By Molly Patrick
Jul 3, 2021,
After you crack up from today’s post, we have a Classic Plant Based Banana Bread (Oil-Free) recipe with your name all over it!
Batch cooking is a game-changer for people, especially for people who follow a whole-food plant-based way of eating. I’ve talked a lot about batch cooking on our blog, but today we’re looking at it from another angle.
Have you ever wondered what batching commentary would sound like?
Until Tracy Moore, one of our Meal Plan subscribers, shared all the thoughts that ran through her head as she batch cooked our #Fiesta Meal Plan I never had either.
I was cracking up the whole time I read it. I asked Tracy if I could share this little gem on our blog, and she said she would love it. If you’ve ever batched one of our Meal Plans, you are going to laugh out loud and relate to ALL of it.
Let the #Fiesta meal plan batching commentary begin!
Fiesta is the first full plan I’ve batched in 4 years.
I don’t remember the Prep list…it’s life-changing.
I started feeling healthier when prepping the peppers (2nd item on Prep list).
I do not own a ¼ cup measuring cup. How did this happen? Where did it go?
A sense of overwhelm hit after I finished prepping the garlic. I stopped and breathed, then I dove into prepping the onions.
My go-to line when I began to overthink things was: just keep batching, don’t think, just keep batching. Thank you, Dory and Bull Durham.
Grocery delivery is a game-changer until you accidentally order a 6-lb can of hominy.
I didn’t realize how easy it is to dice a raw sweet potato… either that or I have a bomb-ass knife.
My dry limes took more energy to squeeze than it took me to cut the sweet potatoes.
Was it the onions or the stupid ending of Notting Hill that made me tear up?
Stop wondering how many dishwasher loads it will take to clean up. Some people don’t have a dishwasher.
What happened to my whisk? Where is it??
I licked the bowl after I put the sweet potatoes in the oven. Holy mother of pearl!
I didn’t start sweating till the oven came on.
I ran out of cumin at the quinoa part.
Just keep batching, don’t think, just keep batching.
I love raw cauliflower. It was everything I could do to put it in the oven.
Queso—you Dirty Wizards you. I mean, no words… and I’m full of words!
Doubled the soup! Because, well, I love soup. 99 degrees [Fahrenheit] out with 100% humidity…I’m eating soup. And this soup…crap! It’s…it’s….no words again. You dirty Wizards have magical powers.
I can’t wait to eat tomorrow! I want to eat all of the things.
Does ⅛ teaspoon of anything really make a difference? Just keep batching, don’t think, just keep batching…
That’s a wrap. I’m happy. Only one dishwasher load. Did I mention how much I love soup?
Thank you, CFDG team. I’m so grateful.
Tracy
Tracy!!! Thank you for putting into words what goes through everyone’s head when they batch our Meal Plans, too damn funny!
Can you relate to Tracy’s commentary? Talk to us in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 3½ tablespoons water
- 3½ teaspoons ground flax seeds (10 g)
- 1¾ cups white whole wheat flour (210 g)
- ¾ cup coconut sugar (143 g)
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans (40 g)
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cups mashed banana (410 g)
- 3 tablespoons smooth almond butter (48 g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a 5"x9" loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom and up the two longer sides.
- Place the water and ground flax seeds into a small bowl and stir. Set aside for now.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pecans.
- Place the banana, almond butter, vanilla, and the water/flax seed mixture into your blender and blend until smooth (if you don’t have a high-speed blender, you can use a mixer and beat until smooth).
- Add the banana mixture to the mixing bowl and stir until blended, then transfer the batter to your lined loaf pan.
- Bake until the edges are pulling from the sides and a toothpick stuck into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45–50 minutes.
Notes
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with batching.
Xo
Molly
14 Comments
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Every time I see the long list of teeny spice measurements I too wonder “can 1/8 tsp really make a difference”?
In my world there is no such thing as 1/8 measurement for anything. If it says 1/8 it’s going to get probably closer to 1/2 tsp. LOL. I’m never shy with the seasonings. I love the phrase “Don’t think, just keep batching”. That is EXACTLY what goes through my head when I start to get weary and I’m only just finished the prep and haven’t started cooking yet. I always want to quit at that point. Besides saying the phrase over and over again, I make the hard things first. Then once they are done I feel good and I just have a few easy sauces to make. If I make the sauces first that’s what we are eating for the next week because I’m sure not making any real food that late in the game when my feet hurt, my back hurts, I’m hot, and my husband says “Is that all you’ve got done”. He would never say something like that but my brain says that’s what he’s thinking. Brain “Don’t think, just keep batching”
This recipe looks really good – except I can’t eat the wheat flour. Has it been tested with a gluten free flour, and if so, can you make a substitution recommendation? Thanks so much!
I made this gf by subbing 1 1/4 cup King Arthur’s gf baking flour and 1/2 cup almond meal. It turned out great.
Hi Maggie!
Good news! Molly, who is gluten-free, made this yesterday and this how: she used Bob’s Redmill Gluten-Free all purpose flour at the same ratio as regular flour. She also used date sugar and sifted all the dry ingredients together. You can read more about it here.
Thanks so much for checking us out! You got this!
THIS is golden!!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!
Now to try that banana bread!
Just realized I have running thoughts on EVERYTHING!
And Thank You to Molly! I always go to the ‘crisis thought’.
Started working on that as I read your post?
I’m about to make this recipe with zucchini, because husband doesn’t like bananas. When I get tired of adding spices – I just call it good – I’ve never had a recipe turn out badly because of it.
Enjoyed the email that led me here, loved the blog post, very funny, thank you for the recipe and oh thank you, thank you, CFDG that your recipes always show grams because I find it so much easier to weigh my main ingredients.
This came out AMAZING!!
I tried so many other vegan, plant based banana bread recipe and they were not tasty, this came our perfect. ?
I did not use the pecans, used 1/2 turbinado and organic cane sugars, but everything else as you wrote…
My husband thanks you too!!?
Ha! Thanks so much for sharing this! My top two LOL moments are tied between, “Grocery delivery is a game-changer until you accidentally order a 6-lb can of hominy,” and, “Does ⅛ teaspoon of anything really make a difference?”
This is my all time favorite banana bread recipe! It is moist, flavorful, and incredibly delicious. The recipe was easy to follow, and we loved the almond butter in it. The only changes I made were to use whole wheat pastry flour instead of white whole wheat, and walnuts instead of pecans, because the pecans in our home are lightly salted.
This is now my go-to banana bread recipe.
My bread came out very dry and when I went to blend it I found it to be more of a crumbly mixture
Hi Fran,
We’re so sorry to hear that! It sounds like maybe the ratio of wet to dry ingredients was off. If you want to try it again, I’d recommend weighing your flour rather than using volumetric measurements, if possible. Volumetric measurements (cups, tablespoons) can differ in their accuracy because of inconsistent manufacturing and how packed or loose ingredients are, so weighing is more accurate. You can also add more mashed bananas if the batter seems dry, but go slow so you don’t overcompensate and get a too-wet batter.
If you do try it again, we hope you enjoy,
Stephanie