Yumminess: Coconut Banana Bread

hnnnnggghhh

Dense. Moist. Coconut-y. Vegan.

Sign me up!

I know people sometimes get put off when you mention a baking recipe that contains no eggs or butter. But even if you are not vegan… this recipe truly does not disappoint. Seeing as before making my switch to veganism I was quite well-versed in many different types of baked goods that contained eggs and dairy, I am being completely unbiased when I tell you it is worth your attention.

Fuck it. It’s just good. So how about you just make it and eat it. Okay?

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice OR cinnamon
• 1/2 cup shortening (can use margarine as well)
•  cup of brown sugar
• 3 medium bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup almond milk (I used vanilla almond milk; coconut milk works well too)
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the almond milk and vinegar in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Preaheat the oven at 350 degrees. Lightly grease a non-stick loaf/cake 9″x12″pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine together the flour, baking soda, salt and spice.
4. In another bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the banana, vanilla, and milk/vinegar mixture.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Fold in the coconut and stir until just combined.
6. Pour the batter in the pan and bake for about 35-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. (Large range because it REALLY depends on your oven!!)
7. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Then transfer the bread from the pan to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing. (NOTE: this bread is the fucking best if it is left to sit overnight.)
8. Eat entire loaf of banana bread in one sitting, and then repeat steps 1-7.

 

Cookies and Mobility Drills

Hey everyone!

So I missed a couple of days of updates just due to work and life. On my last lower body training session I had a bit of a mishap with a Bulgarian split squat and pulled my glute slightly. Felt pretty fucking awful the first day, but is pretty much 100% now due to my handy foam roller and lots of stretching!

Speaking of stretching, I put together another lower body mobility drill video. And as weird as this shit looks, it’s pretty effective. This is just an example of the exercises I will do before a lower body training session. Shoulder dislocations, fire hydrants, and hip swings are also incorporated but aren’t featured in this video.

 

 

My dog likes to observe me when I am stretching/exercising at home. She thinks I’m crazy.

 

I’ve also been doing a lot of baking this weekend. Probably one of my favorite things to do to unwind. Brownies tonight turned out to be an epic failure due to me not realizing what size pan I had put them in, but the cookies I baked on Saturday turned out marvelous. I may or may not have eaten 75% of the cookies myself.

Yes vegan. Yes chocolatey. Yes fudgey. Yes delicious. Especially right out of the oven – oh baby!!

 

RECIPE:

You could also add walnuts, chocolate chips, coconut, or whatever else you like.

• 1 cup of butter-flavored shortening
• 1 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. of ground flax
• 6 tbsp. water
• 1 1/3 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

    DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease baking sheets (or use non-stick sheets).
2. Mix the ground flax with the water and set aside for 5 minutes to expand.
3. In a large bowl, mix the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flax mixture.
4. Combine the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually stir this into the wet mixture.
5. Finally, fold in whatever you want, or leave as is.
6. Roll and drop onto cookie sheets.

NOTE:

Bake for 8 minutes ONLY. They will appear uncooked at the center, but the set well when they are completely cooled.

Allow to rest on cookie sheets for 4-5 minutes before removing and transferring to wire rack to cool completely.