Italian Banana Loaf With Polenta, Walnut & Coffee

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If you are wondering why I’m baking with bananas today it’s because I’ve got a bowlful that needs to be eaten very quickly!  I am always on the look-out for gluten and wheat free recipes.  I think I’ve been too naive about what goes into recipes in the past.  So I’m very excited to try this recipe using polenta which I have eaten millions of times, but never cooked with before.

Polenta is naturally wheat and gluten free.  It is made by grinding corn into flour and is a staple in Italy.  Uncooked polenta in baking results in a moist product.  It also adds a grainy dimension that is tasty and most of all, a wheat and gluten free dish.  It is also cheap and readily stocked in most supermarkets.

Ingredients

 5 small to medium bananas, mashed

100g walnut pieces

Dry ingredients

110g plain gluten free flour

110g polenta

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon mixed spice

1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

140g dark brown muscovado sugar
Pinch of salt

90g *margarine or butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3 tablespoon strong black coffee

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celcius.

2. Mash bananas and set aside.

3. Roast the walnut pieces on a baking tray for 7 minutes.

4. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Using your fingers, break up any lumps of sugar.

5. Add butter, vanilla essence and fold in the bananas and walnut pieces.

6. Finally add the coffee. Beat the mixture until it is smooth. 

7. Pour into a baking tin and bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before serving with a freshly brewed cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe is milk, egg, wheat, gluten and soy free.  If you are avoiding milk, ensure that your margarine is vegetable based and read the ingredient list.  Butter is not free from milk.  If you don’t need to avoid eggs, then simply replace one of the bananas with an egg.

Lovely readers, how do you cook with polenta?

Superfood Cinnamon’s Power – A Spicy Story

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Image from Google

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices around.  Is there no end to its spicy story?  Its health benefits range from alleviating colds to symptoms of arthritis.  Mother Nature is truly wonderful for inventing this amazing spice.  It’s rich, sweet and pungent aroma is alluring in a morning mug of coffee or sprinkled over sticky buns freshly baked out of an oven.

It doesn’t just taste good either.  A recent article in Diabetic Medicine this month investigated the efficacy and safety of ‘true’ cinnamon or ‘Cinnamomum zeylancium’ in Diabetes. 

Cinnamon has been shown to inhibit gluconeogenesis; a process whereby your body makes glucose from non carbohydrate sources such as proteins and fats.  In diabetes, cinnamon may stimulate insulin release and enhance insulin receptor activity.  Animal studies have also reported increased HDL cholesterol (protective cholesterol) and higher circulating insulin levels.

A review in Clinical Nutrition in May this year confirmed that the positive effects of cinnamon in relation to glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus ‘looked promising’.

More interesting facts on cinnamon

True cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka but is also grown in India and other parts of South East Asia. 

If you get your hands on cinnamon from the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree this is considered gold and is easier to grind into a powder.  It also has a light sweet flavour.

The supermarket brand versions of cinnamon are a darker bark and thick instead of being ‘layered’.  This is sourced from the Cinnamomum cassia tree. 

Interestingly, cinnamon may play a positive role in cancer.  Eugenol is a compound that has antioxidant properties.  It is found in cinnamon and in other aromatic plants like basil, nutmeg and bay leaves. 

Eugenol has been documented to induce ‘apoptosis’ or programmed cell death in cancerous cells such as melanoma, skin tumours, osteosarcoma, leukemia, gastric and mast cells. 

How to get your daily dose of cinnamon

Try grinding cinnamon sticks and then sprinkle this cinnamon powder instead of chocolate into your morning mug of coffee.


A cup of cinnamon tea perhaps for a spicy change?

Try ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon alongside dried fruit in your breakfast cereal for stable blood sugars (we hope anyway).

Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon into banana bread or other baking.  It does go wonderful with an apple pie.

What about adding ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon on rice pudding or an alternative sweet dessert?

Have you ever tried adding cinnamon sugar to a delicious bowl of fruit salad?

Cinnamon is wonderful in a curry, see my Chicken Curry Recipe.

It is also great in a breakfast smoothie when mixed in with honey.


Cinnamon toast is another spicy yet tasty start to your day, delicious.

Why not make your own anti-aging face mask by blending yoghurt, honey and cinnamon for a soothing and luxurious spa experience in your own home?

 Does any one have other ideas for sneaking in cinnamon?  Do share, I love hearing from you!