PINEAPPLE COCONUT BANANA BREAD

I have a love for moist delicious banana bread. Some times I want the classic and sometimes I like to be a little extra, and add things. This Pinapple Cocount Banana Bread is just the extra I need. It's reminsent of a humming bird cake thats is super popular in South where I'm from. This is a lighter version that still hits every note that your looking for in Banana Bread. Let's get to it.


Ingredients
- 2 cups flour All purpose or Spelt flour (my favorite brand)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (Ceylon is my favorite)
- 2 mashed banana
- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup organic brown sugar, coconut sugar, organic cane sugar
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice (I use the juice from the canned pineapple)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
- 1/4-1/2 cup chopped pecans or choice of nuts (I use 1/4) (Optional)
- 1/4 -1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (Optional)


Instructions

- In a large mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon
- In another bowl mash bananas, add brown sugar, pineapple juice, apple sauce, maple syrup, vanilla extract, add the chopped pineapple, pecan, unsweetened shredded coconut, mix well.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until you no longer see flour, make sure to scrap to the bottom. Do not over mix that will make the bread tough.
-I top mine with a little extra shredded coconut and chopped pecans. If adding loosely cover after 30 minutes so the Cocount and Pecans don't burn.
- Bake in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes depends on your oven (mine took 55 mins), or 22-25 mins for muffins, until skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
Enjoy!

Pineapple Coconut Banana Muffins

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Watch the What we eat in a day video 

see how much the kids like the Pineapple Coconut Banana Bread

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11 EASY VEGAN VALENTINE'S DAY RECIPES

Whether you are making breakfast in bed for your love, or your kids. Having a sweet lunch date, or a romanic dinner, these are tried and true dishes are easy to prepare, but seem like you spent WAY to much time in the kitchen, shhhh I wont tell if you don't, haha. I'll be making some of these for my family on Valentine's Day. I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day and treat yourself with the same amount of love you are giving to others, because YOU deserve it! MUCH LOVE~ Des!

BREAKFAST-

Oat pancakes These pancakes are easy even on a weekday. 

Breakfast Sausage We always have sausage in the freezer ready to heat up for any special occasion when you want to seem like your going that extra mile without much work involved.

LUNCH-
Creamy Baked Pasta can be prepped the night before. Make the sauce and pasta put in the oven safe dish cover and pop in the fridge. When your ready to bake top with bread crumbs and pop it in the oven. I'll be really honest... it's delicious without the bread crumbs and extra step of baking.

Asian Noodle Bowl with Baked Tofu is a great lunch super fast to make.

DINNER- 
Vegan Crab Cakes are a show stopper! They are unbelievably delicious but again so easy to pull together.

Or this Chickpea Loaf is so filling and comforting. You can get this ready for the oven the night before too!

Lasagna is always a great idea for special occasions.

Lasagna Soup If you don't have time to make this Lasagna and bake it make this.

Potato Broccoli Soup Cozy up next to a fire or a movie and eat this amazing.

DESSERT- 
Chocolate Cake this is such an easy cake that literally takes no time and you probably have everything you need on hand.

Chocolate Chip Cookies are something that we take when our kids need to have options and share with others so if you or your kids are having a Valentine' day party make these and everyone will thank you!

VEGAN BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

Buttermilk Biscuits are the perfect addition to almost any meal.
These are so easy a totally delicious.  It's takes me back to those Sunday mornings when my mom would make a huge breakfast spread because our family would come over almost every Sunday.  The smell of gravy simmer in the pan and biscuits baking, er burning, and my dad yelling from the living room "The biscuits are burning!" She passed that "wonderful" trait down to me, it's one I'm not too fond of, haha. My friend said to last night she thought biscuits were thing of the past. I'm so glad to say they are not!!! They are a thing of right now, that you can have on your table in no time flat!

Biscuits and Gravy

I'll admit this is our favorite way to have these golden beauties, smothered with this Amazing White Gravy or have them with breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, the time to have these is really ANYTIME for any reason!




Here's what you need:

4 Cups of Flour (Unbleached All purpose or Whole Wheat Pastry are the only ones I've used and they both work great)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt (optional)
1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 cup Plant milk (I use Almond milk)
2 teaspoons Vinegar (I use white)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Make the plant buttermilk by adding the vinegar to your plant milk of choice, set aside
Place the flour, baking powder and salt (optional) in a large bowl wisk to combine. 

This is after the Applesauce has been "cut in" to the Flour

Add the applesauce, mix with a fork or a pastry cutter until the applesauce mostly combined and looks like the picture to the left. it's like "crumbles". 
Pour in the (Plant) buttermilk and stir just until the dough comes together. DO NOT OVER MIX. Your biscuit will be tough and bricks if you over mix.

Using a large table spoon drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto baking tray and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. 






I have a couple left over biscuits, that I'm about to devour with blackberry jam.... Follow me on Instagram @theplanteaters and Facebook and we'll share our favorite ways to top these golden girls, haha.

Enjoy and MUCH LOVE ~ Des!

Here's the recipe video, it's helpful to see the process so I highly recommend watching it. Plus you can see what the family thinks about it.

