Who doesn’t love banana bread!? This is a simple and delicious recipe that is grain free, egg free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and of course gluten free. A delicious treat you will enjoy eating!
Ingredients: 2 Ripe Banana’s 2 Flax Eggs 1/2 cup Coconut Oil 1 tsp Vanilla 2 TBS Maple Syrup 2 cups Almond Flour 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Cinnamon Pinch of Salt
Directions: 1) Preheat the oven to 350F. 2)Make the two flax eggs first by putting 2 TBS of ground flax into a bowl with 6 TBS of water. Mix together and set aside while you make the rest of the bread. 3)) Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. 4) Mix together the wet ingredients in another bowl, mashed banana’s, flax eggs (once they have thickened), coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. 5) Mix the wet with the dry and combine until a batter consistency has been made. You can also put all the ingredients into a food processor as another option. 6) Place the batter into a bread tin lined with parchment paper or oiled with coconut oil or oil of choice. Place in the oven to be baked for 40 min or until golden on top.
Enjoy! Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you end up making this banana bread, I love seeing your creations come to life!
Have you ever wondered how to make paleo pancakes without using eggs? Here is the trick, flax egg and make vegan “buttermilk.” These pancakes are a bit more dense than other pancakes but trust me when I say, they are delicious. Follow the recipe below to make your own!
Ingredients: 1 cup almond flour 3/4 cup cassava flour (or tapioca/arrowroot starch will work as well) 1 tbs baking powder 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tbs maple syrup 1 tbs coconut oil – melted pinch of salt 1 cup almond milk 1 flax egg
Directions: 1) First make the flax egg and the vegan buttermilk to set as side as they need to sit for a few minutes to work. Mix together 1 tbs ground flax seed and 3 tbs water, mix together and set aside. Mix together 1 cup almond milk with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar and set aside for 10 min to become “buttermilk.” 2) Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl, almond flour, cassava flour, baking powder, and salt. 3) Mix together all the wet ingredients in another bowl, flax egg, buttermilk mixture you made, coconut oil, maple syrup. 4) Now add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix together. You can also put all of the ingredients into a food processor. 5) Melt coconut oil on your pan, and place the mixture (which will be a bit thicker), onto the pan. On medium heat it should be ready to flip in 3-5 min. 6) Serve with your favourite toppings, I have a homemade apricot spread and maple syrup on mine.
Enjoy! Tag me on instagram if you end up make these, I love to see all of your creations!
To many people being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease or chronic illness can seem like all bad news. But what if I told you there are positives to it? Would you believe me? Watch the full video for my top 10 positives of having a chronic illness.
Have you ever wanted to know how to make yourself a quick, easy and delicious chocolate cake for your birthday or just because you want cake? This is the recipe for you! It is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, soy free, and refined sugar free all without limiting your taste buds.
Ingredients:
For the cake you will need: 2 1/2 cup Almond Flour 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder 1/4 cup Coconut Flour 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Salt 4 eggs or 12 TBS Egg Whites 1 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar, Cane Sugar, or Maple Syrup 1/2 cup Almond Milk or Milk of Choice 1/4 cup Avocado or Olive Oil 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the icing you will need: 1/4 cup Dairy Free Butter or Butter of Choice 1/3 cup Almond Flour 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder 1/4 cup Maple Syrup 3 TBS Coconut Sugar or Cane Sugar 1/4 cup Almond Milk
Directions: Cake Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350°F, and line your cake tin with parchment paper – this is an important step to ensure the batter does not stick to the sides of the tin. 2) In a bowl, put all of the dry ingredients including the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Hand mix it all together and be sure to get any clumps out of the flour, or use a food processor if you have one. 3) In a separate bowl, put in all of the wet ingredients including the eggs or egg whites, coconut sugar or sugar of choice, almond milk or milk of choice, olive or avocado oil, and vanilla extract. Mix it all together. 4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them together until you have a cake batter. Then add the batter to the cake tin you have prepared, and smooth the batter to the sides of the tin. 5) Put your cake tin into the oven for 25- 30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out smooth from the centre of the cake. Let the cake sit in the tin for 10 minutes to cool down then take it out of the tin and let it cool down completely before icing or cutting the cake!
