Category: Minimalism
Instant Pot Banana Bread
Living in an RV has its obstacles…like when you want to make some sort of bread.
Even if we had an oven in ours, we sure couldn’t use it in the AZ summer heat, because our (one) AC has to run almost non-stop just to keep it a livable temp inside, much less adding oven warmth to it.
So, what’s a girl to do when she has some old bananas and gluten-free flour to use up???
HELLO, INSTANT POT, you beautiful thing, you!
Yep, that’s right! You can make banana bread, even this gluten-free, refined sugar-free version I made, in your beloved IP. All you need is a springform pan that fits inside whatever size IP you have, a stand or hand mixer, some bananas that you just can’t bear to throw out even though it won’t set you back more than a few cents (lol for real, though), and a few other ingredients! =D
Ok, let’s get started! Here are all the ingredients you will need:
3 very ripe bananas that you can’t bear to toss
1/2 cup butter (I haven’t tried a dairy-free version of this yet, but hope to eventually)
2 room temperature eggs
3/4 cup coconut sugar (We don’t like ours very sweet, so this is less than the full cup of cane sugar that most recipes seem to call for)
2 cups flour (I used gluten free)
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Optional: nuts/chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Beat butter, eggs, and coconut sugar until fluffy (it won’t get as fluffy with the coconut sugar, so you can use regular sugar, or a mix if you prefer).
2. Mash the bananas.
3. Add banana, vanilla, and dry ingredients, and mix well without over-beating.
4. If adding in chocolate chips or nuts, hand mix them in (I FORGOT lol, naturally, on the batch I was photographing).
5. Pour into springform pan and smooth top.
6. When you realize you forgot to add the chocolate chips, but are in a hurry, add them to the top… (for truly refined sugar free version, eliminate chocolate chips, or use chips sweetened with alternative, like stevia)
7. Cover with foil to prevent water dripping during cooking, and place on trivet in IP with 1 cup of water on the bottom.
8. Cook on manual for 60 minutes, then allow pressure to naturally release for about 10 minutes before opening the valve to let the rest escape.
Um…YUM!!!!
This bread is absolutely delish, but of course, as with anything made from scratch, it doesn’t stay fresh for very long, so eat up within 2-3 days!
Enjoy!
*Products used in this post that you can get on Amazon (I am an Amazon affiliate, and this means I may make a small percentage if you shop with these links, at no extra cost to you)
Picking up our new home!
Wow…where do I even begin?? I’m so far behind on EVERYthing, it seems!
I’ve been waiting to post until I have every image perfectly organized and watermarked, every word carefully placed in my perfectly crafted post, and no detail left out.
Um… yeah.
That’s not real life, folks. At least not for us, and not right now. This is a bizarre season of life we are in, and although my whole life feels like it’s kind of followed a similar track, this is by far the weirdest and craziest season of “always busy and behind” that we’ve entered. And recently, I’ve discovered that I’m kind of passionate about authenticity, something our modern society is sorely lacking.
In the age of handheld social media, duck lips, Snapchat filters that add makeup and hide flaws, and overdone makeup being an everyday look, we’ve become these “highlight reel” people, and the worst part?? The up-and-coming generation is starting to believe that this is real life. They see everything through the highly-edited social media post lens, and the pressure is on to be THAT person. Perfect. “Beautiful.” Put together. Kids who never mess up. Always-spotless home. Never late. Never forgetting anything. Never drinking too much coffee in hopes of just getting through the day. Pinteresting queen. Multitasker extraordinaire. The list goes on.
The reality of life is so far from the pictures and stories that people choose to share on social media, but when we see everyone else looking like they have it all together, we start to feel ridiculously inadequate. Is something wrong with us, that we aren’t like that? Why didn’t our kid’s birthday cake turn out like that? Heck, why did we buy a pre-made plain Costco cake for our kid instead of making a tiered cupcake castle with edible figurines?? What kind of person are we, anyway?? Are we just total losers, that we can’t juggle 8 jobs and 5 kids while homeschooling and leading a women’s support group, teaching Sunday School, and growing our own vegetables??
This is the culture we live in.
None of those skills or accomplishments are inherently bad, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to do them ALL! But I’m guilty of trying to do it all, because…well, Pinterest and my social media feeds say I should be able to. I FEEL like I should be able to, because overall, it feels like everyone else is able to. I feel like I should have a full face of makeup on every day, because everyone in my news feed has pictures of them only in full makeup. I feel like I should have a cute outfit on even on housecleaning days, because everyone is always in these perfectly coordinated ensembles in their posts.
That pressure needs to go away.
You don’t NEED to do or be or look like anything. If you WANT to, then by all means…go do or be or look like that.
So here is me, publishing a (way) less-than-perfect blog post, because…well, life. My life is crazy and chaotic, and apparently my blog is destined to be, too. lol!
Happy Friday, y’all!