Banana Bread Granola

Back in the kitchen and the first thing I make is granola, duh.  As I've mentioned previously, I'm pretty terrible about using a recipe when it comes to making granola- I usually just throw whatever is in my pantry into a bowl and taste it before it goes into the oven to make sure I'm happy.  Well folks, today is a brand new day because I finally wrote down a recipe (thank goodness this batch turned out delicious)!

Banana Bread Granola (vegan, gluten free, no oil, no refined sugar)

Wet ingredients:

- 3-4 very ripe bananas (the browner, the better!)

- 2 TBSP coconut butter 

- 1 TBSP walnut butter (or any other type of nut butter, or more coconut butter)

- 1/4 cup coconut sugar

- 2 tsp cinnamon 

- pinch of salt

Dry ingredients:

- 2 cups oats (gluten free, if desired)

- 1 cup buckwheat, soaked, rinsed, and dried in a low oven or dehydrator

- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed

- 5 chopped dates

- 1 cup flaked coconut

- Optional mix-ins: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, seeds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet or roasting pan with parchment paper.

Add the wet ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add wet to dry and stir until well combined, addin optional mix-ins if desired.  Spread onto lined pan and cook for about 30 minutes (longer if you like a crunchier granola).  Note: granola will continue to harder as it cools, so if it still feels a bit soft when you take it out of the oven, do not fret! 

Granola gets a bad rap for being an "unhealthy health food", which can be true if you eat many store bought versions, but not this kind! With only natural sugars from the fruit and coconut sugar, and no unhealthy oils, this mix not only tastes good but makes you feel good too!

I made half my batch with chocolate chips and oooooh my it was so good! More like a dessert but hey, you only live once.

Green Sunshine Smoothie

I'm really digging this living-with-your-significant-other-thing.  For one, I have someone to test recipe experiments on.  As I've mentioned in a previous post, our apartment is hot, so that means smoothies for breakfast in the dead of winter are totally appropriate.  While I'm permanently stuck on banana smoothies, the "other" likes his drinks more fruity (versus creamy), so I have been experimenting with different recipes incorporating citrus, berries, and other non-banana ingredients.  I made this combo this AM and had to admit that it was pretty darn delicious, almost delicious enough to convince me to cheat on my daily banana blend...almost.

Green Sunshine Smoothie - Vegan, Gluten Feee, Refind Sugar Free, Soy Free Option

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup soy milk (or any non dairy milk)

1 ripe banana

1 handful baby spinach

1 TBSP coconut butter (optional but I think it takes the smoothie to the next level)

1-2 pitted dates (optional depending on how sweet you want your smoothie)

Blend, sip, and feel like you are on a beach soaking up sunshine (sigh).  

(This is obviously not a picture of the smoothie, or a current picture.  But this drink will make you feel like you are in a tropical oasis, as pictured above.) 

Carrot Cake Smoothie

There's not much that can beat a good homemade smoothie.  Unlike juice bar smoothies that are usually packed with strange ingredients and added sugars, homemade smoothies are 100% customizable and can be the perfect healthy indulgence. 

Most days I have a smoothie for breakfast.  They are quick to make and an easy way to get fruit, veggies, protein, and healthy fats in a portable form.  I eat my smoothies with a spoon, which makes the health drink feel indulgent, almost like a bowl of ice cream.

My favorite blend of the moment combines the natural sweetness of carrots and bananas with the richness of almond butter and warmth of cinnamon for an absolutely delicious fall morning treat.  Maca gives you a little boost of energy and the protein means this smoothie will keep you full for hours.  Seriously, this drink is the bomb!  And so so so easy to make - just a few seconds in a blender and you are done.

Carrot Cake Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:
-1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
-1/4 cup carrot juice
-1 banana
-1 tsp maca
-1 TBSP almond butter
-dash of cinnamon
-1 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder (I have been using Perfect Fit Vanilla protein)
-Stevia to taste (I like Truvia and have found that 1/2 an individual packet works for me.  Omit or adjust depending on your preference.  I'm sure maple syrup would also taste great)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to your blender and pulse until well combined.  Enjoy! 

Pumpkin Banana Bread - Vegan & GF

It's that time of year again folks... pumpkin season!  While I'm a summer girl and not as thrilled about the cooler weather coming our way, I am excited for all the fall foods: pumpkin, butternut squash, apples, cinnamon, etc.  For a while now I have been searching for a good breakfast bread: something vegan and gluten free, made with no-nonsense ingredients, and minimal added sugars.  Just sweet enough from the bananas and maple syrup, and made with ingredients that I normally stock in my kitchen, this recipe fit the bill.  The streusel is completely optional, but it does make this bread feel indulgent and special, not to mention beautiful, so I suggest including it.

 Pumpkin Banana Bread (vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free)

Dry:
1 + ¾ cup oat flour (you can grind rolled oats into flour using a food processor)**

1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ turmeric

Wet:
2 medium bananas 
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup almond pulp (or any other pulp from making homemade nut milk, or almond meal)
¼ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk

For the streusel:
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 c. rolled oats
3 tablespoons oat flour
½ tablespoon turbinado sugar
½ tablespoon maple syrup
½ tablespoon coconut oil

**If using whole oats, make sure they are certified gluten free (if gluten is an issue for you)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a loaf pan (I used 9x5). 

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or food processor, mix the mashed bananas, pumpkin, nut pulp, oil, syrup, vanilla and milk. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scoop batter into the loaf pan.

