Thank Bananas It's Friday

Banana Project:

It started as a joke by friends and family. Every recipe I made seemed to contain banana's.   When my IBS related Food Intolerances became worse, I had to give up all dairy along with other foods.  

Shopping and having to read every ingredients labels got depressing.  So I decided to make my own meals and snacks from scratch.  Food became fun again, and eating less stressful.  

Most of the dairy free recipes I found on the Internet, where also vegan.  It also just so happened that banana was often used as an egg substitute.  

It also appealed to my sense of humour......  Maybe it's just a Scottish thing.  But as someone that mental health problems, being bananas about bananas just seemed appropriate.  

Whether you are living with IBS or mental health problems, you've got to keep your sense of humour.  


First Recipe:

- Sweet potato & Banana Empanada

The nights are getting shorter and a lot colder as September approaches.  Well this is Scotland.......    Cold nights always have me craving Comfort food and what could be more comforting than Pies.  

I love empanada's or pocket pies, their individual portions make them the perfect portable snack.  There also really easy to make.

I used a pre-made rolled out short crust pastry, that I knew was dairy free.  For the filling I  roasted a sweet potato.  Once it was cooked and cooled, I mixed in the mashed banana with a little vegan butter.  Since cinnamon goes great with both banana and sweet potato I added some in.  

Cut the Pre-made shortcrust pastry into 4 squares.  Fill the middle of each square with the filling and fold over the pastry.  Use a fork to seal the edges, place on a greaseproof lined baking tray and cook in your oven for about 20 Min's.  

My pies turned out a little on the large size. So instead of making them dessert, it turned into the main meal.   I served mine with some lovely Dairy free Custard.  

If you like your pies on the sweet side, you could always add sugar to the filling mix.  

Another version I found while surfing the net is - Banana & peanut butter pies. To make the filling spread your pastry with peanut butter.  Then cover 1/2 with sliced banana and top with dairy free chocolate chips.  



Second Recipe:


- Banana nut Cornbread

When I made my Banana gingerbread I swapped  mashed banana for the apple sauce in the recipe.  So when I couldn't find a recipe I liked I adapted this Cornbread Recipe from Vegweb.com.  

(Vegweb.com -Brilliant web site, check it out if you haven't already)

Since I had some mixed chopped fruit and nuts in my baking cupboard, I added some to the recipe as well.   My last attempt at cornbread wasn't very successful, but this one turned out great.  I loved the combination of the banana with the fruit and nuts.  

Cornbread like scones, can be a little dry if eaten on their own.  They really need a little vegan butter or jam.  They would be great for breakfast or brunch.  

Only 4 more months till the end of the banana project.  Iv got to say surprisingly most of the recipes have turned out pretty well.  While some just needed a little tweek. 

One recipe I won't be making again is the peanut butter and banana porridge.  Some foods just don't really belong together   xxxx