Icing Directions: 1) Using a food processor (you could do it without but you just have to be sure to smooth it out and mix the ingredients well), put in the diary free butter or butter of choice and mix in the food processor until smooth (about a minute). 2) Now add the almond flour, and turn the food processor on again until the ingredients start to clump together. 3) Add in the cocoa powder and maple syrup and mix the ingredients again for another 30-60 sec. 4) Now add the coconut or cane sugar along with the almond milk or milk of choice and do a final mix. The icing should be slightly thick but able to run off your spoon. 5) Add the ingredients to a storable container and put the icing in the fridge to harden a bit more.
Now you have a delicious cake to enjoy and decorate to your liking! I put cocoa nibs and raspberries on top of mine. Below is a video of me making the cake and icing for my birthday :).
Have you been wondering how to make a paleo banana bread moist, soft, and delicious? How about a banana bread for anyone with acid reflux or any other digestive issues? This will be the bread for you! Simple ingredients and really easy to make!
Ingredients:
3 medium bananas 1/4 cup and 1 TBS egg whites 2 TBS olive oil 2 cups almond flour 1 TBS baking powder 1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Using a food processor or bowl, put the banana’s in and mash them until smooth.
Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients – olive oil and egg whites.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until smooth and no lumps.
In a baking tin, at the ingredients and smooth out. You can grease the tin or add parchment paper.
Put in the oven at 350 degrees F for 45-50 min or until golden brown and test with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it is ready.
Hi everyone! Here is my first what I eat in a day. I have been experiencing some acid reflux symptoms so I will be showing you what I eat in a day with acid reflux but also being a Celiac. I go through a foam rolling routine and even give you a great recipe for a paleo banana bread!
There are a lot of blogs out there that are or have shared their wellness journey’s and I realize some of them can be construed as not health and wellness or they don’t need to be doing this journey because from the outside they look healthy and happy. Key phrase here is from the outside, we never know what someone is going through on the inside because we cannot see it.
This is actually a very vulnerable post for me, but I think if I am up front and honest about how I have been feeling the last few years then maybe it will help someone else have the strength to do the same. For those of you who do not know, I was diagnosed with celiac disease just over 3 years ago from this post date. The first year after being diagnosed I was relieved, and had a great year of feeling better then I have ever felt – I finally knew what it felt to be “normal.” But then I went out to eat one day and long story short I was given the wrong bread and I became ill for 8 months after. Since this incident I have not been able to get myself back on that high feeling, and instead I seem to have hit a plateau of, “things are the way they are and this I just how it is going to be from now on.” It seemed like no matter what I did my symptoms would get a bit better but then come back, for a lack of better words, in a raging shit storm. I have not been able to get my TTG levels to drop in my blood (antibody test for celiac disease) for over 2 years. This has discouraged me and made me unmotivated because it just seemed like, no matter what I did, my levels were not going to drop any lower and I would always have symptoms appear out of no where. One day I’d be happy go lucky and feeling great and the next it was like I had eaten the wrong bread again.
I guess the best way to describe this is by explaining what I used to be like. I was very active and loved it, I loved going to the gym and playing sports, I never stopped moving. I woke up excited about life and used to get up around 5:30-6:30am on my own without an alarm and never hit the snooze button. I would wake up and think, I’m going for a walk or just excited about what it was I was going to eat that morning.
Now, as I’m sure you can guess, it is the opposite. Over the last 2 and a bit years I have lost motivation and drive, I was always physically and mentally exhausted or not feeling well. It became very hard to get out of bed and I was always hitting the snooze button. I stopped being active and doing the things I used to live for, I became lost. I know having a physically demanding job that I absolutely love did not help with my motivation to be active, but I used to be able to look past this and still get to the gym and do something for me.
I really feel as though it took the pandemic and being forced to stop working for me to realize where I had brought myself. When I was forced to stop I then started to feel all my aches and pains in my body. My left shoulder keeps going numb with neck pain and my right hip will scream at me if I do too much sitting or moving. The kind of pain that will make you wince and look as though you have aged 50 years over night. As an Athletic Therapist I know and have seen this all too often with my patients and know that I have lost my strength, mobility and flexibility. Once I build these back up and correct my muscle imbalances, I will live up to my last name of Walker and be an unbeatable Jedi again. I have been on again, off again, bloated with mental challenges and brain fog, anxiety, decreased motivation and drive, and decreased focus. If there is anything I have noticed over the last few years it is that the gut brain connection is a true and serious thing.
