Summy's Healthy Vegan Banana Bread

Some might think that Healthy and Vegan are two words that automatically go together, but that simply isn't true. There are just as many junk foods and crap in the vegan world that there are in the meat eating world. There are many vegan recipes that really aren't that good for you.

There are even processed foods that are 'accidentally' vegan. For instance, Oreos are vegan. I also read once that Oreos are as addictive to your brain as cocaine. This is super awesome considering they have all of those 'Oreo-fun-flavors' out now. I'm not gonna lie. It kind of makes me sick. Just because it is labeled as vegan, it does not mean that it is nourishment.

Bottom Line? Vegan doesn't always equate to healthy. Some people are vegan for health reasons and the animal/environmental issues are added perks (although, now these are my main reasons to remain vegan). Some people are vegan because animals are awesome and they have to deal with a lot of real crap from homosapians that have developed some sort of 'King of the Jungle' mentality. We may have had to fight for our food at some point, but most of the people that still think we are at the top of the food chain couldn't catch a hog with a spear to save their life, let alone run for more than a minute. (This is my blog, I say what I want.)

I became vegan for health related reasons (read the 'About Me' section) and I was very health conscious prior to my 'vegan-conversion'....but I digress.

I had some left over bananas that were turning brown. Manfriend is out of town and the dogs aren't any help in getting rid of them, so I decided to 'vegan-up' a classic recipe using healthier, vegan alternatives.

Summy's Banana Bread

2 cups flour (you can use whatever kind you like - EVEN gluten free or oat)
1 tsp baking soda (again, you can use gluten free)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup pure coconut sugar cane
2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
6 Tbsp water
2 1/3 cup mashed overripe bananas (approximately 3 ripe bananas - or maybe that is what I had)
3 pieces of raw chocolate, chopped to small squares (*optional, I used Go Raw Original Chocolates)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9x5 inch bread loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.

In another bowl mix the applesauce and coconut sugar. Stir in the flaxseed, water and mashed bananas.

Mix the two bowls to moisten the dry ingredients. Add the chocolate squares.

Bake in a preheated oven for 50 to 55 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

Here is the raw chocolate I used.

There is also a mint one. The link is above in red. These things are to die for. If you can't read the top of the package, these chocolates are vegan, gluten free, dairy free, nut free and soy free. If you were to change the baking soda and flour to gluten free, then this entire recipe would be vegan and gluten free! Tah-dah!