Vegan Banana Bread

Hello Everyone!  I apologize for the hiatus – I am currently expecting (our 3rd!) and have only just gotten over my morning sickness.  During those queasy months, I could hardly bring myself to eat anything, let alone cook!  My family subsisted on convenience foods of all sorts, unfortunately.  But now I’m at that glorious stage where I am hungry, energetic, and craving healthy foods!

This morning as I was about to put bananas on the breakfast table, I noticed that they were way past their prime.  When that happens, I usually do one of two things.   If I’m pressed for time I will peel them and cut them into large chunks, and put them in the freezer for smoothies.  But on a nice rainy day like today, I decided to take the time to bake banana bread.

Here is a recipe that I have tweaked ever so slightly from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook to make it vegan, and a bit healthier.  I replaced the eggs, changed the flour from white to whole wheat pastry, and reduced the sugar.  It was quite sweet (might have been the super-ripe bananas at play) but I think next time I’ll try reducing it a little bit more.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (or a few grates of whole nutmeg)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt (I used 1/4 tsp but it could have used a bit more)
• 1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer whisked with 4 Tbsp warm water
• 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (I used 4 fairly large ones)
• 3/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a medium bowl combine mashed bananas, prepared egg replacer, sugar, and oil.  Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and combine until just mixed.  Fold in chopped nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes.  Loosen bread from sides of pan with a knife and let sit in pan for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.  Store bread in refrigerator, wrapped in foil.  Enjoy!

Crunchy Granola

After much trial and error I have finally stumbled upon a way to make really crunchy granola! The below recipe is simply a suggestion – feel free to substitute whatever nuts and dried fruit you may have on hand if you like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thick-cut rolled oats (regular will work fine as well)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup whole flaxseed
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• dash cinnamon
• dried cranberries for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a large bowl combine the oats, nuts, coconut, flaxseed, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon. Stir together maple syrup and oil and stir into oat mixture. Spread evenly in a lightly greased baking dish (I used a 9 x 13 casserole dish), and bake, uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring after 20 minutes.

Stir again and turn off the oven. Place baking dish of granola back into the cooling oven and leave for 6-8 hours or overnight.* Take cooled, dried granola out of the oven and place into an airtight container. Garnish with dried cranberries before serving. Enjoy with soy milk or sprinkle over soy yogurt for a delicious treat!

* This is the most crucial step in making a truly crunchy granola! I’ve omitted this step and instead allowed granola to cool on the countertop, and the granola always turned out slightly chewy instead of crunchy. I recommend making granola in the evening and leaving it in the cooled oven overnight, and then it will be ready to eat for breakfast in the morning! Don’t worry that the oven is still hot when you put the granola back in for cooling/drying…the warm dry temperature will continue to cook the granola slightly and help it to harden, but it won’t burn.

Breakfast – Berry Smoothie & Oatmeal

Here’s a simple recipe to get us started – a very basic fruit smoothie! We probably drink smoothies once or twice a week. My basic recipe for one adult is: 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup frozen berries, 1 ripe banana, 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal. For kids, I’ll use half this amount. Today I used mostly blueberries and a few raspberries. Alternatively, I’ll occasionally make a creamy smoothie using soymilk instead of juice. I especially like this when I have frozen strawberries, peach, or melon to blend in.

This morning we paired a fruit smoothie with oatmeal for a healthy breakfast. We had oatmeal with raisins, raw walnuts, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Oatmeal has a good amount of protein and iron, and the vitamin-C rich smoothie enhances our bodies’ ability to absorb the iron, which is a plus! Also, both the flaxseed in the smoothie and walnuts on the oatmeal provide us with omega-3 fatty acids. I prefer oatmeal with a bit of chewy texture, so I use slow-cooking rolled oats and bring the water to a boil before adding the oats. A dash of cinnamon while cooking adds a nice touch.