However, with all of that being said, I am happy to state that as hard as things have been in the past they are improving and from this day forward I will not accept anything but. It is going to be challenging and I will of course still have off days – but I will not let them drive me away from my goal of becoming strong and happy again.
So you may be thinking, how are you going to do this? Excellent question, here is how:
Fitness: I will be working on my muscle imbalances and correcting my biomechanics. I will be doing this through mobility, flexibility and strength. There needs to be an equal amount of all of these to have a well balanced musculoskeletal system. So I will be making myself a fitness plan that will include all three of these components.
Nutrition: I have been dabbing into this component for the last 2 months already and I am happy to state that following the diet I have been doing has helped to decrease my TTG antibody levels in my blood and increased my iron. There is still a lot to improve in this department but it is a start! For the first 3 weeks I followed the hypoallergenic diet without consuming any grains. I was to cut out processed foods, dairy, certain meats, eggs, soy, peanuts, corn, tomatoes, artificial butters and sweeteners, refined sugars, and glutinous grains (obviously for me) but the naturopath had me cut out all grains just for the first 3 weeks. I followed this to a T and even continued it past the 3 weeks because of how much better I felt, but then, my digestion started to go wonky again and my energy has dropped. This is why I feel these full on restrictive diets are not meant to be eaten forever (other than the food you have to avoid for health reasons).
Science actually shows that if you are under eating you will have immune problems and digestion issues. It may seem like you have a food intolerance but in reality your restrictive eating will cause digestive issues because the digestive system is not receiving enough energy, and if it does not get enough energy it cannot properly extract the nutrients your body needs to function. Mind.Blown. Therefore, I have decided that following a very restrictive and paleo diet long term is not the way to go for me. I believe my TTG levels being high is due to cross contamination in food that is processed and made in restaurants that are not careful. Also, having a very restrictive diet has made me very anxious around food, I’m always afraid whatever it is that I am eating will cause food intolerance symptoms. I know I do have some food intolerances because after eating certain things like corn and oats, I instantly have full body autoimmune symptoms. However, I do wonder, if I get my TTG levels to lower to zero, will these intolerances go away? Because technically once I get those levels to zero, that means my gut lining has finally healed and it will be able to digest food properly again. So as long as I stay away from my kryptonite, gluten, I should be okay to eat a variety of food again without feeing sick. That thought actually makes me so excited and pumped to get my gut lining healed.
Mindfulness: This one is HUGE! I have been trained in transcendental meditation and started doing it back when I was in university as I used to have a huge amount of exam anxiety. This technique helped me get through my certification exams, and to be honest, I stopped doing it, and that was a big mistake. I told myself I was way too busy and did not have the time to sit and meditate for 20 minutes twice a day, but this is the exact person that needs to make time for exactly this as they typically need it the most. Since I have started meditating again, I cannot even begin to explain the benefits I have experienced in my everyday life. My thoughts are clearer, I do not snap as much if at all, I’m positive, focused and motivated. Mindfulness does not just have to do with meditation, it also includes living intuitively. If you have a negative thought come into your head, change it right away for a more positive one. If you are overworked, cut your hours. Our bodies need us to start living more intuitively because we all need to start listening to our bodies and giving it what it wants and needs.
These are the three ingredients to not just my wellness journey, but I believe everyone’s. If the health of our mind, nutrition and fitness does not exist, then we are more likely to develop muscle imbalances that will cause injuries. We may have a leaky gut or improperly functioning digestive system because we are not fuelling it properly or moving to help stools pass through your bowels or have a horrible gut brain connection where now the health of your gut effects your mental health and vice versa. All three of these components are absolutely essential for an overall well balanced health and wellness plan, you cannot do one without the other. It only took me siting down and writing this blog for me to truly make this connection. I always tell my patients to include all three but it has really clicked with me as to why.
Regardless if you are on a wellness journey of your own or want to see me through mine, I hope you find what it is you are looking for, because the sun really is brighter on the other side.
Please Keep This Disclaimer in Mind:
Articles are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent diseases. We cannot and do not provide medical advice or specific advice on products related to treatments of a disease or illness.
You must not rely on the information on our website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare providers.
You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice or discontinue medical treatment because of information on our website.
It is your responsibility to consult with your professional health care providers before starting any diet changes, exercise or supplementation program, and before taking; varying the dosage and / or ceasing to take any medication.
