Banana Bread Waffles

I love making new traditions. When Scott and I were packing up our old place back in Arizona to move to California two months ago we decided a new tradition we should enact upon arriving at our new home was "Waffle Morning Sunday." We purchased our waffle iron online on Amazon to have it shipped to our new address in California that week, and it was delivered (no joke) the day we arrived with our moving truck at our new place! It was perfect. We were unemployed and eating waffles our first Sunday morning here, and continued to do so for the following month (unemployment was the best). But then the inevitable happened (well, bills happened) and we got jobs (so thankful). However, waffle morning Sunday ceased to exist with us both working weekends, thus waffles have been made more sparingly. But hey, it was a good run that lead to my favorite waffle recipe to boot - the banana bread waffle.

Makes 2 large waffles. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons oat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 mashed banana

optional

1-2 tablespoons agave

Begin by preheating your waffle iron. While it is heating up, mix the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Then add the chia seeds, almond milk, and mashed banana. If you would like a sweeter waffle, add in an additional tablespoon or two of agave syrup. However, I find the banana makes it sweet enough! Especially if you will be topping it with glorious organic pure maple syrup later. Once your iron is heated, generously spray with coconut oil spray to keep the waffles from sticking, and pour half of the batter into your waffle iron. Cook to your desired level of "doneness" or "crispiness" and serve with Earth Balance vegan butter and pure maple syrup (the good stuff). I highly recommend banana slices or fresh blueberries as toppings to really take your waffle experience to the next level. Happy waffle eating!

Banana Blueberry Coconut Bread

I have been craving banana bread, blueberry muffins, and anything coconut for a few weeks now. So it was time to nip all those cravings in the butt with a single bread recipe. And oh my goodness were these flavors meant to be together! This bread comes out nice and golden on the outside, and super rich and moist on the inside. The hint of coconut flavor from the coconut oil is perfect (not overpowering at all), and the shredded coconut gives it a great texture along with the rolled oats. I used frozen organic wild blueberries in this batch, but would highly recommend large and juicy fresh blueberries in the future (they were not as flavorful as the large, fresh ones!). Not to forget the banana - the wonderful, sweet, moistening banana. I need to get back in the kitchen and make this one again - right now! 

Not a fan of coconut? Substitute the coconut oil for a less healthy canola oil or softened Earth Balance vegan butter and leave out the shredded coconut. 

Craving chocolate? Substitute 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, or cacao nibs for the blueberries!

This bread is low in gluten - but need it to be gluten free? Make sure to get GF oat flour, and substitute your favorite GF flour blend for the spelt flour. 

Makes 1 9x5 inch loaf. 

Ingredients

1 large (or two medium) overripe banana

1/2 cup organic brown sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil melted

1/2 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Begin by mashing the banana(s) in a medium size mixing bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, coconut oil, almond milk, shredded coconut, and vanilla. Then add the salt, baking soda, flours, and oats. Mix well. Fold in the blueberries last, and pour into a greased bread pan (I used a 9x5 bread pan, and use coconut oil for my non-stick spray). Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a plate or wire rack to fully cool before slicing or storing. I wrap mine in plastic wrap and leave on the counter to keep it extra moist. Should keep for a few days on the counter, or up to 1 week in the refrigerator. 

Healthy Banana Bread French Toast

Like most banana bread inspired recipes, this one started with a bunch of overripe bananas. After deciding I needed to use my bananas for something healthy that day, I opened my blog feed on the computer and low and behold Livvy over at 86 Lemons had posted a recipe for healthy banana bread (here). Thank you Livvy! She originally found the recipe over at Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl (here). In her notes she mentioned how she made a second loaf altering the flours by using spelt flour alongside the oat flour. I did this too and the bread turned out wonderful! If you are very gluten intolerant though you can use all oat flour in this recipe to make it gluten free.

