Vegan Blueberry-Banana Bread

Yesterday, I made this Betty Crocker bread but "veganized" it. The bread taste fabulous! Here's what I did:

Ingredients

Olive Oil to grease pan
4 very ripe medium bananas
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegan Smart Balance, softened
2 servings Ener-G egg replacers
1/2 Silk PureAlmond Milk--Vanilla
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen (or you can use fresh, as long as you do not use thawed) blueberries

Recipe

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pan(s) will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and side of pan with olive oil. I used just one large pan, as shown, to make my bread just under 1 1/2 inches in height. Use whatever size pan you want. The Betty Crocker recipe called for 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches. I prefer to make flater breads so it is cooked throughly in the middle.

Peel bananas and place in medium bowl. Mash bananas with a potato masher or fork.

In a large bowl, stir the sugar and vegan Smart Balance "butter" until well mixed. Stir in the Ener-G egg replacers until well mixed. Stir in the bananas, almond milk, and vanilla; mix until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in blueberries.

Divide batter evenly if using two pans, using a spatula to scrape batter from bowl. Smooth top of batter.

Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My bread was ready in 55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan(s) on a cooling rack.

Loosen the sides of the bread from each pan if necessary, using a spatula. I placed the cooling rack on top of the bread (with bread still in the pan), then turned the bread upside down on the rack. Then I used another cooling rack, placing on top of the bread so the bread was now in between the two racks, turning the bread again sandwiched bewteen the racks so now the bread is top-side up on one cooling rack, to cool it faster.

Cool completely, which is about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Enjoy!

A Vegan Ostara and Easter

Ostara is a symbol of fertility but many pagans use actual animal eggs for potlucks, rituals, spells, and art. But you can make your Ostara--or Easter--celebration much better and cruelty--free vegan:


For potlucks, look into any of the egg-free alternatives for egg dishes. You can find the cruelty-free products at health food stores like Whole Foods. The brand Ener-G Replacer is a great egg substitute for any egg dish. Tofu scramble is good too.

Tie-dyeing is terrific for adults and kids! Use cruelty-free ingredients to dye altar cloths, ritual cloaks, and anything else you want dyed instead of buying and dying eggs. 

For Easter hunts, have children look for plastic eggs that might be painted or contain hidden treasures. Buying bags of the plastic eggs may not be eco-friendly, but if you get those, using them over and over every year is still much better on the environment than real factory-farmed eggs, plus no harm done to animals.

The little plastic eggs are also great for spells and majick. Make a charm by putting spell scrolls, stones, and herbs in them, charge them, and hang them on trees outside your house, or indoors in some prominent place.


Ostara and Easter is a wonderful time to plant herbs, foods, and flowers. 

For vegan Ostara and Easter recipes, check out these links:

The Ostara Feast

Ostara tea sandwiches

Orange Carrot Cupcakes

Spring has Sprung, Ostara and Vegan Cadbury Cream Eggs!

Happy Ostara or 1st Day of Spring!

Re: [pagan and vegan] Ostara Recipes

Vegan Easter Brunch - Thirty Recipe Ideas!

Vegan Easter Candy

Celebrate Easter the Vegan Way

Raw Vegan Easter Recipe

Vegan Easter Recipes | Care2 Healthy Living

Vegan Easter Recipes