No Sugar Banana Bread

I've been working on cutting out sugar this year, so my baking tools have been collecting dust. Until Friday, that is, when I saw some sad, over-ripe bananas sitting on the kitchen counter, asking to be made into banana bread. I'm not sure why they weren't asking to be frozen for smoothies, but they just weren't.

I'd been wanting to experiment a little with dates, so I figured that this was the perfect time. This recipe is adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen, and the whole family agreed that it turned out great!

No Sugar Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup Earth Balance
3 very ripe bananas (mashed)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the vinegar into the almond milk, and set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt.

4. Combine almond milk mixture and dates in a blender, and process until smooth.

5. Cream the Earth Balance until smooth, then add the milk/date mixture, bananas and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

6. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix well.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

It seems that chia may be my new obsession - and I only tried it for the first time today. Actually, it was the second time, but I'm choosing to forget my first chia experience because it was terrible. (In my opinion, there are certain places that chia doesn't belong - and kombucha is definitely one of them.)

Putting that experience behind me, I decided to give chia another try after reading about chia breakfast porridge on my friend Gretchen's blog. I winged it with my own porridge recipe (coming soon!) this morning  but will be trying hers tomorrow for the kids.

Tonight, I still couldn't get chia off my mind, and I kept thinking that it would make a pretty good pudding. Turns out that it does! Keep in mind that I haven't had any traditional type of pudding in years, so my "pretty good" is coming from a different point of view. If your kids are used to Jello pudding, this one probably won't cut it. Mine thought it was great though, and I love that they're eating something healthy and thinking it's dessert!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
4 fresh dates

Directions:
Mix together almond milk, chia seeds, vanilla extract and cocoa powder, and set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes (longer is fine). Pour chia mixture into a strong blender or food processor, add dates and process until very smooth. Served chilled.

Fabulous Juice Recipes at Join the Reboot

It's no secret that we love our fresh juice around here! And while I typically stick with a basic green juice, I've started getting a little more adventurous. Last week, following a field trip to the citrus farm, I made Green O.J. (oranges and kale) for the kids, along with a grapefruit / sweet potato / golden beet combo.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to find an entire section of juice recipes while exploring Join the Reboot recently. I made the Gazpacho Juice (really good!) yesterday and will be stocking up on ingredients for several others (including the Cinnamon Apple & Butternut Squash Juice) this week. Whether you're new to juicing or just looking for new recipes to try, there is definitely something (or probably a dozen "somethings") for everyone there.

What's for Dinner Wednesday - Chardonnay Fettuccine with Asparagus

Seems like it's been forever since we tried a new recipe. Our new meal plan - even though I haven't been sharing it as regularly as I'd hoped - keeps us cycling through a rotation of family favorites. But this recipe for Chardonnay Fettuccine with Asparagus from a recent Vegetarian Times looked too good not to sneak into the rotation.

Turns out that it didn't disappoint, producing a sauce that was pretty similar to my cashew cream sauce but with the addition of Chardonnay. Genius! I omitted a lot of the pepper (the Sprouts aren't big on spice - plus, I ran out) and added a bit more salt and nutritional yeast. The name is actually a bit misleading . . . there's actually plenty of spinach and red pepper packed in with the asparagus, so it didn't feel at all skimpy on the veggies.

To make it feed our family of four (the recipe serves two), I doubled the pasta and sauce and quadrupled the vegetables. It was a winner all around and will definitely be finding a regular home in our meal plan!

Meal Plan Monday - Week 3 of 13

Well, the first two weeks of my 13-week meal plan went so smoothly that I couldn't expect it to last forever. We had two main glitches this week:

1. My soup on Tuesday turned out - well, let's just say it wasn't anybody's favorite. It was my first time making it, and it sure sounded like a winner. But, sadly, it is not and I'll be replacing it in the next rotation.

2. Lentil loaf and the OMG Onion Rings from Appetite for Reduction are two family favorites and go great together as a meal. Unfortunately, they're also both a major ordeal to make and I've decided that for the sake of my sanity, they will no longer be made on the same night. It probably didn't help that they were on the menu on a day that started at 7AM and never stopped. Next time around, I'll be pairing the lentil loaf with broccoli and a simple salad and adding the onion rings to some type of veggie plate.

Other than that, we're still enjoying the benefits of the pre-planning! Here's what we ate for Week 3:

Monday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	Everyday chickpea & quinoa salad
	Snack	Trail mix
	Dinner	Veggie sandwiches; fruit
Tuesday	Breakfast	Toast with peanut butter & banana
	Lunch	Tofu salad on green salad
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Arborio rice & white bean soup; salad
Wednesday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Leftover soup & salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Lentil loaf, OMG onion rings, salad
Thursday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	PJ&B with raw veggies & fruit
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Mediterranean salad
Friday	Breakfast	Apple with peanut butter
	Lunch	Chickpea salad over green salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pasta with broccoli, tomatoes & walnuts
Saturday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Veggie sandwich; trail mix
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Out or Leftovers
Sunday	Breakfast	Green smoothie & fruit
	Lunch	Cashew cheese log with raw veggies & crackers
	Snack	Apple with peanut butter
	Dinner	Tofu scramble with spinach; potatoes

Meal Plan Monday - Week 2 of 13

So far, so good with the 13-week meal plan. We've still been happy with all our meals and have followed the plan with minimal variation. The only issue from this week is that my Publix no longer carries Garden of Eatin' taco shells (or any version that doesn't have junk in them) so we had to skip the tacos since I didn't have time to run to Whole Foods.

I should mention that we usually end up having lunch out about once a week, but I try to plan it on a day where our lunch ingredients will carry over to the following week. Also, I generally have juice for breakfast, so what's on my meal plan is what the kids eat (and they usually have a little juice, too).


Here it is . . . Week 2.

Monday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	Everyday chickpea & quinoa salad
	Snack	Trail mix
	Dinner	Santa Fe veggie wrap; fruit
Tuesday	Breakfast	Toast with pb & banana
	Lunch	Tofu salad on green salad
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Carrot bisque; salad
Wednesday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Leftover soup & salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Sweet & sour rice, veggies & Gardein
Thursday	Breakfast	Yogurt parfait
	Lunch	PJ&B with raw veggies & fruit
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Roasted root veggies & kale salad
Friday	Breakfast	Apple with pb
	Lunch	Chickpea salad over green salad
	Snack	Raw veggies & dip
	Dinner	Pasta with sausage & peppers
Saturday	Breakfast	Cereal & fruit
	Lunch	Veggie sandwich; trail mix
	Snack	Green smoothie
	Dinner	Out or Leftovers
Sunday	Breakfast	Green smoothie & fruit
	Lunch	Cashew cheese log with veggies & crackers
	Snack	Apple with peanut butter
	Dinner	Tacos (rice, beans, veggies)

The Daily Dose - Day 6