Ancient Einkorn WheatTolerated By Many With Gluten IntoleranceEinkorn Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

Many people with gluten sensitivities tolerate einkorn wheat.
Vegan einkorn banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts.

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Einkorn Wheat
My husband is sensitive to gluten. The minute he eats a piece of bread, he sneezes or gets stuffy. Worst of all (for me), he snores at night. So now he mostly avoids wheat.

A few months ago Doug bought some Einkorn wheat flour and Einkorn whole wheat pasta to try. It's an ancient form of wheat that was cultivated thousands of years ago. Modern wheat has been hybridized for various reasons (improve yield, increase gluten content, etc.) and some think that this has lead to the increase in wheat sensitivity. Although people with celiac should not consume any form of wheat or grain that contains gluten, some gluten sensitive people have reported little or no reaction to this type of wheat. Doug has had no reaction to items baked with All-Purpose Einkorn flour or eating Einkorn whole wheat pasta (which is very yummy.) Many claim it's even more digestible than spelt.

Einkorn wheat contains different
gluten than modern wheat

Not all Gluten is Created Equal
Modern wheat contains the A and D Genome. Einkorn does not contain the D Genome which is what is used to detect the presence of gluten in an Elisa test. Wheat gluten studies show Einkorn may be non-toxic to some people who suffer from gluten intolerance.

Oldest and Simplest Form of Wheat
Einkorn is diploid, containing 2 sets of chromosomes. Emmer wheat has four sets, and spelt and modern wheat has 6 sets (hybridizing passes the chromosomes from the different plants to the hybridized plant). With only 2 sets of chromosomes, Einkorn is the oldest and simplest form of wheat there is which may explain its naturally low gluten content.

Other Benefits
Einkorn wheat has twice the vitamin A (in retinol equivalents), three to four times more beta-carotene, three to four times more lutein, and four to five times more riboflavin than modern wheat.

You can also get Einkorn whole wheat pasta.

It's Not a 1:1 Substitute
Modern wheat absorbs more water than Einkorn so when you are baking with Einkorn, you can not just substitute it 1:1 in your normal recipes. Einkorn has some recipes that you can practice with while you are getting the hang of using this flour. Here's my favorite vegan banana bread recipe from my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen, that has been modified for Einkorn flour. 

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Einkorn Banana Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips 
Vegan, Dairy Free, Less Gluten
[makes 12 servings]

Requires an 8.5" x 4.5" loaf pan or three 5 3/4" x 3" mini-loaf pans.
Best with an electric hand mixer.

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil plus some for greasing pan
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
4 tablespoons room temperature water
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas (2 bananas)
2 cups all-purpose organic einkorn flour
2 packets stevia
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped English walnuts
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease the pans.

In a small cup, make flax eggs by beating the ground flaxseeds with water. Beat well and set aside. 

In a large bowl, add oil, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla and beat with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Add mashed bananas and flax eggs and beat again until well combined.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, stevia, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat with electric hand mixer until well combined. 

Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared loaf pan or three mini pans.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the loaf, about 40 to 50 minutes for the large loaf pan or 25 to 35 minutes for mini loaf pans.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. 

Remove the loaf from the pan and place upright on a cooling rack for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve. 

Nutrition
Per serving: 210 calories, 10 grams total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, and 186 mg sodium.

Whole Wheat Apple Blueberry Muffins With Walnuts - High In Omega 3

These warm, whole grain muffins make a healthy, fall breakfast.

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Warm Muffins - A Wholesome Addition to Breakfast
As the weather cools down, it's nice to start the day with a warm breakfast. These muffins, bursting with blueberries, apples and walnuts, are delicious with Kite Hill almond-based cream "cheese." Take the leftovers to work or school, as they make a wonderful mid-afternoon snack.

Blueberries are one of the highest antioxidant foods we can eat plus each low-calorie, high-fiber muffin is packed with over a 1/2 gram of omega-3 due to the addition of walnuts and flaxseeds!

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Whole Wheat Apple Blueberry Muffins
Vegan, Dairy Free
[makes 12 muffins]

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing muffin pan
2 cups King Arthur white whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 cup organic can sugar
1 teaspoon powdered stevia
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy milk
2/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
3/4 cup finely diced peeled apples
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, flax seeds, sugar, stevia, baking powder, and salt. 

In a large bowl, combine the milk, applesauce, and oil and beat well. 

