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Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Honey

18 Dec 2009 by Brandi

This recipe came from Whole Food for the Whole Family put out by La Leche League International.  I found some of the directions time wasting and unnecessary.  I doubled the batch as it seemed silly to make only one large loaf for my family.  You can add nuts too, but I don’t usually.  Here’s my adaptation of the recipe.  It makes yummy, moist bread.  Be aware, it will be eaten very quickly!!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Ingredients:
* 1 cup Honey
* 2/3 cup Canola Oil
* 4 Eggs
* 2 cups Bananas, mashed (about 6 med.)
* 1/2 cup Water
* 3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
* 1 tsp. Sea Salt
* 2 tsp. Baking Soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix honey and canola oil together until well blended. Add eggs and mix. Stir in bananas and water. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour in 3 greased loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.

Options: Add 1 cup nuts to make banana nut bread.  Walnuts are a typical ingredient in banana nut bread.

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Chocolate Almond-Coconut Balls

11 Dec 2009 by Brandi

This recipe is an adaptation from the original by Bryanna Clark Grogan.  I don’t know why she calls the recipe Bryanna’s Carob Fudge.  It certainly isn’t fudge.  It is rich however, and very dark chocolate-flavored.  I was just going to call them dessert balls, but my sweet friend, Julia gave me a new name for them.  Thanks, Julia!  You could use all raw ingredients and impress your raw-food friends or use maple syrup instead and call them vegan!  This is the altered recipe for the dessert I made last night for the Christmas Party with my closest friends:

Chocolate Almond-Coconut Balls

Chocolate Mixture:
1/2 c. each:
    Peanut Butter (I used fresh ground)
    Honey*
    Cocoa Powder
    Chopped Almonds*
    Sesame Seeds
1/4 c. Quick Oats

Used a large spoon or your hands to mix it together.

Rolling Mixture:
    1/4 cup Chopped Almonds*
    1/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut*
    2 Tbsp. Powdered Sucanat* (powdered in the blender)

Mix above ingredients in a separate bowl. Wet your hands a little then take small pieces of the chocolate mixture and roll into balls.  Roll into rolling mixture.  Place on plate and serve.

The balls would be a little sweeter if you used maple syrup instead of honey and almond butter instead of peanut butter. Using almond butter would make it more almond-flavored too! Substituting maple syrup for the honey will make it vegan as well.  The original recipe called for carob powder, but I like the cocoa better…not as bitter. You could put some coconut inside the ball mixture too if you wanted.

* I’ve been asked where to purchase items like sucanat and unsweetened shredded coconut. My answer is: from a health food store or food co-op. Good Earth, Whole Foods, and Kitchen Kneads are in my area in Utah. Azure Standard does monthly orders with local drop points. To be raw, all ingredients need to be truly raw, not just uncooked by you. To get real raw almonds you need to purchase them through a reliable source and/or food co-op that guarantees the almonds have not been heated.

Original recipe found at: VegSource.com

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Healthy Honey Pumpkin Bread

05 Nov 2009 by Brandi

Yes, there’s a healthier way to make pumpkin bread! I got a recipe from allrecipes.com, but I honestly changed it so much I consider it mine now. The original called for 3 cups of sugar! No way! I subbed in 1 cup honey, and it was plenty sweet. The original must have had the goal of being sugar encrusted.

I made this last week, and my family and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I didn’t take a picture of it this time (shocking, I know!). Trust me, it’s awesome!

Healthy Honey Pumpkin Bread

  • 20 oz. (2 1/2 cups) Pie Pumpkin Puree (I made this myself)
  • 4 medium Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Applesauce (can replace with another 1/2 cup oil, but I wouldn’t)
  • 1/2 cup Canola Oil
  • 1 cup Honey
  • 3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 3 loaf pans with non-stick spray.

    Using a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, oil, and honey until well blended. Mix dry ingredients together in another bowl. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until it’s just blended. (Don’t over mix.) Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Depending upon your oven, the bread may cook faster, so check your bread at 40 minutes. The loaves are done when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

    Note: A 15oz can will work for the pumpkin, just add some water to make sure you have enough moisture. The original recipe called for water; however, with having extra pumpkin and adding honey instead of granulated sugar, I needed to take some moisture out. Adding about 1/2 cup water with a 15oz can of pumpkin should work, although I haven’t tested it myself.

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    Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

    21 Sep 2009 by Brandi

    I made this recipe again last night for my dessert. It’s so yummy! I’ve made a pie crust with coconut oil instead of shortening in the past, but I didn’t have the coconut oil this time. I didn’t want the shortening in my system, so I made it crust-less. It was delicious, even without the crust.

    I adapted the recipe from here.

    Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

  • 1 1/2 cups Rice Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 2 cups pureed Pumpkin (pie pumpkins make the best kind, otherwise use a 15 oz. can)
  • 1/2 cup Flour (I’ve used both whole wheat and oatmeal flour, but you can use whatever flour you want)
  • 2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 3/4 cup Sucanat (regular sugar can be used)
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. Ginger powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground Cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. You’ll need a deep dish or use another small pan because it makes more than will fit in a regular pie pan.

    Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a blender or use a hand-mixer. Mix well. Add pumpkin and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Pour into pie pan and bake for 60 minutes. This is a custardy pie, so it should still be moist in the middle when it’s done. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the counter. It sets up best when put in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving.

    Update 11.26.2009:


    Here’s one I did for our 2009 Thanksgiving dinner. It just has a crust (you know, most family members want it!). I just used my very fattening crust recipe:

    Pie Crust
    2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
    3/4 cups Shortening
    Dash of Salt
    1/2 cup Ice Water

    Cut shortening into flour and salt until crumbly. Add water and mix well to make dough. Cut in half (makes 2 crusts). Roll out on floured surface and place in pie pans. Cook according to pie directions OR 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F if you’re saving it for later.

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