The B-day cake: high-fiber, no-caffeine version

Recently, I published my high-fiber chocolate cake recipe. 

Today, I share a similar recipe but without any caffeine.  Although cocoa powder and chocolate chips do not have too much caffeine, if you do not like the taste of chocolate, why not modify the recipe to pure vanilla aroma? 

As I mentioned before, this cake recipe is super-healthy: there is lots of fiber. The added sugar in the recipe comes only from the 4 Tbsp of low-sugar jam, and the jam is optional. The  sweet taste is mostly due to the natural sugar in the bananas and raisins. The recipe calls for total of seven to eight bananas, applesauce, walnuts and whole wheat flour! This is lots of fiber. Even the almond butter has fiber.
 
Since the cake is high in fiber, the sugar spike in the blood is moderated. Soluble fiber slows down the absorption of sugar. According to some calculations, ripe bananas contain 3 g fiber/120 g, mostly in the form of soluble fiber.

High-fiber cake (up to 16 portions)
 
Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
4 oz (113 g) of unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup flaxseed
2 tsp baking soda 
1 packed cup raisins 
1 to 1.5 cup walnuts (cut into small pieces)
 
Frosting ingredients:
1 cup almond butter and/or peanut butter 
4 Tbsp low sugar strawberry jam (optional)
3 – 4 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
 
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray with oil a 9-inch springform cake pan (or spread some coconut oil). You can use any other type of cake pan. I have also used a square cake pan (8" x 8").
Wash the raisins with water, drain and soak them with the vanilla extract (leave in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes). Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, flaxseed, and baking soda). Combine the mashed bananas, apple sauce, and lightly beaten eggs. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the banana-egg mixture. Stir in the raisins and walnuts. Transfer the batter to the pan and bake for 40 minutes. Cool before frosting.

The frosting is prepared by mixing the mashed bananas and the almond (and/or peanut) butter. If you have some chia seeds, add 2 Tbsp. Either way, the frosting is delicious and healthy.

To finish the cake, spread a thin layer of low sugar jam on the top of the cake. Then cover with the frosting on top and the side of the cake.
If you would like to decorate the cake, use fresh fruit, edible flowers, chopped nuts and/or coconut shavings.

Notes:
1. I use only frozen bananas for this recipe. The thawed frozen bananas are easier to mash/incorporate in the dough and frosting. 
2. All springform cake pans leak. I put the pan on a baking sheet in the oven. However, this may increase the baking time to approximately 45 minutes or more.



Using Recipe Nutrition Calculator, if you serve 12 generous pieces of this cake, you consume for 316 calories per serving. Each piece of cake has 7.1 g of fiber and 20.1 g of sugar! This is twice the fiber in a smaller apple and more or less the amount of sugar you would get from a medium apple. Don't you feel good about eating this cake now?

The B-day cake

For a no-chocolate version of the cake, go to my next cake recipe.

In the past, cakes were enjoyed only on birthdays. Now pastries, cookies, cakes and sweets are a common treat every day. Not in my family, however! Sweets are kept for special occasions.

Recently, for one of our birthdays, I decided to "splurge" on the sugar and make a cake. The added sugar in the recipe comes only from the chocolate chips and the low-sugar jam (this one is optional). The rest of the sweet taste is due to the natural sugar in the bananas. The recipe calls for total of seven bananas, applesauce, walnuts and whole wheat flour!  This is lots of fiber! Even the almond butter and the cocoa powder have fiber.  I recommend that you use extremely ripe bananas that you have frozen in advance (in anticipation of someone's B-day).  

Since the cake is high in fiber, the sugar spike in the blood is moderated. Soluble fiber slows down the absorption of sugar. According to some calculations, ripe bananas contain 3 g fiber/120 g, mostly in the form of soluble fiber.
 

The B-day cake (up to 16 portions)

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
4 oz (113 g) of unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup baking cocoa powder (no sugar added)
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1.5 cups walnuts (chopped)
 
Frosting ingredients:
5 Tbsp almond butter (7-8 oz)
4 Tbsp low sugar strawberry jam (optional)
4 Tbsp baking cocoa powder (no sugar added)
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
 
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray with oil a 9-inch springform cake pan (or spread some coconut oil). You can use any other type of cake pan.  I have also used a square cake pan (8" x 8"). 

Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda). Combine the mashed bananas, apple sauce, vanilla and lightly beaten eggs. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the banana-egg mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer the batter into the pan, and bake for 40 minutes.  Cool before frosting. 

The frosting is prepared by mixing the four Tbsp of cocoa powder with the three mashed bananas and the almond butter. If you have some chia seeds, add 2 Tbsp. Either way, the frosting is delicious and healthy.

To finish the cake, first, spread the low sugar jam on the top of the cake. Then spread the frosting on top and the side of the cake. For the frosting, you may try peanut butter (with no added sugar), instead of the more expensive almond butter.

The decorations on the picture above were made by my child. Usually, I do not decorate the cake, but one could sprinkle some nuts and/or coconut shavings.
 
Notes:
1. I use only frozen bananas for this recipe. The frozen bananas are easier to mash/incorporate in the dough and frosting.

2. All springform cake pans leak. This is why I put the pan on a baking sheet in the oven. This however, increases the baking time to approximately 45 minutes or more.

In a process of frosting...

Happy B-day, everyone!

