Fitness Vlog and Hazelnut Cappuccino Bread

Anyone who has known me long enough would know that despite my pursuit of healthy eating and fitness in general, I have one little weakness that haunts me silly and I sometimes give in to the temptation.  Okay, maybe more like five weaknesses:  peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, oatmeal, caffeine, and the biggest culprit of them all—baked goods.

Now, remember when I talked about balance and moderation?  Not everything we do needs to be 100% perfect or we will end up burnt out!  So, in order to prevent that dreaded burn-out in my life, I try my best to pursue moderation in my eating habits, exercising (sometimes), and relationships.

Lately I’ve been enjoying some pastries and ice cream (hello Trader Joe’s ice cream!) to satisfy my sweet tooth, but to be honest, all of that costs a lot of moolah and much of it doesn’t provide my body with nutrition.  So in lieu of giving in to my cupcake cravings yesterday, I went ahead and concocted a surprisingly delicious and healthy bread last night.  Hey, you can have your [healthy] bread and eat it too.

The best part about the bread is that it’s gluten free and vegan!  If preferred though, one egg may be added.

Hazelnut Cappuccino Bread {Gluten Free + Vegan}

This bread recipe contains no dairy ingredients, but dairy and eggs may certainly be added if preferred.  It is extremely soft in texture and super filling due to the hazelnut flour!  Not only is there a good amount of protein, but there’s also a lot of fiber from the inclusion of oat flour.  The result is a perfectly not-too-sweet bread that’s great for breakfast.  However, for those with a huge sweet tooth, more sugar or honey may be added. The espresso powder used in the recipe is from Williams Sonoma. 

Ingredients

• 1 C sour almond milk (1 TBSP lemon juice+almond milk= 1C.  Let it curdle for at least 10 min.)
• 3/4 C oat flour (I ground up GF oats in the Magic Bullet)
• 3/4 C white rice flour
• 3/4 C hazelnut flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
• 3 TBSP cornstarch
• 2 TBSP espresso powder
• 1/2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 C organic sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 C honey
• 1/3 C safflower oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. First prepare a loaf pan by putting a cookie sheet baking liner inside the pan.  Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Grab a large mixing bowl and stir together all of the flours, cornstarch, espresso, cocoa, baking soda+powder, and sugar.
3. Add the honey, oil, vanilla, and sour milk last because the acidity will cause the baking soda to react much faster.   Whisk together briefly until well incorporated and pour the mixture in the loaf pan.
4. Lay a cookie sheet inside the oven and put the loaf pan on top of it so that it won’t overflow, which it probably won’t anyway.  But I’ve learned in a cupcake class that for cupcakes to bake evenly and for a lesser chance of burning, it is good to put a cookie sheet underneath.  I believe this will help in the bread baking process as well.
5. Bake for approximately 60-62 minutes or until inserted stick (I used a wooden skewer) comes out clean.  Let it cool on a rack and serve with butter, Earth Balance, or other toppings!

This is why you don’t want to bake this late at night.  I almost dug my hand into this thing because I really wanted to taste it!  But I actually told myself, “Tomorrow morning, just wait a little while longer” because I didn’t want to stay up from the caffeine!

A little bit of butter or Earth Balance smeared on top, paired with a cold glass of milk goes a long way and tastes pretty fantabulous.

Strong and Lean Workout Vlog

I’ve been meaning to share a workout routine for a long time but hadn’t gotten around to it!  This particular routine has been on my go-to list of workouts as of late, simply because it’s great for strength, cardio, and it can be done at home in less than 25 minutes-ish.  I forgot to charge my batteries and got cut off right before the last exercise! Hoho, I always do that for some reason. So there are 2 separate videos for this one.

Strong and Lean Workout

1)  Plie Squat Jumps-  10 reps

2)  Low Towel Hold Squats-  10 reps

3)  Burpee Jumps-  12 reps

4)  Walking Plank Push-Ups with Cardboard-  10 reps total

5)  High Knee Runs-  20 reps (2 jumps= 1 rep)

6)  Tricep Dip Pulses-  12 reps

Repeat the circuit about 4-5 times, or as needed.

I hope you guys are having a great day!

Are there workout routines that you love and do often?

What recipes or dishes would you like to see gluten-free?

Love,

Ellie <33

Tagged as: baking, breakfast, circuit training, desserts, fitness, Gluten Free recipes, healthy eating, protein pancakes, vegan