Xyla Review: Coconut Dipped Baked Banana Donuts.

This is the recipe that I had posted on Tuesday, but decided to take it down as it didn’t feel appropriate. I still wanted to share it, so I decided to post it today. Enjoy!

 

Xyla Review

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative at Xyla to try out some of their products.

Xyla creates various products (candies, chocolate, jams, etc) made from xylitol. If you’re unfamiliar with it, xylitol:

• is all-natural; it is naturally occurring and extracted from fruits and veggies
• contains 2.4 calories per gram (40% less than sugar) and is absorbed as a complex carbohydrate
• is good for diabetics, as it’s a natural insulin stabilizer
• has dental benefits; it can reduce plaque, dental cavities, and helps prevent demineralization of tooth enamel

Sounds pretty good, right?

In the package that Xyla sent me, I received candies/mints, gum and the xylitol granules. Of course, I wanted to try everything:

The candies are interesting: they’re candy, but they’re recommended to help prevent cavities. Kind of the opposite of most candy, don’t you think? These were pretty good – I would pop 3-4 when I wanted a burst of flavour. Although, I found it odd that the lemon lime was really sweet, while the watermelon flavour was kind of sour.

The gum…meh. The flavour was nice, but it was gone really quickly. And the texture was a bit off – almost too chewy.

Of course, the real test was the granules themselves. Out of the bag, they had an almost citrus-y taste, which threw me off a little bit. But when I tried baking with it?

I never would have guessed that it wasn’t sugar. There was absolutely no aftertaste, and the baked goods were just as sweet as they would have been using plain old white sugar.

So…the recipe.

Donuts

One childhood memory that stands out a lot as a kid was making donut stops at Tim Hortons. It would usually only happen when on road trips or special events, but it was awesome. Being the chocolate fiend that I was (and am) I usually went for my favourite, Chocolate Glazed. Although now, I would have to give that title to Sour Cream Glazed.

(source)

So when I was trying to decide what I wanted to make with my newly-acquired Xyla, I decided to revisit some of those memories and make donuts I’ve had a donut pan for about 2 years now, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only used it once. Pretty unacceptable. I decided to go with banana, because really – who doesn’t like banana flavoured baked goods?

These are baked, so obviously not quite like the Timmies donuts of my childhood. But, they are every bit as delicious. And if you don’t have a donut pan, they would work just as well as muffins – you just would require some extra time in the oven.

Coconut-Dipped Baked Banana Donuts

(serves 6. Basic donuts inspired by this recipe)

 

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
• 1/4 cup Xyla
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you want even more coconut flavour, use coconut extract)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• dash salt

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup milk (I used almond coconut)
• 1/2 teaspoon honey (optional if you want the glaze to be a little sweeter)
• crumbled banana chips (optional, but not really)
• unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease donut pan. Beat mashed banana, yogurt, and Xyla.

2. Add oil, vanilla and egg. Beat until mixed.

3. Add dry ingredients. Beat until just incorporated – do not over beat.

4. Pipe or carefully spoon batter into donut pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown and donuts spring back when pressed.

5. Let donuts cool in pan while you prepare glaze.

6. Add all ingredients together and heat – either stovetop or in the microwave. Stir often. Place in shallow bowl.

7. Dip donuts in glaze. Add coconut and banana chips, then let glaze harden. Store leftover glaze in the fridge.

So…these are pretty fabulous. Soft, fluffy, and taste like banana bread with an added hint of coconut. Like I said, you would never have guessed that it was Xyla as opposed to white sugar in there.

So.freakin.good.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

<— What’s your favourite kind of donut?

<— What’s your favourite sweetener besides sugar: xylitol, stevia, honey, maple syrup, other?

The Non-Plan Plan.

Good morning! How is everyone’s week going thus far? Mine’s been pretty quiet…my class on Tuesday and one of my classes on Wednesday were cancelled. The extra time off has been appreciated!

Something else for me to appreciate:

The macadamia nut Kisses and the coconut M&M’s I won from Amanda’s giveaway a little while ago came in! I haven’t gotten to the M&M’s yet, but the Kisses are amazing. You know the cookies at Subway? Whenever I get one, my first choice is the white chocolate chip macadamia nut. Because chocolate and macadamia nut makes for a fabulous combo. Thanks love!

Speaking of good food, last nights dinner was the simplest, but most delicious dinner possible:

A shrimp ring with cocktail sauce and a loaf of cheesy garlic bread, split between the boyfriend and myself. All I had to do with defrost the shrimp and stick the loaf in the oven for a few minutes – best dinner idea ever. Yes, I am obsessed with shrimp and cocktail sauce

Workout Plan…or Lack Thereof.

So in my goal post on Tuesday, I eluded to a new approach that I’m taking to my workouts in April.

Basically, I love working out and being active. Sitting on the couch all day, every day is not appealing to me in the least – I just get lethargic and antsy. The last year or so, I’ve been putting a lot more effort into weights over anything else, and I’m happy with the results I’ve gotten. I feel stronger and more accomplished fitness-wise than I have in a really long time.

But, I think my relationship with the gym needs some work.

