. Pour batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 min or until cake tester comes out clean. 

6. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes. Serve warm or transfer to wire rack to cool. 

Muffins with 5kg jar of Nutella!

Banana Bread

There were three over-ripe bananas sitting in our fruit bowl today. Instead of getting rid of them I thought I would make a banana bread. This banana bread is soft and full of flavour. The rest of my family could not tell that it was gluten free. 

Banana Bread Recipe

Preparation time: 10 min       Baking time: 1 hour

Ingredients: 

3 small ripe Bananas, mashed

3 small eggs (or 2 large eggs)

3/4 cup Milk (lactose free alternatives: coconut milk, soy milk or rice milk)

1/4 cup oil (rice bran or sunflower)

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups gluten free self rising flour

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup almond meal 

2 tsp maple syrup 

pinch of ground cloves (or cinnamon!)

pinch of salt 
1/2 cup crushed walnuts 

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a small cake tin (11cmx21cm). 

2. Combine bananas, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla essence and maple syrup into a medium bowl. 

3. Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Whist wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined. 

4. Pour into the greased tin and cover with walnuts. Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. 

5. Serve plain or indulge by serving with melted chocolate or Nutella

Chocolate Rum Balls (actually Bailey's Balls)

Clearly from the majority of my posts you can see that I am a huge sweet tooth and love nothing more than a delicious treat after dinner. This is another very fast and extremely simple dessert to put together. 

Unfortunately, this is not a lactose-free recipe. If you know of any lactose-free alternatives for Rum Balls please let me know and I will have a go at making them. 

Chocolate Rum Ball Recipe 

Makes about 40 

Ingredients: 

350g gluten free shortbread biscuits, crushed 
1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp cocoa powder
50ml Bailey's Irish Cream alcohol
1 cup shaved coconut with extra for coating
1 cup crushed macadamia nuts 

Steps: 

1. Combine the biscuits, cocoa, macadamia nuts and coconut in a bowl.

2. Add the Bailey's and stir. Add the condensed milk as you go, until all the ingredients are combined and hold together well. I use maybe just under a tin in total as I do not want them too mushy.  

3. Make into small balls using hands and coat with extra coconut. 

4. Freeze for at least an hour before serving. 

I've stored mine in an ice cream container, in the freezer 

Alternatives:
- Other nuts, or almond meal instead of macadamias
- Gluten-free choc biccies instead of short bread

Let me know of any others that work for you!

Please note: 

**Because Fructose Malabsorbers cannot have Rum I used Bailey's as an alternative. I cannot find anywhere that states whether or not we can have Baileys and whether it is safe for Fructose Malabsorbers. If you know the answer please let me know! However, having eaten many of these delicious Bailey's Balls I have never felt unwell. So please let me know how you went with them! 

Sweet Crepes for a Saturday Morning

This morning my boyfriend, his housemates and I had a big brunch together. On the menu were gluten-free, low FODMAP crepes with pick your own toppings! 

Gluten Free, Fructose Free Sweet Crepe Recipe: 

Makes about 60 small crepes (or 30 large ones) 

500g gluten free flour
1L milk 
5 eggs
1 tsp sugar
2 drops vanilla essence 
1 tsp sunflower oil 

These crepes are both Fructose Friendly and Coeliac Disease Friendly. If you change the milk to soy, they are also suitable for those with Lactose Intolerance. 

Steps:
1. Mix together the eggs, 1 cup of milk and the flour. Continue to add the rest of the milk periodically to the batter as you mix it together. 

2. Add the sugar and vanilla essence and stir. Add in the oil last. Continue to combine the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Add a little bit of milk if the mixture feels too thick. 

3. Leave to sit for about 2-3 hours if possible before making the crepes, however this is not essential. 

4. Pour enough of the batter into a oiled pan to form a thin layer which covers the whole surface of the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds on either side, or until golden-brown. 

5. Cover with delicious toppings. 



Suggestions for toppings: 

We made sweet crepes and came up with a range of different flavour combinations that are fructose friendly.  These include:

- Nutella* with strawberries and banana
- Traditional lemon and sugar
- Strawberries and blueberries with maple syrup
- Nutella with vanilla ice cream and melted chocolate 
- Raspberry jam with cream 
- Caramalised banana 

For those with Fructose Malabsorption, watch out for things like honey, figs and jams with mixed berries as these can all upset your stomach and cause bloating. 

*Keep the Nutella intake to a moderate amount, as hazelnuts contain moderate amounts of oligo-saccharides which on a strict low FODMAP diet you should limit. 

Let me know of your favourite sweet crepe combinations. 

Mivvy