This weekend, my Mom, sister-in-law, and nephew took our biannual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania for outlet shopping. It’s a tradition that my Mom and I have been doing since I was a small baby and I definitely look forward to it every time.
By the end of the day, I had driven through 3 states and the District of Columbia just to find some bargains. But it’s worth it since Pennsylvania doesn’t charge sales tax on clothes---the number one reason why we go there.
While we are stuck in the car, we usually take the time to catch up (funny since really I talk to my Mom every day but somehow there’s always more to talk about). My nephew usually spends the ride telling hilarious made up stories, like the time he saw Santa Claus during his first Christmas (he was 4 months old) and the new reindeer on Santa’s sleigh called Ritzen (don’t ask how we started talking about Christmas in April).
With all this talking and laughing, we usually work up quite an appetite. To ease the hunger pains, I decided I would bake something and bring it along.
Luckily—or not so luckily, I had gotten too many bananas at the store last week and had several that were getting too ripe. So I decided to be resourceful and try my hand at making a healthier version of banana bread.
This version is vegan—I’ve gone on anti-dairy kick lately—but you can add 2 eggs if you like (just remove the vinegar and cut back the baking soda by 2 teaspoons).
I also added blueberries and hazelnuts to give the bread a little extra kick. Feel free to replace the hazelnuts with another kind of nut—walnuts or almonds would be a great replacement.
But most of all, make sure to enjoy your banana bread over a conversation with a seven year old about Christmas in April—it will make the experience just that much sweeter.
Vegan Blueberry Banana BreadIngredients:· 2 cups white whole wheat flour· 3 teaspoons of baking soda· 1/4 teaspoon salt· 1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce· 1/4 cup agave· 1/4 cup raw sugar· 3 overripe bananas· 1 cup blueberries· 1 teaspoon vanilla· 1/2 cup nuts (I used hazelnuts)· 2 tablespoons vinegar· 1 teaspoon cinnamon· 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Method:
Your first step should be to roast whatever nuts you have decided to use. I like to turn my oven up to 400 degrees and let the nuts toast while I’m mixing up the rest of my ingredients.Add your 1/2 cup of nuts to a pan and put them in the oven to roast.
While the nuts are roasting, in a large bowl, unpeel your bananas and mash them with a fork until smooth.
Then add the rest of your wet ingredients (applesauce, agave, sugar, bananas, vanilla, and vinegar) to the bowl and mix together until the sugar dissolves.
In a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg).
Now, add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir until combine. 
You will notice that as soon as the vinegar and baking soda come into contact the mixture will instantly rise and become fluffy, making sure that you don’t over mix and kill the fluffiness.
Now remove your nuts from the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
Chop the nuts into bite size pieces and add them to your mixture. You should also add your blueberries at this time. If you decide to use frozen blueberries, make sure not to remove them from the freezer until right before you add them to your mixture. 
Now fold the nuts and blueberries into your mixture. 
You can now add the completed mixture to your 9 X 5 bread pan. Make sure to give it a coat of nonstick spray first.
Place your bread pan in the oven for 60 minutes.
Once it’s finished baking, allow the bread to cool completely before you slice it.
I love that this recipe relies on the bananas and blueberries to give the bread its sweetness.
Giving the bread a sweet note without making your teeth ache.
The bananas and the applesauce also provide incredible moisture to this bread making it melt in your mouth.
Then again, everything tastes delicious when it’s enjoyed in the company of your family.