Although I had never really thought of it in these terms before, I think it’s safe to say that in recovery, I became dependent on exercise. It was more comfortable for me to watch my food and calorie intake go up when I was hitting the gym and burning something off 5-6 days a week. If something got in the way and I wasn’t able to fit my workout in, I would panic. Although I knew it was unrealistic to think so, I was convinced that if I missed just one workout, I would gain five pounds instantly. Last spring, I was working overnights and still dragging myself to the gym, even when I was exhausted. Because I had a plan, and I couldn’t deviate.

Over the last 8 months or so, I’ve broken away from that mindset. I remember when I started doing Jamie Eason’s Livefit Trainer last summer, I laid awake for hours at night agonizing over the fact that the first four weeks of the program had me working out 4 days a week. And there was no cardio. After working out 5-6 days a week for years with at least 3 runs or treadmill workouts, I was absolutely terrified to cut it out completely, even for only a month. I did end up following through with it, and began to realize that I didn’t have to ‘sweat every day’ or anything of the sort – the body desperately needs rest just as much as it needs to be active.

I’m confident in saying that I have a much more comfortable relationship with exercise and the gym. I’m perfectly happy working out 4-5 days a week, and I take a complete deload every few months to allow my body ample recovery. In fact, I ended up taking all of my two-week Christmas vacation off from exercise and I enjoyed every moment.

However, thanks to this post, I realized a couple weeks ago that I’m still more reliant on the gym than I need to be. I’m a perfectionist at heart, so when I can’t stick to my planned workouts, I get a little bit of anxiety or guilt. When I’ve planned 20 minutes on the elliptical and I’m only able to complete 10 due to time constraints, I mentally beat myself up for not planning my time better. It’s frustrates me now to think about why I let that bother me so much. Why do I let a piece of paper dictate how much exercise is ‘enough’?

The truth is, I allow the gym and my workouts too much control in my life. When I got my class schedule in January, my first goal was to figure out when I was going to fit in my workouts. I was 15 minutes late to class a few weeks ago because I ‘had’ to finish up my workout. When I go back to my parents for a weekend, I make sure to pack my running shoes because I usually have a workout planned on Saturday or Sunday. If I’m tired and don’t really feel like going to the gym, I go anyways, because I had planned for it. When I need to make an appointment, I make sure it’s not between the hours of 10:00-11:00 am, because that’s been my gym time all semester. 

So, I need to break away from this mindset and give myself a bit more freedom when it comes to my workouts. So my workout plan this month?

No plan. Absolutely nothing. I will wake up in the morning and decide in the moment what my workout will be…if I workout at all that day. I love my heavy weights, so it’s likely that I’ll still hit the gym quite a bit. But now that the weather’s getting warmer, I may want to go for a run outside. Or take a walk on the trail around the river that’s near my apartment. I might stay in and stretch or do yoga…or plant my butt right on the couch. I will actually listen to my body, and not an obscure piece of paper telling me what I should be doing that day.

I’m starting to realize that I let my life revolve around my workouts, when really, it should be the other way around. I don’t know what’ll happen in May; I may decide that I like this approach and stick with it, or I might go back to following a plan (that I will allow myself more freedom on). We’ll see. But for now, I need to break away from the extra stress, guilt and anxiety that my workouts can cause. Perfectionism is stressful – when I broke away from that in my eating habits, I became a lot happier and carefree. I’m thinking breaking that mindset in my exercise will do the same.

<— What’s your approach to workouts? Planned or unplanned?

<— Anyone feel that they put too much pressure on themselves to complete workouts?

<— Favourite cookie? Oatmeal chocolate chip is another favourite for me.

 

img source 1, 2

Pumpkin Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins.

For breakfast this morning, I broke out one of the muffins I baked on the weekend.

Crumbled on top of 1/2 cup of cottage cheese = perfection.

So I guess I owe you guys a recipe for that, don’t I?

This recipe featured what I consider is a very unique ingredient.

My mom picked this up for me from a winery a while back. I hadn’t tried it yet, so I decided it was high time I tried it out. Grape skin flour – definitely not something I had ever heard of before.

Pumpkin Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins

(makes 8 muffins)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons grape skin flour (can substitute more whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup low fat sour cream (can substitute plain yogurt)
• 1/4 cup liquid honey
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (can use unsweetened if you prefer)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place 8 muffin liners in muffin pan, spray with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Combine flours, cinnamon, cloves, powder, soda, and salt in large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix canned pumpkin, sour cream, honey, coconut oil, egg white and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just until moistened.

4. Fold in chocolate chips and coconut. Divide evenly among 8 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until wooden picked inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin and chocolate may be one of my favourite combos. You throw coconut into the mix, and you’ve got pure deliciousness.

Light, fluffy and decent stats – so good! I’ve definitely been enjoying munching on these.

While the grape skin flour made the muffins themselves a bit darker, they didn’t add a lot of flavour or anything else. It would definitely be a good option for my gluten-free friends!

On Another Note…

I went to my criminology department graduate BBQ today (no pictures…was to focused on chatting up my professors)! I had a great time, as well as two glasses of wine and 2 small pieces of Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake.

I’m sorry, there are few things better in the world than that cake. It’s amazing.

And…Eric volunteered to bring home the leftovers when the host was looking for a home for them.

Slightly melted ice cream cake. Yup, this will not last long in my freezer.

<— Have you ever heard of grape skin flour?

<— Are you an ice cream cake fan? What’s your favourite brand? While I love me some DQ, I have a special place in my heart for Marble Slab’s ice cream cake. Amazing.