on cloud 9.

So, I am sitting on cloud 9 this morning.  For many reasons really, God is so good.  But in particular, this morning there are two things that are making me blissfully happy. 

1. Mr. Charming has decided to start a blog. 
2. We enjoyed some of the most delicious muffins of my life this morning. 

We are currently sitting here at our breakfast table, side by side, laptops in tow, working on our respective blog projects and I just find him so adorable.  I won't give away to much yet, but he wanted to give some male perspective to some of the subjects I've been touching on and he is just so darn handy that I know he can help, both guys & girls, with so many things. 

As for my number two blissed-out piece of news, Breads From Anna gave me a boxed Banana Bread mix to try and review at the GFAF Expo in Phoenix.  I picked up some organic banana's last week and were waiting for them to be extremely ripe and sweet to give this mix a go. 

I was going to pop it in the oven yesterday to have it ready for the AM, but my best friend Jessica popped in from Oregon to surprise us so of course I wanted to spend the day with her!  

We went shopping and  I was able to get some cute birthday presents for some of my girls and we spent a leisurely few hours perusing shops and sitting in the rooftop garden patio of Restoration Hardware (IE: my favorite furniture store ever.) just talking and catching up on life.  She's been my best friend since we were fifteen and I miss her so much being so many miles away.  After we chatted we stopped in at the Raw Organic cafe I had found a couple of weeks back to try their food.  I got a raw food bowl which was DELICIOUS.  You can choose any ingredients you want in the bowl, and all ingredients are organic and from local farms.  I chose organic brown rice, sweet red peppers, carrots, spinach, avocado and olive oil.  Jessica, on the other hand, ordered a smoothie that was more of a milk consistency and wasn't deemed so delicious, however we think it was more employee error than how the cafe usually makes a smoothie so we are willing to give it another go before I give my final review.  Speaking of reviews... these muffins.. oh. my. goodness.  Read on for the review... 

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me & my bestie

raw organic bowl

Drum roll please... 

OK I'm all about hype this morning.  I apologize.  But these muffins.  I want to make them into bread.  I want to put zucchini in them.  I want to serve coffee with them.  I want to basket them and give them to friends.  I want to shove turkey and mustard in them and have a sweet/savory combo.  I just want to eat. all. the. muffins.

I have made many gluten-free mixes, never have I had one that tasted so, dare I use the word, normal?

It's a mix of chick pea and millet for the gluten-free flour base, the only sweetener used is honey and there is even an egg-less option for those of you who are vegan or who can't tolerate eggs.  

Prep: 
Super easy to make, didn't even have to break out my mixer.  I just pureed the bananas in the food processor and used a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together.  I opted to make muffins instead of bread only because I awoke hungry, as I usually do, and the banana bread would have taken an hour to bake, while the muffins only take 25 minutes.  And I wanted breakfast, now.  So, muffins was the only logical choice.  I didn't grease the pan, due to using coconut oil in the mix already and I used paper muffin cups. 

Taste:
Amazing.  There wasn't as much of a banana flavor as one would expect with a banana bread.  It was more subtle.  Which is why I loved it so much.  It makes it versatile to use with jam, or like I said earlier, I would make this into a bread and pair with turkey and mustard for something savory.  You know, on those days when I want to wait an hour for it to bake. ;) 

Texture:
Great!  For those not used to gluten-free they make think it's a little gummy, but I loved it.  It was one of the lightest, fluffiest, gluten-free muffins/breads I've had and I will be making a big Breads From Anna purchase. 

Overall, Nosh & Nurture calls this a 5 star product.  To get your hands on some tasty treats visit http://breadsfromanna.com/