Vegan Banana Bread

March 7, 2013 by 1 Comment
Vegan banana bread

Banana bread with chocolate chips and raisins. Toddler approved.

Some days I just don’t get around to using up the bananas in time for them to not be brown. I personally don’t like eating bananas with even the slightest hint of green because bananas should not crunch, in my opinion. Sometimes I just straight-up sabotage any chances of eating them before they go brown because I want to use them for banana bread. I mean, banana bread is a great way to use up bananas that have been sitting around too long, plus it’s pretty much one of the yummiest things ever, veganizes really well and is very forgiving when it comes to baking so you can really go crazy with it and chances are it will turn out fine. These are all good things in my book. Nom nom nom! Last time that I made this one it was gone within a day, it was a hit to put it mildly.

For this recipe, you can either use a commercial egg replacer or you could just go with using the bananas as they make a good substitute for eggs as-is, or you could use ground flax as I’ve done and that adds some great Omega-3s and makes you feel like a do-gooder all around. I’ve used ground flax and found it to be a good binder but if you are feeling adventurous you could also use apple sauce instead.

There are no nuts in this recipe because I have a toddler and I’m afraid of her choking on them, but you can add them at the end when you add the chocolate chips. If you don’t dig on white flour, I’ve used spelt flour instead and it worked fine. I haven’t tried making it gluten free but will give that a whirl when my dad comes to visit (he’s gluten intolerant and a banana bread fan) and update how it went.

Vegan Banana Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 over-ripe bananas
  • 2 tbsp ground flax + 4 tbsp cold water (substitute for 2 eggs, but not too runny)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (preferably grapeseed)
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups white flour (or 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup raisins

Cooking Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°C.
  2. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
  3. Mash the bananas in a large bowl until well combined and pleasantly squished.
  4. Combine the flax and cold water in a separate bowl.
  5. Add the flax mixture to the bananas then add the oil, vanilla and almond milk in a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon (no need for a mixer).
  6. Add the sugar to the wet ingredients and break up any lumps.
  7. Carefully and slowly add in the flour, baking powder, spices and salt and add to the wet ingredients, stir to combine.
  8. Add raisins and chocolate chips and stir with the wooden spoon until they are evenly distributed through the mixture.
  9. Pour mixture into tin and shake gently from side-to-side to even out the top.
  10. Bake for 50-60 minutest until top is cracked and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  11. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. Let it cool thoroughly before slicing.

If you want to be truly decadent (and who doesn’t?!) then you can serve this banana bread with some strawberry butter! This seriously changed my life, well, the banana bread consumption dept. anyway.

Strawberry Butter

2 tablespoons vegan butter substitute, I used Earth Balance

2 to 4 tablespoons strawberry jam or preserve of choice

Stir to combine and serve with the banana bread. Dying of yum optional.

The strawberry butter accompaniment was directly inspired by this recipe which I have veganized.