Add the flour mixture to the large bowl and mix until well blended. Fold in the blueberries, apples and walnuts. 

Using an ice cream scoop or 1⁄3-cup measure, scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin, 18 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, release the muffins from the pan, and serve warm. 

Warm muffins bursting with apples and blueberries.

Nutrition
Per muffin: 162 calories, 7 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 538 mg omega-3 and 1,600 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 3 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber and 202 mg sodium.

Low-Calorie, Vegan Banana-Nut Apple Muffins Made With Ancient Einkorn Wheat

These delicious muffins are only 180 calories each!

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Einkorn Wheat
Because of my husband's slight allergic reaction to wheat, we often bake with Einkorn wheat or eat Einkorn pasta. It's not gluten free but because it's an ancient form of wheat (and hasn't been hybridized to increase the gluten content like modern wheat has), it is generally tolerated by many people who are sensitive to gluten. 

This recipe is made with
organic Einkorn all-purpose flour.

This morning I was in the mood for a muffin. I'm trying to lose a few pounds and wanted to keep the calories low so I used very little sugar and less oil than most recipes.  I also wanted to use one of the beautiful Fuji apples we just harvested from our tree. So here's what we came up with.

This recipe is specifically for Einkorn flour. Modern wheat absorbs more water than Einkorn so it can not be substituted one for one.

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Einkorn Banana-Nut Apple Muffins 
Vegan, Dairy Free, Low Gluten
[makes 12 muffins]

Requires a muffin pan.
Best with an electric hand mixer

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil plus some for greasing pan
2 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
4 tablespoons room temperature water
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1/3 cup organic apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups Einkorn all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon stevia powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon plus some for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup English walnuts, chopped
1 apple, peeled and diced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the muffin tins.

In a small cup, make flax eggs by beating the ground flaxseeds with water. Beat well and set aside until they get gooey.

In a large bowl, add oil, sugar, applesauce and vanilla and beat with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Add mashed bananas and flax eggs and beat again until well combined.

In a medium bowl, mix Einkorn flour, stevia, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and beat with an electric hand mixer until well combined.

Fold in walnuts and diced apples. Using an ice cream scoop (or large spoon), fill the greased muffin tins with the batter. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on each muffin.

Ready for baking

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the muffins, about 20 to 23 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. 

After baking

Remove muffins from the pan and serve warm with low-calorie jam or vegan cream cheese.

Nutrition
Per muffin: 180 calories, 9 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 756 mg omega-3 and 2,522 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 4 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 186 mg sodium.

Fruit And Nut Breakfast BowlAn Easy Back To School Breakfast

Healthy breakfast bowl takes advantage of late summer fruit.

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My New Favorite Breakfast
The end of the summer brings us so much wonderful fruit. Sweat peaches are their peak ripeness, the pears are ripening, strawberries are still around, and so much more. A big bowl of fruit may be delicious but it's certainly not filling.This breakfast bowl adds nuts and seeds, cereal, and some probiotic packed, home-made soy yogurt. This provides the protein and healthy fats that will keep you satisfied until lunch time.

I Can't Believe School is Starting!
Although my children are grown, I still get those feelings of disbelief when kids start getting ready to start school in what seems like the middle of the summer. Getting kids fed and ready to leave for school, or even summer day camp for that matter, is one of the hardest thing a parent has to do. Perhaps feeding them this yummy breakfast bowl will get them to eat up without prompting them through ever bite! It's so easy, they can even help you make it.

Feel free to change up the ingredients. Basically you need 3 fruits, 3 nuts/seeds, some healthy cereal for more crunch, and your favorite yogurt. The ingredients below are for two servings but it' easy to double to make it for four.

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Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bowl
Vegan and Dairy Free (if using vegan yogurt) 
Gluten Free (if using GF cereal)
[makes 2 servings]

Ingredients
1 large peach, diced with skin
1 large pear, diced with or without skin
6 large strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup cereal (such as puffed rice or granola)
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon chopped raw walnuts 
1 tablespoon chopped or sliced almonds
1/2 cup yogurt

Directions
Divide the chopped fruit between two bowls.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cereal over each bowl. I like to use a mixture of puffed rice and puffed kamut because it has a nice crunch and very few calories. Granola would be very yummy and hearty in this recipe too but adds more calories and sugar.

Puffed brown rice and gamut

Divide the nuts and seeds among the two bowls.

Sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts

Gently stir each bowl to mix the ingredients. Top with your favorite yogurt and serve immediately.