*any links to products are purchased and not sponsored, the link is my affiliate link and if you do click or buy it helps us with no additional cost to you.

EASY VEGAN CORNBREAD

We are from the South, so corn bread has always been a family favorite. Growing up I can remember my grandma making beans and corn bread. I make both now and it brings back such wonderful memories. Smelling this baking is like time traveling back to her table. She loved feeding people, I get that same joy when I feeding people. She taught me so much about cooking, I know she would be proud of this version that is healthy and delicious.

Here's the recipe video if you're interested in seeing how it's made.

Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper, no oil or spry required!
In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour of choice even gluten free all purpose ( I used whole wheat pastry)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt (optional)

In a liquid measuring cup add
1 cup unsweetened plant milk (I used almond)
2 teaspoons vinegar (I used white)
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions
Add dry ingredients together into a large bowl and mix thoroughly, add liquid to dry and mix just until combined.
Pour batter into a parchment lined pan, or muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let it rest for 5 mins before cutting, or flipping onto a serving plate.
Enjoy!

STICKY PECAN MONKEY BREAD

For this recipe we'll use our Favorite Dough from the fridge that has been patiently waiting for it's delicious destination, to become this Sticky Pecan Monkey bread, all the "dough boys" wish they could become be this OOEY GOOEY STICKY GOODNESS!

To get started, grab the dough out of the fridge. I'll be honest, I like to make this recipe when I'm down to the last portion of the dough. It seems easier to scoop the dough out of the container. That way I don't worry about popping all the gas bubbles, in the other portions. If you want to make this before you've come to the end of the batch (I don't blame you one bit, haha). Just pull out about 1 lb. of the dough and put it in a bowl, don't worry about "working" it into a "loaf", since we are scooping balls out. 

Pre-heat your oven to 375°f. Line the bottom of a glass 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. No need to spray or grease it, the parchment paper works so good!

Sticky gooey nuttiness...

Sticky Pecan mixture:
In a bowl combine

1 cup chopped Pecan

1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of coconut sugar or brown sugar, or your sugar of choice. (I use maple syrup to keep this oil free and the flavor is amazing with pecans)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Mix well add to the baking dish.

Cinnamon Sugar coating:
In another bowl, or in the rinsed and dried bowl you already used...

Mix 1/4 cup of coconut sugar (or your preferred sugar)

2 teaspoons of cinnamon (more or less to taste)

Using a mini ice cream scoop or a Tablespoon, scoop out a few balls of dough and add to the cinnamon sugar toss to coat. 

Before baking, single layer of sugary dough balls

Add the coated dough balls in a single layer to cover the pecans, they should be touching and they will rise a little as you continue to fill the baking dish. Bake on a parchment lined sheet tray incase of overflow. 
Bake at 375°f For 25-30 mins or until the center ball is cooked through. Let cool of 5-10 mins until inverting onto a large dish or cutting board.
Enjoy! 

After baking and inverting SOOO BEAUTIFUL! 

Your family will thank you!

HOMEMADE YEAST DOUGH, ENDLESS OPTIONS?!

This dough has CHANGED MY LIFE! I always thought making bread was so hard and all that kneading... no thank you! Until, I came across Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day on the back of my favorite bag of flour, Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose, of all places. 

So if you pick up a bag of Gold Medal flour you'll see the recipe that inspired all of these delicious NOMS! 


I do make my "Master" batch a little different then the back of the bag. You can watch the video on how I pull it all together, and the technique on how to form the Artisan "loaf".

Here's what you need:
1 scant tablespoon granulated yeast (you can increase to 1 1/2 Tablespoons if you prefer a faster rising dough)

1 scant Tablespoon sea salt or other course salt (adjust to your taste)

3 cups (1.5 lbs.) lukewarm water

6 1/2 cups (2 lbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour

Here's what you do:

Mix in a food-safe bucket (that fits your fridge), let it rise at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours, then into the refrigerator for up to 14 days. When you want fresh bread or any other of the yumminess that's below, just flour the surface where you are going to "tear off" about 1 lb. or the size of a grapefruit of dough, shape, rest, and bake.

Preheat your oven to the highest setting, I use my broiler. Preheat after you shape your dough, and while it is resting. After 10-15 mins of resting, flour a sharp knife and "slash" the surface of the dough on top. This helps the moisture to expand so your bread has a nice artisan shape. If you want to add seeds and/or nuts to the top, brush water on the top of the dough, then add them to the moisten top. Drop the heat to 450°f and bake for 30 mins. 

For the Pizza Crust:
When making pizza tear off the appropriate amount of dough, for a small personal size pizza I use a kitchen scale and measure about .5 to .6 in lbs. For a large pizza I use 1 lb. roll the dough to fit your pan. Top with your favorite toppings and bake until the crust is to your liking, I bake for about 20-25 mins. 

You will not be disappointed in the wonder versatile dough! Try it, and let me know what you think about it? I will forever make my own bread now. I'm on a mission to make a whole wheat version... let the testing begin!

Much Love my sweet friend ~ Des!

Another recipe that is a must try with the dough.... Thank me later :) 

Pecan Sticky Monkey Bread