Filed Under: Baked goods, Recipes Tagged With: , ,

Vegan test shopping: Save On Foods

March 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I have been plagued with a nagging question for many months now – where can I go shopping that will allow me to get everything without needing to go elsewhere to fill in the gaps? I know that I could go to the little, local stores that I love but they don’t have carts, and I have a toddler who likes to “help” me select merchandise, plus I’m super-pregnant right now so this all adds up to my wanting to just get this shopping thing over with as fast as humanly possible.
So, to give a new place a shot, this little crash-test vegan decided to go for a shop at Save On Foods for the first time today and I’m very pleased with the results! So happy, in fact, that I can’t contain myself! I have a spent in excess of $300 on this little escapade but I have come home with goodies galore! We were basically out of everything and my personal food philosophy calls for cooking real food, which means some real shopping (cue the sigh).
I went to Save On Foods in Burnaby, BC for this particular adventure and this is the first one I’ve been to for a proper shop, except for the one on Cambie Street by Broadway in Vancouver but that was just a quick dash-in for a couple of things on a rainy day (well it is Vancouver, after all). After I parked in their underground parkade, I grabbed myself a cart and went up the movator, I’d never been to this shopping area before and was pleased to see that there is a shoe repair place there as well as a gym, we only just moved from East Van so I’m still getting my bearings somewhat.
Fruit and Veg
The fresh grocery section is right at the entrance to the store, it contains a good variety of fruit and vegetables with good presentation and a good selection of organic options. Weirdly enough, I picked up some a bag of organic lemons for $3.99, the same price as buying 4 ordinary lemons would have been. I also grabbed a bag of organic sweet potatoes for a price that was comparable to buying one gigantic sweet potato or yam, ditto with some organic onions. I didn’t get much in the way of vegetables because we’ve just come home from being away for a week so I had to hit the store when we got back to get the essentials and bought a whole bunch of fruit and veg already. I did get some very good looking brussels sprouts but didn’t get any beets because it was $3 for 3 organic beets and there were no ordinary beets, generally I can find them cheaper than that. Apples, pears, I won’t bore you with the minutiae.
Also in this section they had a good variety of vegan and vegetarian finished goods, such as veggie sausages, faux meats, and tofu. I only grabbed a couple packs of Mori-Nu tofu (two for $5). I was looking for soft tofu but weirdly enough they didn’t seem to have any. Oh well.
Bulk Dry Goods
Well, their bulk dry goods section pretty much made the trip worth it alone. They have the usual, expected crap like candy and sauce mixes (see pic, though that was good for a laugh – real “gourmet”) but they also have an excellent selection of nuts, beans and dried herbs & spices. I grabbed a ton of stuff in these 3 aisles:
  • hazelnuts
  • almonds
  • pecan halves (which were the same price as the pieces)
  • bay leaves
  • pickling spice
  • navy beans (49c per lb! – pretty sure that’s good)
  • black eyed beans (peas)
  • tamari-smoked almonds (which are awesome!)
  • vanilla-coated (and probably sugar and corn oil) almonds (worth it, hoping they are vegan – can’t say for sure because they didn’t post the ingredients and now I’m hooked)
Great bulk selection and there are a lot of organic options too.
Baking / Cooking / General food
A few days ago I saw a recipe that called for Ener-G Egg Replacer and I had never seen it around, until today! I had been looking for some quite specific stuff after picking up the “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” cookbook, I wanted to make my own seitan but needed vital wheat gluten, and they had it. I also picked up organic creamed coconut for $3 which makes it cheaper than buying canned coconut milk, as I had been doing. My dad gave me some coconut powder from Australia but I’m glad to finally find it here in Canada.
The Indo-food section had lots of good stuff, I almost bought some frozen vegetable pakoras for $7 (from the freezer aisle), but instead I got a 10lb bag of chana flour (aka gram flour, chickpea flour). Think I’ll try my hand at these for dinner tomorrow.
They have a neat setup for people who want the good stuff and don’t want to have to hunt too hard, they have a section in the middle of most of the general grocery aisles called ‘healthy choices’ or somesuch (can’t remember exactly) and there you can find the organic stuff, the whole grain / healthy versions of stuff and the other things that you’d hunt around for such as amaranth (a bag of it! Yay!), a selection of quinoa options and lots of canned beans for people with no time to soak theirs before dinner.
As an aside, while was perusing the selection in the healthy DMZ of this aisle, a lady with an empty shopping basket was looking slightly bewildered at the choices and I thought she might need some help, so to break the ice I said “if you’re looking for quinoa, I use the True Roots one all the time and it’s good” – she looked relieved and asked me about what to do with quinoa (after asking me how to say it right) – I said it’s a grain so you can substitute it where you’d normally use rice, and you cook it by just adding the requisite amount of water, bringing it to a boil covered, then turn it off until it absorbs, and fluff with a fork. I mentioned that it doesn’t have a lot of flavour of its own, but you can add spice to it to flavour it up. I made a few suggestions, pair it with refried beans in a tortilla with mexican veggies, serve it with a curry, etc. She looked unconvinced and asked if she should have it with mung beans. I said that you could, but it would be pretty boring. She asked what to do with the mung beans, I said you could put them on a salad, or toss them in a soup. She didn’t eat soup. Okay. She asked about the flavour, I said they’re kind of nutty tasting, and good! Back to the quinoa, can you have it in a salad? I said that you could make the quinoa up, add some chickpeas and diced red peppers and some dressing and that would be a pretty good salad. She hesitated about the beans because she said they had a lot of salt, so I picked out a can of no salt garbanzo beans (chickpeas) from a shelf below for her and she took them gladly, thanked me and went off to find a red pepper presumably. If you’re out there, I hope that you had a good first quinoa salad experience! 
General Grocery Etc
 
