I am a major lemon lover. And nothing says spring to me than the fresh taste of lemons. Especially lemon desserts!
I love how its tangy citrusy flavour brightens any dish, raw or baked and I’m excited to blog about a healthful alternative to a favourite of mine: lemon poppyseed loaf. This is a gluten-free recipe that I’ve modified to replace poppyseeds (since I didn’t have them at the time) with chia seeds from the cookbook Quinoa 365. And even though the pretty speckled seeds aren’t as visible in this version, I think that’s a-okay since it tastes just as fabulous!
What to do with the lemon juice that’s not being used in this recipe? I encourage you to start drinking lemon and water in the morning! Here’s why:
- its high vitamin C helps boost the immune system
- it helps to regulate pH by providing alkaline minerals (our body is usually acidic from the foods we eat and stress we experience)
- it helps with digestion by stimulating peristaltic action in the intestines
- helps to hydrate your body which prevents your adrenal glands (the glands that respond to stress in our body) from being taxed giving you more energy and putting you in a better mood!
- it helps you maintain or lose weight by managing hunger cravings
- it helps you to detox your system by aiding in flushing out unwanted toxins
- removing those toxins helps to clear your skin
Lemons are a staple on my grocery shopping list every week since they are the chameleon fruit. They can be used for detoxing and juicing, in salad dressings and pasta, to make all natural cleaners for your home and of course, desserts. The lemon is truly a superhero when it comes to its versatility and benefits, but I’ll save that for another post!
Vive la lemon! 🙂
Gluten-Free Lemon Chia Loaf
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic butter or coconut oil
- 1 cup coconut sugar or sucanat
- 2 organic eggs
- 1/2 cup organic greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups quinoa flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. organic grated lemon zest (I used a microplane)
- 3 tbsp. chia seeds
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line a 9″x5″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter/coconut oil with sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla and yogurt.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl: quinoa flour, baking powder, salt, chia seeds and lemon zest.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well until smooth. Pour into prepared loaf pan and smooth out top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the loaf pan.
- Slice and serve when cool. You can also make a glaze with the juice of the lemon heated with 1/2 cup of sugar to create a simple syrup. Poke loaf with a toothpick or skewer and drizzle over the top of the loaf.
That loaf looks beyond delightful! Totally bookmarking this page!
Aw thanks! 🙂 I hope you do try it!
i LOOOOOVE lemon everything.. even more than dark raw chocolate now… !
Funny… I was just going to post a lemon thought soon…and this is so great.. bet it tastes awesome… I wonder how it would be veganized… hmmm…
Thanks so much for your comment! Lemons are awesome! 🙂 You could probably veganize this by adding an egg replacer or mix 3 tbsp. of water with 1 tbsp. of chia per egg. For the yogurt replacement you could probably use applesauce and add some apple cider vinegar for the acidity – if I ever get to experimenting with it, I’ll update the post! 🙂
yea… I do love veganizing things… I like using both chia and flax in my egg replacement–more fat…more flavor!! 🙂
adding the apple cider to applesauce is a great thought!
Oh hey thanks for the link back ;)) I seriously drool every time I look at that pic!