Banana Muffins with Almond Butter and Coconut Oil

Lets talk for a moment about brown sugar...http://grist.org/industrial-agriculture/feds-to-farmers-grow-gmo-beets-or-face-a-sugar-shortage/

It's delicious. If you buy generic brown sugar its pretty much guaranteed to be GMO beet sugar. Pesticides, Highly processed and refined.

We use only 100% organic pure cane sugar for everything that needs sugar here at House Of J. Organic pure cane brown sugar is... EXPENSIVE 1 lb of brown sugar is $5.00 compared to regular super market sugar @ $1.75 per pound!! 

Another reason why it's so hard for many of us to keep a 100% GMO free and organic diet. It costs so much..

Well here is an amazing alternative to A. eating junk sugar or B. going broke

Make your own!

Buy your fabulous organic pure cane sugar and a jar of organic unsulpured molasses  The result is a more fluffy version of regular old brown sugar, and no worrying about it drying out or hardening. 

I will show you a great recipe where brown sugar is needed but instead I use this method!

Banana Muffins!

You need:

3 very ripe bananas (so ripe even that your hubby says, oh wow what are you going to make with those bananas, hint hint hint)

1 cup organic pure cane sugar

1 tablespoon organic molasses

1 egg

1.5 cup flour (make sure GM free/Organic)

1/2 cup almond butter (make sure it's not cut with canola or soy in any way) PURE almond butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

preheat oven to 350

Combine bananas and sugar in the bowl of your mixer and beat until it forms a gooey paste. Add in the molasses and beat until completely incorporated then add in your egg.

Combine flour baking powder/soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. 

Using a large microwave safe measuring cup heat up your coconut oil for 20-30 seconds. Add in the almond butter (to the measuring cup) and stir until smooth. 

Take turns adding in dry ingredients and your oil/almond butter mixture until smooth.

Pour into a greased muffin pan or liners and bake for 18-20 minutes. I use the eco recycled liners, 75 liners for $1.75!

They are so moist and airy. Sweet enough for desert and perfect for breakfast :) 

Blueberry vanilla 100% natural & organic smash cake!

My little momma's boy turned 1!! I just cannot believe that SO MUCH time as passed since our doctor stuck his tiny little preemie baby body on my chest and I snuggled him so tight.

He will always be a little munchkin to us, but he is growing so fast.

Our double brother/sister birthday bash is coming up but we still needed to celebrate the big ONE with a yummy cake and balloons and presents from big sister :)

I am sure you've seen the news, and read the articles about yellow #5 and all the other terrible colorants that we put into our children's birthday cakes to make them look pretty...(they are linked to ADHD and behavioral issues in trouble a long with a list of other complications)

Well I was determined to create a cake for my little munchkin with no chemical additives and only organic and GM (genetically modified)free ingredients.

I know for most of you the jury is still out on GM foods and their safety, but for my family... We've decide to completely cut them out of our home cooking, baking and day to day living..For special occasion dinners etc at restaurants this will be hard to determine but if we can cut our chemical intake by 90-95% I'd say we are pretty successful.

The kids have always ate mostly organic from day #1 but the hubby and I are probably ridden with chemicals.

On to the recipe!

11 tablespoons of butter, soft (organic)
1.5 cups organic pure cane sugar
3 Eggs (organic)
2 1/4 cups flour (organic or GMO-free)
2 tablespoons+1 teaspoon organic Tapioca starch
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon organic vanilla bean paste
1 cup milk
India tree all natural chemical free colorants.

preheat oven to 375

In the bowl of your electric mixer add in butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add in your eggs and vanila and whisk for about 2-3 minutes

sift your flour, baking powder and tapioca in a bowl and set it off to the side.

slowly pour in 1/4 cup of milk and then your dry ingredients and continue to alternate until all combined.

Separate your batter into 3 bowls, leave one white... add a small amount of all natural blue food coloring to another bowl and a larger amount into the next bowl.

Using 2 butter coated spring form 4in round pans, put your white batter in one and your blue batters in another, making large layers going about 3/4 the way up the pan.

cook for 25 minutes, release and cool for about another 25 minutes

For the Icing I used a basic cream cheese recipe but with some adjustments....

I recommend using 1 8oz package organic cream cheese, 4 tablespoons butter (both softened.
4 cups pure cane sugar ( you can buy this as icing sugar or grind it in a food processor very easily)
1/2 cup blueberry juice
1/2 cup fresh blackberries

mix butter, cream cheese and sugar until pasty and add black berries and blueberry juice until desired consistency.

crumb coat your cakes and refrigerate  You can wait a few hours or over night then frost again and add sprinkles :)

And yes.. Organic chemical free sprinkles

Enjoy :)