I was thrilled to find the book “Sweet Vegan” in the discount bin – score! Only $5.98, sold. After getting home I checked the reviews on Amazon.com and they are all glowing it would seem, and after flipping through it more thoroughly I’m so excited to try some of these sinfully decadent yet vegan treats. Probably a good thing that I only found it at the end of my shopping adventure and my pregnant woman feet were about to fall off or I might have found even more things that I needed. I also got a sweet little book for my sweet little girl which has kittens and puppies and stuff that she likes, how could I resist?
Frozen Goods
I don’t really “do” frozen foods, unless it’s blueberries or meals that I’ve frozen myself, but they do keep the ice cream here and it wouldn’t be right to not investigate it. I ended up taking home some So Good chocolate soy ice cream, it was on special. They also had a selection of (So Delicious) coconut and almond-based ice creams, and even some dairy-free ice cream bars. It took most of my resolve and the price tag of about $8 each for me to resist their tempting temptation.
Dairy Alternatives
After the serious let-down of the dairy section having absolutely no dairy-free products, at the end of my tour of obligation imagine my delight to discover that the reason there wasn’t any is that dairy alternatives get their own section! Huzzah! There’s coconut, soy, and almond milk, dairy-free coffee creamers (Silk for Coffee! My favourite!), tofutti cream cheese, daiya “cheese” (and other soy cheeses) and earth balance margarine. Yay!
Now I’m all set to make vegan waffles for breakfast tomorrow on my new waffle maker – so excited! We gave it a test run a few days ago but ran out of maple syrup so I had to get some more, along with the billion other things in my filled-up cart.
After I got home, I realized that I seriously need to clear out the expired food and crap from my cupboards, but I’ll do that tomorrow – right now I’m going to read my new cookbook, Sweet Vegan, and drink some chocolate hazelnut tea whilst my little one watches the Swan Princess.
Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Feeding a cold

September 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Oh no! That dreaded feeling when you just know you’re coming down with a cold. Time to get some goodness in, stat! When you don’t feel much like doing anything but feeling sorry for yourself, cooking for hours might not be what you want. Here are some easy and hassle-free recipes that you can make so that you can get back to watching Netflix under a blankie.

 

 

I came down with a cold (which I caught from a loved one) on Sunday and I was feeling really miserable so I decided to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables that contain antioxidants, I made myself a tall strawberry smoothie first thing and drank a lot of green tea, which is high in anti-oxidants. I’m pleased to report that I’m feeling a lot better, in times past I’ve had colds drag on for a week and often develop into a lung infections so I’m quite pleased that mine only lasted a couple of days.

Now that I’m back in action, I think I’m on the right track with the belief that eating veggies and fruit and drinking tea would help reduce cold symptoms. It was a trial by fire for my new mostly-vegan way of eating as it’s the first time I’d tried to tackle a cold this way.

So here are my tips for reducing the severity and length of your cold symptoms:

1. Get enough rest

If you’re burning the candle at both ends and expect to get better, you better think twice. Getting enough rest (I’m talking 8-10 hours of sleep here) is essential for your body’s immune system to have a chance to fight the cold and recharge. Take it easy, get plenty of rest and for goodness sakes don’t go to work and give it to your colleagues.

2. Keep your fluids up

Drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated. Ordinarily you should be drinking 8 glasses (or 2 litres) of water per day, and if you’re losing fluids in mucus then you need to compensate for the loss by drinking even more. Dehydration can cause headaches and discomfort. Hydrating your body also helps flush your system of toxins and congestion, and thereby helps the healing process, whereas not getting enough hydration can prolong your symptoms.

I get a little bored of drinking water, and you probably do too, so you can also drink green tea or juice. It’s probably a good idea not to over-do it with caffeine whilst you are feeling sick, because it dehydrates you and then you’ll have to drink more water to compensate. I have read that some doctors say to drink Gatorade but personally I wouldn’t drink it because it’s full of unnatural ingredients but I’ll leave it up to you, dear readers. My tip: keep a glass or travel bottle of water with you at all times and just sip throughout the day.

3. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables

Avoid processed and low-nutrient foods and choose fruit and vegetables high in beta-carotene, anti-oxidants and vitamins. Feed your body the nutrients it needs to fight off the virus and get better.

4. Use decongestants sparingly

Although it’s nice to have a clear nose when you’re trying to go to sleep, according to WebMD, overuse of decongestants can prolong your symptoms because the mucus gets stuck inside and all gummed up, instead of being flushed out. Using decongestants for several days in a row can also lead to elevated blood pressure and constipation, which no doubt will make you feel even worse.

5. Make sure it’s actually a cold and not allergies

Allergy sufferers often have symptoms very similar to cold symptoms – runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing and coughing (to name a few). If your “cold” persists for weeks it might be worthwhile to check with your doctor about whether you have allergies.