This bread is amazing because it contains zero oil or processed sugar, using only pure good-for-you ingredients! Not to mention it tastes amazing, I was totally shocked. This bread tastes more like bread than the typical cake-like banana bread I am used too, therefore it was perfect for french toast! I kept it healthy by baking the french toast slices in the oven instead of in a pan with butter, and topped it with coconut cream and pomegranate seeds. I absolutely loved every flavor going on in this dish, and the texture was perfect. Baking the french toast gave it this slightly crunchy exterior with a moist banana bread interior. The coconut cream sat on top like whipped cream until the warmth from the toast began to melt the cream and the bread started to soak it up - this was a delicious accident! The pomegranate seeds gave each bite a sweet touch, but I also think any fruit would have been amazing. I wold love to try this again sometime with some fresh raspberries or apple slices too.

Banana Bread Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 large, very ripe bananas

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with some coconut oil and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Using a food processor, chop up the dates into small pieces, then add the almond milk and vanilla. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as you go. Peal and mash the three bananas in a small mixing bowl. Add the date mixture from the food processor to the mashed bananas and mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until well incorporated. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Allow bread to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing, and then let cool an additional 10 minutes before slicing. I baked my loaf the night before and let it fully cool before wrapping it in plastic wrap to keep moist for french toast the following morning.

French Toast Batter
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon agave nectar 
1/2 ripe banana

Toppings
1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Fruit of your choice (I used pomegranate seeds)

Preheat your oven the 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the above ingredients listed for the batter in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a shallow pan (I used a pie plate). Slice 4-6 banana bread slices 1 inch thick and soak each side in the batter for 2-3 minutes. Transfer soaked banana bread slices to the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

To serve with the toppings listed above, open the can of coconut milk that has been refrigerated (causing the cream to rise to the top) and scoop the coconut cream into a small bowl. Whisk cream with agave and cinnamon. Top each slice with a dollop of cream and some fruit, and you have one healthy plate of banana bread french toast!

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Pumpkin season is now in full force! It is officially fall, and cooling down (a little). There are pumpkin patches sprouting up everywhere, and you can't help but crave pumpkin spice coffee or a warm slice of pumpkin bread (at least if you are me). Ah yes, bread. As of recent, I have been noticing the negative reaction gluten has been having on my body. So here's to a new challenge - going gluten free! Or at least mostly. Maybe I will give in to the occasional stomach ache when the temptation is too much, but otherwise I am going forth with new experiments in baking without gluten. This pumpkin gingerbread is the first of many gluten free baked goods to come, and it only took 2 tries to finalize the recipe! I'd say that is encouraging enough for me to keep trying. Oh, and did I mention it tastes amazing and I would have never guessed it was gluten free? Oh yes. This one is a keeper.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup oat flour (I blended Trader's Joe's GF rolled oats in my food processor)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
1 box of pumpkin puree (about 17 ounces)
If using canned pumpkin, use one 15 ounce can plus 1/3 cup of water

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the wet and dry, mixing well. Greece your loaf pan with a little bit of coconut oil, transfer batter to pan, and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick or knife in center to make sure it is done. Mine took the full hour and 15 minutes to bake. Remove from pan immediately when done, and let cool on the counter. Store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, and enjoy your amazing smelling house and a warm slice of pumpkin gingerbread with you afternoon cup'o'coffee.

Banana Bread

When I wake up to see a handful of my bananas going bad I get so excited, because it's time to bake some banana bread! After going vegan I was determined to find an amazing vegan banana bread recipe, and I think I have found it at last. After some tweaking of the recipe I found here, I am happy to say I have now found myself in vegan banana bread heaven with my recipe below.

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup earth balance butter (or oil)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the three bananas, and mix in softened vegan butter (or oil), brown sugar, almond milk, and vanilla. Then add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Lastly, add the flour and rolled oats.

Scoop the batter into a greased non-stick bread pan, sprinkle with chopped walnuts on top, and bake for 40-50 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Serve warm, or let cool and wrap in plastic wrap to keep moist. Happy baking this weekend!