Banana Milk // Vegan & Gluten Free

I think I might be the only adult I know obsessed with all things having to do with fun drinks! Well…not the fun alcoholic drinks, more like the fun drinks you might have had when you were a kid! I am talking strawberry milk, chocolate milk, Mint Matcha, milkshakes, etc. Anything sweet and sippable makes me happy, so when I realized that I hadn’t made you guys banana milk I had to get to it!

This is a recipe my sisters now husband and then-boyfriend taught me how to make. Unlike my husband, he is a fellow banana appreciating human beings and knows what’s up. In high school, we would go to his house to hang out and eat good food. One day While deciding on a snack Connor out of nowhere starts blending banana and milk together, that’s it! Nothing fancy, he even scoffed at me adding cinnamon, but can you blame me? What better in banana milk then cinnamon!

However you like it, this is a fun and simple way to enjoy something cool and refreshing and helps to keep things interesting while in quarantine…

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana*

• 2 cups Almond or oat milk

• 1/4th tsp allspice or cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. In a blender, combine all of your ingredients and blend on high until fully blended.

2. Pour into a glass, sip, and enjoy!

   *You can Instead use a ripe banana and a few ice cubes if you don’t have frozen bananas on hand!

Don’t Forget to PIN IT!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Double chocolate banana bread was the only reason I was excited this morning. It’s not that I lead a miserable life and need baked goods to pull me out of bed, it’s the fact that my dreams and lack of sleep were enough to put a damper on this morning. When I say dreams I don’t mean the half remembered, barely anything to talk about dreams. This was a full on Sobbing with real tears, scaring my husband type of moment that left us both confused and and tired.

I have been listening to a lot of Jane Austin books on Audible, which has been great until last night... I dreamed that my little sister and I were the eldest in a family of several children. We were definitley poor and in need of assistance. I visited a wealthy family and they seemed nice enough, but also game me a bad vibe. At a party that evening I saw my sister sneak off and hop on their yacht and sail off into the night, I was furious, how could she leave me?

I stayed up all night waiting for her (even in my dreams I don’t rest), and when they got back I made a lame excutse as to why i was creepily waiting in their driveway. My sister was okay, but when I tried to urge her to come home, the wife told me that they wanted to keep my sister forver. I ran away sobbing and distraught, and that ques me waking up Daniel and soaking my sleep mask in tears.

Like I said though, I had Double Chocolate banana bread waiting for me in the fridge. Thankfully this brought e to life once again and I was able to write this blog post just for you. SO with that, let’s get into baking this bad boy!

I decided to make this Double Chocolate Banana bread with a pancake mix because of my lack of correct flours in the pantry and my detest for running to the store for one item…ever since the whole walk this way down the lane and everyone being stressed out in a small place, grocery shopping just isn’t the same.

Anyway, I used The Ancient grain pancake mix by Purely Elizabeth because it’s what I had on hand, not because this is a sponsored or paid post! The beauty of using a pancake mix, is that you don’t have to source a bunch of gluten free flours or worry about getting the ratio correct, because it’s already done for you!

I added in the oats and cocoa powder because I wanted to make sure the bread ended up with a heartier texture, closer to bread then a pancake which worked out perfectly!

I decided to use cacao nibs because for #1 I didn’t want to go to the store, and #2 I didn’t want to add in a ton of extra sugar to this recipe. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate chips, but the addition of cacao nibs to this bread helped it reach that next level taste. The carimalization of the banana met the bitterness of the cacao and it made a perfect combination!

SO here is your perfectly baked, fluffy and simple, gluten free and dairy free, Double Chocolate Banana Bread!

Ingredients

·         2 medium ripe banana

·         1/3rd cup Almond Milk

·         1 Tbsp. avocado oil

·         2 Tbsp. agave

·         4 eggs

·         2 cups Purely Elizabeth pancake mix

·         1/4th cup cocoa powder

·         1/4th cup oats

·         1/3rd cup cacao nibs

Directions

Preheat the over to 350F

In a large bowl add in the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.

Add in the pancake mix and fold together until well combined but not fully combined.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and oats and then fold in the cacao nibs.

line a bread pan with parchment paper and spray with coconut oil. Pour in the mixture until about 1/2 inch from the top.

Slice a banana in half and place on top with extra cacao nibs.

Place in the oven for 50-60 minutes, making sure when you stick a knife in the bread it comes out clean.

Note** Initially I used a smaller bread pan & had some leftover for mini Muffins, so if you have any leftover feel free to bake into muffin form, making sure to reduce the baking time to about 20 to 25 minutes.

Slice a banana in half and place on top of the mixture in the pan.

Let cool & enjoy immediately or store in the fridge

Dairy Free & Gluten Free Banana Cream Pie

I was watching a show the other week and they began to discuss pies. Specifically how bad American pies are, and I have to say it left me a little upset. So upset that I made a pie, ate it and then felt satisfied in knowing that American pies are indeed delicious!

Now, this pie is a little different because I can’t have dairy or gluten, but I have to say it was not that far off! The banana cream layer was a perfect consistency and tasted exactly how a banana cream pie should taste, without any of the fake tasting pudding stuff, this was the real deal!

The crust was something I wanted to present as baked. I have done raw vegan crusts and honestly you could even make this a no-bake crust with a little more honey, BUT I wanted this pie to be so close I wouldn't feel like I was eating something like a pie, I wanted it to be a real pie. So I baked the crust and Man oh Man was it worth it. It offered the perfect texture, tasting almost like a graham cracker!

The filling I felt like going half and a half with homemade ingredients was good enough as well because I wanted this to give you the experience of a real pie. Thankfully my local grocer carries dairy-free whipped cream! I used this as the second layer. Just make sure when you are serving the pie that you put this on right before serving as it can deflate a bit. If you have this issue, spread the whipped cream around and call it a day.

So with all this explained and talked about, let’s get to the details!

Banana Cream Pie

Crust

1 & 1/4th oat flour

1/3rd cup cold coconut oil

3 tbsp. flax meal

2 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. water  

Pinch of salt

Directions 

Set the oven to 350F

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until combined.

Roll the dough into a ball and place in a 9” pie plate.

Spread the dough evenly in the plate and then bake for 20-22 minutes. The edges should be brown.  

Let cool

Filling

1 cup soaked cashews  

1/2 cup coconut cream

2 large banana

1/4th cup honey

2 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of salt  

2 tsp. lemon juice  

Directions

Soak your cashews in Hot water for about 15 minutes.  

Blend together all the ingredients until smooth and then refrigerate until pie crust has cooled

Once cool pour filling into pie crust and add a layer of bananas, top with whipped cream, more bananas and whatever else to make it look real pretty for your guests!!  

serve & enjoy!