Filed Under: Quick & tasty Tagged With: ,

Easy-Peasy Cherry and Pineapple Pie Recipe

June 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When you have cherries that aren’t looking all that crash hot anymore, what better way to rescue them than by making a delicious pie! This is a pie recipe that I just invented as I went along, but it came out really nicely and the pie crust didn’t have to be blind baked, risen nor kneaded – bonus! The crust uses ground almonds and spelt flour (which does have gluten) and is about as healthy as you can get for cherry pie, plus it has pineapple! Perfect for a summer afternoon sweet treat.

Ingredients:

For the filling:
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup fresh pineapple (or you could use canned) cut into small pieces
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 berry / castor sugar (to taste)
1/2 tsp almond essence
Icing sugar to dust (optional)

For the crust:
1 cup Spelt flour (or flour of choice, whole wheat would be a good substitute)
1 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup butter or butter substitute
1 tbsp ground flax seed + 1 tbsp water

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Combine filling ingredients in bowl until mixed.
  3. In a food processor, add the ground almonds and the flour, cube the butter and add to the mix and then pulse until it turns to crumbs. Mix the flax powder and water together in a cup, and then add to the crumbly mixture. (If you accidentally added the flax to water too early, don’t worry, I did that too and it was fine.) Pulse the mixture in the food processor and it should form into a ball. Remove from the food processor and smoosh it all together. Roll it out on a floured surface to make it generally the right shape, then transfer to your pie plate. Use your hand to press the crust into a uniform width around the pie plate so you don’t get bits that are overly thick.
  4. Add the filling to the pie, sprinkle with icing sugar if desired, and bake in the oven for around 45 mins. The pie is ready when the filling has congealed and the crust has browned.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Baked goods Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eating on the go for vegans

February 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Vegan food is good for you and tasty, but it can be hellish to try to grab a balanced meal, or indeed anything that’s going to serve as a meal at all on the go, especially when your options are limited to food courts and coffee shops, as sadly they sometimes are. Let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t want another salad (and I get annoyed when that’s the only choice).

Even when you’re at home and in a hurry, cooking healthy vegan food can be challenging because if you’re not prepared sometimes it’s really hard to just find something you can grab to eat. Recently I’ve had to learn to increase my cooking efficiency because we had a baby, who is now almost a year old and so eating solids but she’s a picky little one so sometimes I find myself making several things for her just to get her to eat something. Here are some tips for all you vegans on the go, I hope you find them helpful!

  • Always keep some beans soaking. In the eve of a day when you know you’ll have a few hours at home, put the beans in a bowl of water, make sure they’re well covered. The following day, throw them in a pot and boil them for a couple of hours until they’re soft (or less, it depends on the type of bean in question). Once they’re done & cooled, stick them in a container and into the freezer. I use freezer bags because our freezer is super small and having them in a bag means they’re more malleable when I need to squish them between things. I’ve used the Glad re-usable containers before but be careful because if you over-fill them the edges can crack. I’ve also used stackable normal plastic containers and they have my vote for the most eco-friendly choice. If you’re in a pinch, you can always buy canned but it’s far more expensive than using the dried beans and heavy to carry home from the store (for those of us who don’t have a car). However…
  • Buy refried beans in a can. Making them from scratch is a pain in the butt. I did it a couple weeks ago and they just weren’t as good as I’d hoped, I couldn’t get the consistency to the way I like them. I suspect a ton of butter or something would have done the trick but I didn’t want to go there. I use Eden Organic refried beans and they’re great and so much less hassle. Refried beans + tortilla wraps + mashed sweet potato = fixings for burritos, add own condiments, of course
  • Make your freezer a wonderland of frozen options. Having frozen options (beans, berries and the like) around makes it so much easier when you just want to throw a meal together. When you have the time, make big vats of stuff and then freeze it in individual containers.
  • Lazy cooking is your friend. Spaghetti squash is a good sub for pasta, and to bake it you just stick it in the oven whole for an hour at around 350F. Seriously, could it be easier?  Once it’s done, let it cool for a while so that it’s safe to touch and then cut it in half in the middle, not lengthwise, and scoop out the seed and membrane stuff. It should noodle up by itself when you scrape it but you can help it with a fork if need be. Put it with sauce of choice and bam, that’s a meal right there.
  • Don’t fry your own tofu because it is too fiddly (i.e. it takes hours and you risk oil burns, not cool) so just buy the fried stuff, and then add some veg & 10 mins later you have dinner.
  • Couscous is the ultimate fast food, measure out your couscous in a cup, add 2x cup size of boiled water, cover and 1 min later it’s done, fluff with fork et voila. Love it!
  • Carry nuts and dried fruit to eat with you on the go –The squirrels could be onto something here, because trying to find vegan food in a hurry is tough at the best of times so at least if you have a fall-back snack then it can tide you over until something else is available.

