Enjoy Life Mega Chunks and Banana Oatmeal Mega Chunk Cookies

I was so excited when I heard about Enjoy Life's new Mega Chunks, but then I couldn't find them in my local store. Then Enjoy Life contacted me and asked if I would like to review them and I said oh yes, yes! For the record, they also sent me a bag of their new chocolate granola to review. It tastes wonderful! I've always enjoyed the flavors of Enjoy Life granolas, but I have a problem with the texture. I am not a crunchy person, and they are definitely harder than oat based granolas. However, if you are the kind of person who loves snacking on corn nuts, like my mother, then you should definitely give it a try. Now back to the Mega Chunks. They are wonderful little chocolate chunks, about the size of half a Tootsie Roll, and have so much potential that I had a hard time deciding what to do with them first (besides eating them straight out of the bag, which we also did). Remember, they are free of all top 8 allergens, Kosher, and have no trans fats or artificial ingredients...not to mention delicious! Meanwhile, I had a brown banana calling my name and two girls in need of cookies, so was born the banana oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie. :)

BANANA OATMEAL MEGA CHUNK COOKIES:
1/2 c Gluten free oat flour
1/2 c Sorghum flour
1/8 c Potato starch
1/8 c Tapioca starch
1/4 t Xanthan gum
1/2 t Baking soda
1 t Salt
1 t Cinnamon
3/4 c Dairy free margarine (or Spectrum Shortening for soy free)
1 c Brown sugar
1 1/2 c Pureed bananas
1 t Gluten Free vanilla extract
3 c Gluten free rolled oats
About 20 -25 pieces of Enjoy Life Mega Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Whisk together oat flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. Cream together margarine and brown sugar. Add vanilla and banana. Mix well, scraping sides and bottom of bowl to make sure all margarine is incorporated. Blend in the flour mix. Add oats, and stir for 1 more minute.
Drop cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet by large tablespoons (or using a small spring action ice cream scoop like I did). Press one Mega Chunk deep into the center of each cookie (they tend to rise back out a bit when baking).
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. The chocolate chunks take about an hour to harden back up, so if you are going to be stacking your cookies for storage, you may want to refrigerate them for a few minutes first.
These cookies were really delicious, and possibly bordering on healthy. I can't wait to try another recipe with this chocolate...maybe the blondie recipe on the back of the bag. Yum!

"Allergen Free" Banana Bread

It's done, it's done, and oh my gosh is it good!!! I looked everywhere for a banana bread recipe that was gluten free, egg free, and dairy free with no luck. Finally I pulled out a classic old recipe and proceeded to change every ingredient. Whaddya know...It worked! Not only did it work, it's incredible (if I do say so myself). Now I will admit this photo is a little bit deceiving, I think it makes the loaf look taller than it is. The actual loaf of bread is 2 1/4" tall. It is pleasantly dense and moist with a fine crumb and it holds together well. My 12 yr old, Nikki, fed it to her friends and none of them knew it was "allergen free". Can you tell I am beaming with pride right now?! :)



1/2 c Brown rice flour
1/2 c Sorghum flour
1/2 c Potato starch
1/4 c Tapioca starch
2 t Baking powder
1/4 t Baking soda
1/2 t Salt
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Xanthan gum
1/3 c Dairy free margarine, softened (or Spectrum shortening)
2/3 c Brown sugar
1 T EnerG egg replacer mixed with 1/4 c warm water (equal to 2 eggs)
1 c Mashed ripe bananas (this is about 2 large bananas, if you’ve mashed your bananas and find you are just short of a cup you can make up the difference with applesauce)
2 T Applesauce
1 t Vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.


Measure all of the dry ingredients (the first 9 ingredients) into a bowl and blend well with a whisk. Set aside.


In a mixing bowl cream together margarine and brown sugar. Add prepared egg replacer, mashed bananas, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Slowly stir in dry ingredients, scraping down sides of bowl, until fully incorporated. Beat on medium speed for another minute.


Pour batter into greased loaf pan and smooth the top if needed ( a metal spoon dipped in water will smooth it without sticking to it). Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with crumbs instead of goop.


Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and continue to cool on a rack. Now you can slather it with margarine while still warm, wait until it cools (yeah right) and eat it like snack cake, or try it toasted tomorrow morning. This is one of the few allergen free breads that is just as good the next day even without toasting or warming.