Combine all streusel ingredients in a small bowl and stir until everything is evenly coated. Sprinkle the mixture over the cake and press it lightly into the batter using your hand. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the bread springs back lightly under your finger instead of sinking in. 

Adapted from here.

This bread got eaten up in no time!

I apologize for the terrible photo, but I brought this loaf to work and half of it got eaten before I remembered to take a picture.  I took that as a sign that it was blog-worthy.  This is definitely a recipe I will be making again soon - maybe next time I will try it with sweet potato instead of pumpkin?  Yum...

What are your favorite fall foods?

Inspiration: Breakfast Salad

Do you ever get in a breakfast rut?  Or simply have a craving for something totally out of the ordinary?  I know I do.  Sometimes my morning smoothie or scoop of granola just doesn't satisfy me.  I find this to be especially true on weekends when I usually have a little more time to make something for myself.  This past weekend was one of these times -  I was up early and ravenous!  I knew cereal or fruit was not going to cut it.  I looked in the fridge for inspiration and saw veggies, and remembered a post for a 'breakfast salad' I had pinned a while back on Choosing Raw.  Why not try it?  I thought... and then a beautiful thing was born.

This may be my new favorite breakfast (which is saying a lot, since I'm pretty addicted to green smoothies).   It's super simple to prepare, but also incredibly satisfying due to the chew factor.   Here's how to try one for yourself:

Step 1- Pick your greens.  I used baby arugula because that's what I had and what I love, but a milder green may be better suited for the AM (think baby spinach, butter lettuce, romaine).
Step 2 - Pick your fruit.  I sliced up a banana for my salad, but any fruit will work.  Take inspiration from what's in season or keep it simple with a personal favorite. Throw in whatever other veggies complement that fruit (I thought cool cucumber would add a nice contrast to the creamy banana).
Step 3 - Add some crunch. Top your salad with granola, cereal, nuts, and/or seeds.  Not only will this add a satisfying crunch to your salad, but it will also increase the protein content.
Step 4 - Dress it up!  I drizzled maple syrup and lemon juice over my salad, but the possibilities are endless.  A few ideas I will definitely try in the near future include some sort of almond butter based sauce and the chocolate avocado sauce featured on Choosing Raw (see link above).

I know salad for breakfast may sound strange, but in other places around the world this is totally normal.  In many Mediterranean countries, breakfast consists of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with bread and olives.  Asian countries also love their veggies:  a common morning meal in Japan is miso soup, pickled vegetables, seaweed salad, and cured raw fish.

So why not switch things up and get your day off to a GREEN and HEALTHY start?  And let me know how it turns out - I'm always on the lookout for creative new eats, especially for the most important meal of the day!

Happy crunching! 

Banana Bread Soft Serve

Bananas are my favorite fruit, hands down.  They are so versatile, delicious, and healthy -  what is not to love?  I joke that I don't feel comfortable if I don't have a bunch (or three) on my counter at all times.  Except I'm actually pretty serious...

I was out of town this past weekend and I came home to a bunch of very ripe bananas.  Since I am leaving for my MONTH long trip (more on that later) this coming weekend, I needed to use up these bananas ASAP.  I usually use ripe bananas as an excuse to make banana bread, but I didn't feel like turning the oven on.  I also sometimes use extra bananas to make banana soft serve, so I came up with the ingenious idea to blend these two recipes and make BANANA BREAD SOFT SERVE.

Step 1: Make Your Banana Bread - Since I didn't want to go through the trouble of actually baking banana bread, I decided to use homemade banana bread Larabars instead.  Per usual, I didn't follow a recipe when making my Larabars... but there are plenty out there to follow:  Oh She Glows has a recipe that I'm sure would work for this.  You could also just buy a few Larabars.  You will want to use the equivalent of about 3 bars, so if your recipe makes more, save the extras for another time (or eat separately).

Step 2:  Make Your Banana Soft Serve - Slice and freeze 3-5 bananas (or more if you want more soft serve).  Once frozen, add to your food processor with a few tablespoons of non dairy milk (just enough to get the mix going) and blend until smooth.  I also added about two teaspoons of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.

Step 3:  Combine and Consume - Crumble your "banana bread" into your soft serve and pulse until well combined.  Consume immediately!  This is best and most like soft serve when eaten immediately.  You could also stick the mix back in the freezer, but you will want to let it defrost a bit before eating.

This concoction turned out worlds better than I could have imagined.  The larabar gave the soft serve some texture and chew, and the ripe bananas provided sweetness without any added sugars.  Delicious, but healthy enough to have for breakfast (which I did two days in a row).

I know not everyone is as much of a banana lover as I am.  For those of you who are not bananas for bananas, I recommend the following substitutions:

- Use a different homemade Larabar flavor.  I'm definitely going to try this with chocolate and/or peanut butter bars next time.  Chocolate Covered Katie has a whole slew of recipes you can choose from.
- Use less ripe bananas in your banana soft serve.  Green or yellow bananas will still give you a great soft serve consistency but will have less banana flavor than spotted or brown bananas.  Less ripe bananas will also be less sweet, so you may need to add sweetener such as agave or maple syrup depending on your taste buds.
- Get creative with add-ins!  Mix in mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, nut butter, banana chips... the possibilities are endless!

What do you do with overripe bananas?  Have you ever tried banana soft serve?