I’d love to hear your quick vegan eating tips if you have any to add, please feel free to comment.

Filed Under: healthy living Tagged With: , , ,

Guacamole

July 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Guacamole is delicious, healthy and quick, and it can be used on tacos, burritos or as a side with your rice and beans. Take guacamole along to parties and everyone will think you’re awesome. Let the yum begin!

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, for spice (alternatively you could use a couple of drops of Tabasco sauce)
  • one small fresh tomato, diced (I prefer over-ripe but however you like them is fine)
  • 1/2 onion, grated
  • 1-3 cloves of minced garlic (to taste)
  • A spoonful of salsa (optional, if you have some around)
  • 1 tbsp cilantro (to taste), reserve a few leaves for garnish

Method

  1. Gently mash the avocado in a small bowl with a fork, don’t overdo it (or it will take on a soapy texture).
  2. Add the cayenne pepper (or Tabasco) and mix through.
  3. Add the onion, garlic, salsa and cilantro and stir until combined.
  4. Serve with the cilantro leaves as garnish, and enjoy!
Filed Under: Dips & Chips Tagged With: , , ,

Calabacitas Guisadas (Mexican Zucchini)

July 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Known in Spanish as Calabacitas Guisadas, this recipe is a Mexican style stewed Zucchini with vegetables. This dish is a great vegan / vegetarian side to round out your Mexican meal, it goes great with Mexican rice and beans, and works really well in tacos, burritos and fajitas.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2-5 garlic cloves, minced (to taste, I like garlic)
  • 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes, chopped (or you could substitute a can of tinned)
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped small
  • 3 sliced zucchinis
  • 1 can (or equivalent fresh) corn (optional)
  • 1 tbsp of cilantro, stems removed
  • Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pan and then add the onions, saute until the onion starts to clarify.
  2. Add the garlic and toss through, then add the tomatoes and peppers, cover and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
  3. Add the zucchini and corn, cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle the cilantro on top.
  5. Serve and enjoy!
Filed Under: Side dishes Tagged With: , , , ,

Couscous Salad

June 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Looking for something economical to take to your next potluck?

This is a yummy Greek-influenced salad, which serves two hungry people or four if used as a side dish. It’s a very economical recipe, you can make for about $10, depending on the price of vegetables in your area, and the dry ingredients can be bought in bulk and stored for a very long time.

Remember to soak the chick peas the night before, and then boil them for an hour before putting them in the salad.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cooked couscous
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 diced tomato (preferably roma, or you could try using sundried tomatoes)
  • 1/2 cup of drained green (or black) olives
  • 1/2 diced cucumber
  • 1-2 cups of cooked chick peas (or a can)
  • 1 tbsp goat’s cheese (a generous dollop, add it to the cooked couscous after you’ve fluffed it with the fork, while it’s still warm) or cubed feta cheese
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon (or the whole lemon if you prefer)
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Just combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and voila!

Filed Under: Salads Tagged With: , ,

How to cook chick peas (garbanzo beans)

June 17, 2010 by 1 Comment

Chick peas, or garbanzo beans as they are otherwise called, are a very economical food to buy in bulk and provide a great source of protein. Plus, they can be used in a variety of ways, from hummus to bean salad to curry. They are easy to prepare but doing so takes about half a day so plan your meal ahead!

How to prepare chick peas / garbanzo beans:

  • Soak the beans for 10-12 hours
  • Put the soaked beans in a pot and cover with a generous amount of water
  • Bring the water to a boil
  • Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer the beans for 2 hours
  • Drain the beans and they’re ready to be used in a recipe
Filed Under: Basic Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

Preparing Couscous

June 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Couscous is the ultimate bachelor food because it’s so easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes! You don’t have to buy small packets of couscous for $4 in the supermarket, it’s cheaper to buy it in bulk from the dry goods section of some stores — I grabbed mine from the (Great Canadian) SuperStore.

Note: These instructions are for people who have a bunch of couscous but no packet to direct them… if you bought yours in a packet then you’d be best to stick to the directions given on the packet.

How to prepare couscous:

  • Boil kettle.
  • Measure out your couscous and once the kettle boils add the couscous and equal part boiled water to a bowl, mix and cover for at least 3 minutes. (The couscous will absorb the water.)
  • Lift the lid and fluff the couscous with a fork and serve.

Told you it was easy! Enjoy!

Filed Under: Basic Recipes, Quick & tasty Tagged With: ,
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