I've caught the peanut butter and jam fever.

Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam Stuffed Banana Bread - Vegan

Recipe adapted from here

The other day as I had mentioned I had bought a huge amount of reduced bananas. I love when grocery stores gather the individual bananas and bag them for an incredibly low price. I ended up counting how many I had bought, sixteen. Yes sixteen bananas for the price of $1.49, that's amazing. Well, I had peeled them the other day and stuck them in the freezer. I thought I was going to have them forever, who am I kidding I am a banana fiend, I am now left with only five. Oh well.

This morning I decided to use five of the largest bananas in a vegan banana bread. I have never tried vegan banana bread before, but that wasn't stopping me. I have been so interested in vegan recipes lately, more or less the vegan lifestyle. I mean other than my consumption of some fish here and there I have been very meticulous with what I put in my body. Yes I know fish is certainly an animal, but I'm only eating it once in a blue moon, and everything else I've been reading the labels and trying not to consume it if there are animal products. It's definitely helped me not go crazy on the stockpile of gummy bears they have at the office... haven't even bitten the head off of one bear yet, I'm impressed.

The other day I had bookmarked a recipe for a vegan banana bread recipe, I had looked at a few, but the amount of sugar in them was ridiculous. I found one that wasn't too bad, and it didn't even require vegan butter so I was definitely going to try it out. I went a little crazy and decided to switch up the recipe just a bit, ever since trying peanut butter and jam together I just cannot get enough of it. Yup, I've become so obsessed lately that I'm now sticking it into my banana breads.

This was definitely one of the best banana breads I've ever had. The texture was slightly gummy at first, I have to admit I didn't wait the ten minutes for it to cool down at first, seriously who even listens to those recommendations unless you have to ice something? I certainly don't. I usually end up breaking off a slice or two while the bread is IN the oven, or stealing a cookie the second it has reached the air, or eating cake while it's obviously still runny. I may not eat batter while I'm doing the whole baking process, but once it hits the oven I usually can't wait for the timer to go off, it's a bad habit of mine. This banana bread was so pleasant though. The aroma first off, it was banana heaven. With my Homemade Peanut Butter (which I just made a new batch off, everything is the same minus the coconut + 2 tsp of cinnamon) and raspberry jam stuffed on the inside of the banana bread, it was decadence to a whole new level. I loved this banana bread, it was so simple to make, the only fat in the bread was from the Peanut Butter, and the sugar came from the agave nectar, raspberry jam and less than a teaspoon of coarse sugar. I will surely be making this bread again, especially with my modifications ;). It was definitely a win... by a win I mean a complete, gone within two days because of me, win...

Ingredients:

• 5-6 ripe (spotted brown) bananas
• 6 tbsp agave nectar
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2- 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 heaping tbsp Peanut Butter
• 3 heaping tbsp raspberry jam

Topping:

• Little bit of coarse sugar
• Cinnamon
• 1 banana - chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º. Mash the bananas in a large sized bowl, one that will hold all ingredients. Stir in sugar or agave nectar and vanilla extract.

Make sure the bananas are not still chunky; rather they should turn into a smooth liquid mixture. Add water.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix well, and slowly add to the wet mixture, just enough to be thoroughly wet. Do not over-mix. Pour half the batter into slightly oiled bundt pan, top with peanut butter and raspberry jam, pour the remaining batter. Top with cinnamon, sugar and sliced bananas. Bake for about one hour. Test middle with fork or toothpick to ensure solid texture on the inside.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy with coffee, tea, or anytime!

Vegan Overnight Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam Oats

Recipe by me

I think all the inspiration for the banana loaf came from the breakfast I had... Vegan overnight oats with peanut butter and raspberry jam, told you I'm hooked. I don't even need to tell you how good this is because come on, it's got peanut butter and jam, at this point I'm convinced you can make anything taste good if it's topped with peanut butter and jam! I love this breakfast because you simply prep it the night before, wake up and dive in, it does not get any simpler than that!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/4 scoop peanut butter whey powder
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• Peanut Butter
• Raspberry jam
  

Directions:

Mix all of the above ingredients together, excluding peanut butter and raspberry jam. Cover with saran wrap and let sit in the fridge over night.

In the morning place it in a bowl/cup and layer it between multiple rows of oats, peanut butter and raspberry jam, repeat.