Vegan Banana Bread

This vegan banana bread recipe turns out a delicious, moist loaf.  It's a great choice to take to potlucks or to share with non-vegan friends!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• Vegan replacement for 3 eggs (1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbs. water = 1 egg.)
• 1/3 cup soy buttermilk (Mix 1 tsp. white vinegar into 1/3 cup soy milk.)
•  1/2 cup nuts or other add-ins (OPTIONAL)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the bananas, oil and buttermilk in a separate bowl.
Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Next, add the egg replacement mixture to the bowl and stir thoroughly.
Last, add nuts, if using.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Feel free to experiment with your own add-ins for this recipe.  I hope you enjoy the banana bread as much as we do!

Please Don't Kill the Dandelions!

Have you driven by a field this spring and enjoyed the bright yellow dandelion carpet? Or watched a toddler gleefully blow the powder puff of seeds into the air?  When did the dandelion become a weed that needed to be eradicated from our lawns at all costs?  What if we still had that childlike perception of its natural beauty as a wildflower?  Maybe we could save ourselves the cost, both financially and ecologically, of toxic lawn chemicals.  At my house, we have done just that.  Nothing goes on our lawn unless it's organic.  At the moment, that means nothing goes on our lawn at all.  But many of our neighbors still spray chemicals, polluting the ground water supply and exposing children and pets to the toxins, not to mention the wildlife.  When they were younger, I had our children stay in our yard on the days the neighbors' lawns were sprayed.  We have often had a pet guinea pig who would have loved nothing better than to munch on fresh dandelion leaves.  But it was too risky.  Now you might be wondering if we are one of those families whose lawn brings down property values.  Actually, not at all.  We keep it mown so the spent dandelion stalks are kept in check, and we enjoy our bright yellow wildflowers when they bloom.  What do you think?  I'd love to hear your feedback.

Random Acts of "Green"

You've heard of random acts of kindness.  How about random acts of "green?"  I'll admit that most of my eco-friendly choices are planned.  Many are even researched.  But I think opportunities abound for spontaneous green decisions, too.  Say you're waiting to pick up your child at school and someone leaves an empty plastic water bottle on the ground.  You could leave it there for the janitor to throw away or you could be impulsively green and take it home with you to recycle. You can do the same thing when you're walking the dog or jogging through the neighborhood.  Paper seems to end up everywhere, and that's so easy to recycle!

You might need to change your mind set to take ownership of the eco-choice at hand.  Resist the urge to let someone else take care of it and actually do it yourself!  And if someone else sees you, all the better, because positive actions tend to be contagious.  The person who sees you picking up a pop can one day might do the same thing the next day, and hopefully, the chain continues.  This is especially true for children, and what a simple but effective way to model eco-conscious living for them!   Give it a try and share your experiences.  I'd love to hear your ideas!