Pear scones: higher fiber, no added sugar

I like to take a traditional recipe with sugar and refined flour and revamp it into a healthier one. 

The recipe below for pear scones is my new baking experiment. 

It was a success. I could not believe how sweet it tasted without added sugar! One explanation is the the pears were ripe and sweet.

Pear scones

Ingredients
2.5 cups of whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
10 Tbsp butter at room temperature
3 ripe pears (not peeled, chopped into small pieces)
4-oz cup of unsweetened apple sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add the butter and mix with hands until the mixture resembles crumbs. Mash the bananas and add the eggs and apple sauce to them. Combine the flour and banana mixtures. Finally, add the pears and mix. Divide the dough into two batches and transfer each batch onto a greased cookie sheet. Shape into a circle with clean, wet hands. Press down to thickness of ¾ inches. Bake for about 20 minutes. Slice each circle into eight scones until warm. The recipe yields 16 scones.

Corn meal with veggies and chickpeas

As I have written before, Being free improves your health, and being healthy preserves your freedom.

To be financially free and otherwise free (think doctor-free), you need to be healthy and self-reliant. One way to achieve this is to know how to cook healthy and cheap meals. 

High-fiber meals can contribute to healthy weight and have many other benefits.

In my pursuit to develop new recipes with high fiber content, I experimented with corn meal and here is one recipe that would recommend:

Corn meal with veggies and chickpeas

Ingredients:
1 cup of corn meal
4 - 5 carrots
celery (any amount, optional)
1 or 2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas
3 - 4 Tbsp olive oil
garlic (3-4 cloves), salt, cayenne pepper and paprika to taste (these go with the beans)
3 - 4 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of honey

Directions:
Prepare "corn meal mush" according to the directions on the box. Usually, to four cups of boiling water, add one cup of corn meal. Add the corn meal slowly, with continuous stirring. After the mush becomes thicker, bring to a slow boil and cook for 4 - 5 minutes (with stirring). The mush can be prepared in advance. I had the corn meal mush prepared the day before I assembled the dish and kept it refrigerated.

Drain the chickpeas and cook in a pan with some olive oil. Stir frequently, after 5 - 7 minutes add the crushed garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt to taste. Stir and cook until all beans are completely dry and a bit toasted. Remove the beans to a plate.

Prepare the veggies by cutting them in strips. Cook in the same pan (from the chickpeas) with olive oil. After 3 - 4 minutes, add the apple cider vinegar with the honey and salt. Close the pan to steam the vegetables. When most of the liquid is absorbed, the veggies are ready (this timing can vary according to your preference for crunchy or not).

Assemble the dishes with corn meal on the bottom. Sprinkle with the chickpeas and the veggies.

By the way, corn meal mush is versatile. I love it when it is still hot and steamy and I add some crumbled feta cheese. The cheese almost melts and the taste is divine. You can also serve it as a dessert with a swirl of honey on top.

Check my other recipes with high fiber content.

Uber-fiber dish

Here is a recipe for a dish that will boost everyone's fiber intake. Why should you care about fiber? Read this and this.

For the last couple of years, our family has been trying to increase the fiber intake not only by having more veggies and fruit, but also by buying high-fiber breads, pasta and flour.

This recipes calls for whole wheat spaghetti (or any other whole wheat pasta) and lots of chickpeas

Ingredients:
Whole wheat pasta, boiled
Buffalo wing sauce (to taste)
3-4 stalks of celery, cut thinly
2 cans (15 oz) of chickpeas (drained and mashed)
one sweet onion, peeled, sliced thinly
one red (or any other color) pepper, sliced thinly
3-5 garlic cloves, pressed
3 Tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
Boil the pasta according to the package directions. I usually prepare industrial amounts and freeze in batches. For this recipe, I thawed one of these endless pasta portions.

Heat the oil in a pan and add onion and pepper; mix occasionally, and keep under cover to soften and preserve the liquid. When the veggies are soft, add the garlic. Mix and cook with the garlic for a minute. Mix the veggies with the pasta.

Next, prepare the chickpeas: mix the mashed beans with the chopped celery and add Buffalo wing sauce to taste. To serve, scoop some pasta and some chickpeas on the plate, or mix together. The result is delightfully spicy!

Weekend cooking: sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, and spinach soup

Here is a new soup concoction that I tried recently. I am a proponent of the high-fiber diet, so this is another high-fiber recipe. I usually cook huge batches of soups over the weekends and freeze portions for the work weeks ahead. 

Sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, and spinach soup

You need:
2-3 Tbsp olive oil 
2 cans cooked garbanzo beans (15 oz)
1 package frozen chopped spinach (10 oz)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
2 medium size onions, chopped into cubes
5 or more garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
 
Instructions:
Soften the onion and celery in the oil. Add the garlic and cook for another five minutes. Add water (12 cups of water or to the desired by you density), bring to boil and add the potatoes. Cook to softness (approximately 10 minutes), add the garbanzo beans and the thawed spinach. Cook for another five minutes, turn off the heat and season with salt. Experiment with any spices you like – turmeric, black pepper, oregano, hot pepper flakes, paprika, mint, etc. 

How may I change the recipe? I did not add any spices except salt and found the soup a bit bland. Also, I do not have a sweet tooth. Instead of sweet potatoes, I will use red potatoes next time.