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Here is a video of me on my YouTube channel talking about what celiac disease is and highlighting some of the main facts that I think everyone should know about it.
Please Keep This Disclaimer in Mind:
Articles are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent diseases. We cannot and do not provide medical advice or specific advice on products related to treatments of a disease or illness.
You must not rely on the information on our website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare providers.
You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice or discontinue medical treatment because of information on our website.
It is your responsibility to consult with your professional health care providers before starting any diet changes, exercise or supplementation program, and before taking; varying the dosage and / or ceasing to take any medication.
We do not collect any personal information or store cookies. You can turn off cookies on your web browsers.
I have been trying to perfect this recipe for some time, and I finally got it! They are light and fluffy, and can be made as sweet as you would like. There are different ingredients that you can add or substitute with that I mention in the ingredients and directions section.
I made a video you can follow along to learn how to make them!
Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 tbs coconut oil (NOT MELTED).
4-6 tbs maple syrup, depending on how sweet you want them put more or less to your liking.
1 tsp tahini or almond butter or really any nut butter of your choice.
1 egg, egg replacement or chia egg. To make a chia egg: 1 tbs chia seeds and 3 tbs water then let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it makes a gel-like texture.
Handful of raisins, nuts, seeds or chocolate chips (or all all 4!).
Directions:
Make your chia egg, mix together 1 tbs of chia seeds with 3 tbs of water then stir and set aside for about 5 minutes or until a gel-like texture.
Mix together all the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, and baking powder) in a bowl or food processor until all lumps are gone, then set that bowl aside.
Scoop out 6 tbs of coconut oil while hard, this is very important as it hold the mixture together better for a more doughy consistency. Then in a small bowl using a fork mush the coconut oil until it is a smoother texture but still solid (not melted liquid).
In the same bowl as the mushed coconut oil, add the teaspoon of nut butter, and 4-6 tablespoons of maple syrup. Mix together until smooth.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until it has a doughy consistency.
Now add in your chia egg to the dough, you will notice this will make it clump together into one big dough.
Once it is in a smooth dough consistency, add your raisins, chocolate chips, nuts or seeds, or all 4 and knead the dough a bit, until it is in one big ball (make sure to wash your hands before the kneading).
Preheat oven to 350ºF, and put the dough in your fridge to chill for 7-10 minutes. This is another important step, as it hardens the dough and will hold together better once in the oven. Have a solo dance party while you wait for the oven to heat and the dough to chill.
Once the dough has hardened, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and roll the dough into 12 even balls.
Then place in the oven for 10 minutes, let them cool (I know this step is hard), and enjoy!
Being a Celiac and eating gluten free has it’s perks but also sometimes certain foods can be missed. Eating curry these days makes me miss having a warm naan bread to enjoy it with. You are all in luck! I have figured out how to make naan bread in just 3 main ingredients and less then 20 minutes of preparation and cooking.
Guys this is actually so easy! Give it a try, all you need is:
Ingredients:
1 cup Red Robin gluten free flour mix, or another pre-mixed gluten free flour I have also used Bob’s Red Mill as well and it turned out the same
1 cup dairy free yogurt, or you can use regular yogurt if you are not dairy free
1tsp baking powder
To add flavour as an option you can also add:
2 chopped up garlic cloves or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sesame seeds
This gave it an amazing flavour and will make your kitchen smell so good!
Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients, gluten free flour mix and baking powder.
Then add the yogurt and mix well.
If you are going to add flavour add it in now.
Roll the dough into 4 individual balls – you may have to add flour or water to your hands as the dough is a bit sticky.
Then flatten out the balls until they are 1/4 of an inch thick.
In a pan on medium heat, add:
1 tbsp of olive oil or any oil of choice – I would go with a neutral oil to not over take the taste of the bread.
Then add the bread to the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes, flip them over and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat in the pan.
Plate up and enjoy with your curry, chilli or any other great recipe you have on hand.
Please Keep This Disclaimer in Mind:
Articles are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent diseases. We cannot and do not provide medical advice or specific advice on products related to treatments of a disease or illness.
You must not rely on the information on our website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare providers.
You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice or discontinue medical treatment because of information on our website.
It is your responsibility to consult with your professional health care providers before starting any diet changes, exercise or supplementation program, and before taking; varying the dosage and / or ceasing to take any medication.
We do not collect any personal information or store cookies. You can turn off cookies on your web browsers.
LEW's Life 