Weekly Highlights, a Baking Giveaway and a Recipe for Paleo (Banana Flour) Pancakes!

Hi everyone! I know it’s been ages since I’ve posted my ‘weekly highlights’ so really it’s a bit silly to call them ‘weekly,’ but I’m aiming to get back to having a regular catch-ups with you all again, so here I am. After a busy week of homeschooling, cooking, writing, driving, cooking, cleaning, packing, cooking and, um, cooking, I need some down time. And besides, I have some goodies to give away, so keep reading!

Update! My book has gone off to the printers (just one more month to wait now!), but the recipe developing continues, as per usual… (Um, yeah, my recipes are a little hard to understand sometimes, especially when I’m testing them over and over. Might be time to write this one out again. Lol!) 

My big news – just in case any of you missed it! (I couldn’t keep it in and had to blab all over Facebook and Instagram.) We’re moving house! Yes, in less than two weeks’ time I’m going to have my very own house with a big, bright, open kitchen! And a dishwasher. And a double sink. Yeehaaaa!!

 I have great plans for this kitchen. At the moment it’s a bit bare and modern, but it will soon be ‘quirkified’ and homey, and ready for… da duh daaaa… Quirky Cooking Classes!! Anyone want to come have a one on one cooking class? Come on, it’ll be fun! (You MAY have to dodge nerf bullets and will almost certainly be a guinea pig for my latest creations, but if you’re brave enough to come despite that, you will be most welcome.) More details on that to come!  

Beware the nerf guns… (Yep, just a normal day in the Whitton household. I think I’m outnumbered.)

The most popular post on my blog this week was my new Gluten free, dairy free hot cross buns recipe – 30,500 views in 6 days! And yes, they are definitely worth making, so if you haven’t tried them, get onto it soon, so you’ll be all set for Easter. 

 The most popular posts on my Facebook page this week were:

– Healthy snacks while at uni, and sitting for hours in front of a computer

– Comments on my ‘insanely delicious’ barbeque sauce, that you really should make before plum season finishes

– Thermomix websites and FB pages for recipes that are free from egg, milk, wheat and soy

– Easy dinner ideas, and Meatball, bean and kale soup

– How to make a grain free version of my Sticky pecan muffins

– Recipes for grain free pizza bases

– And this absolutely amazing Raw Salted Caramel & Almond Cake!

Ok, so now you’re all up to date with what’s been going on, how about a giveaway!

 Happy Tummies Baking Pack Giveaway…

As you all know, I LOVE to bake healthy, allergy-friendly goodies. Happy Tummies is an online store that specialises in allergy-free ingredients, cookbooks and all sorts of kitchenware, and they have offered a baking pack for you to win! Check it out… 

What’s in the pack?

Quinoa flour (623g): Quinoa flour is one of the highest protein flours, and is great in gluten free cooking. You can use it in recipes like Quinoa & Chia Seed Flatbread, or Banana & Raspberry Muffins. (Instead of milling the quinoa seeds, add the same weight of quinoa flour.) Tip: I find with quinoa flour it’s best to keep it to a quarter or less of the overall amount in a gluten free mix.

Rice malt syrup (500g): A low fructose sweetener that you can use in place of sugar or honey in recipes. See my Sugar Substitutes page for tips on how to use rice malt syrup.

 If You Care Baking Cups (3 packs – mini, large and jumbo): This range of baking papers and baking cups are what I prefer to use, as they are non-toxic and very high quality. Most baking papers are coated with Quilon, which contains heavy metals like chromium, which can be toxic when incinerated. If You Care papers use silicone derived from a natural element, and they also don’t contain chlorine, so no bleach in the waterways. Aside from that, they just work better! Muffins don’t stick to them, and I find the baking paper can usually be wiped down and reused. Love it. 

Loving Earth Raw Cacao Powder (500g): My favourite cacao powder – raw, unadulterated, no additives, and completely delicious! I would love to share my new chocolate cake recipe with you, as I use this cacao powder to make it, but it’s for a special project, so how about making some raw chocolate instead! You’ll also need…

 Loving Earth Raw Cacao Butter (500g): This is the fat from the cacao beans, and is the key ingredient in good chocolate. Loving Earth is my favourite brand, and you’ll understand why when you use it – it’s so creamy and the smell is divine! See my recipe for raw chocolate above.

Heilala Vanilla (100ml): Made from organic vanilla beans from Tonga, this vanilla is amazing. Another important ingredient in raw chocolate, or try adding it to Creamy Coconut Vanilla Rice Pudding.

Banaban Coconut Milk (400g) and Coconut Cream (400g): I use a lot of coconut milk and cream in my cooking – coconut is one of nature’s superfoods. For a delicious, dairy free treat, try Dairy Free Condensed Milk or Dulce de Leche using coconut cream, or Quick Egg Curry with Quinoa which is made with coconut milk.

Rapadura Sugar (500g): Rapadura is simply dehydrated sugar cane juice – a much more natural product than refined sugars, and still contains the minerals and vitamins found in sugar cane. The flavour is a lot like brown sugar. Use it in place of sugar in any recipe (1:1). See this article for more info on Rapadura.

Banaban Organic Coconut Sugar (500g): Coconut sugar is made from the dehydrated nectar from coconut blossoms. It is a very environmentally friendly sugar, and is low GI (approx. 35). The flavour is somewhere between raw sugar and rapadura – delicious. Use it in any recipe in place of sugar (1:1) or Rapadura. I love it in Coconut Caramel Custard. Note: This brand of coconut sugar can be ground up in the Thermomix on speed 9, to make a very fine icing sugar, perfect for using in icings or to sweeten pavlovas.

Banaban Organic Coconut Flour (500g): Coconut flour is made from the dried coconut pulp after making coconut milk. It is very high in fibre, and is suitable for a grain free diet. Gooey Flourless Fudge Brownies are made with coconut flour – if you haven’t tried them, you need to!

Banana flour: This flour is made here on the Atherton Tablelands, where I live! It is another great option for those who are trying to minimize grains in their diet, and is a nutritious source of resistant starch. Rob and Krista of Mt Uncle have developed many recipes with their banana flour, and are happy to share their recipe for ‘Paleo Pancakes’ with us! 

Paleo Pancakes

Thanks to Mt Uncle’s Banana Flour for this recipe. Visit their Facebook page for more recipes, tips and info.

 How to Win…

To win this awesome baking pack from Happy Tummies, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post saying what you would make if you won!  

Winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org, and announced here and on both my Quirky Cooking Facebook page, and the Happy Tummies Facebook page next Saturday, the 29th March, at 8pm.

Pop over and like both pages, if you haven’t already, to be the first to hear about new recipes, exciting products, and who the winner of the prizedraw is! Also, make sure you sign up for the Happy Tummies newsletter (on their site) to be kept up with specials, latest news and updates. Thank you for the great prize, Happy Tummies!

 Giveaway open to Australian residents only.

 Giveaway now closed – Congrats to Elise @MummyHearts!

 All the best, and I hope you all have a great week!