Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Today's #recipeoftheday is traditional banana bread with the addition of very dark chocolate and chia seeds! A piece of this, paired with a strong cup of coffee, its perfection:)  By upping the amount of bananas in this recipe I was able to reduce the amount of coconut sugar leaving it perfectly sweet.  Theres no need to use a mixer, the batter comes together easily with a whisk. Oat flour can be hard to find in some areas, so pulsing some rolled oats in a blender or food processor will give you the same thing! To make this vegan you could use #flax eggs, and use unsweetened almond milk. To make this not gluten free use a whole grain baking mix.

Dry Ingredients:
-1 cup oat flour
-1 cup GF baking mix (I use #PamelasProducts)
-1/4 cup rolled oats
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder

Combine all dry ingredients into a small bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl add eggs, olive oil, sugar, vanilla, and molasses and whisk well. Add the 3 bananas and combine well. Start adding the dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the 1/3 cup milk. Lastly add in 1/2 of an 85% cocoa chocolate bar, chopped. Distribute evenly throughout batter. Pour batter into a sprayed 9x5x2 pan (normal sweet bread pan) and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when stuck in the middle!

Wet:
-2 large eggs
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/3 cup coconut sugar
-3 large ripe bananas
-2 tbs blackstrap molasses
-1 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1/3 cup skim milk or unsweetened almond milk

Garden Goodness Pasta Sauce

Sometimes you just need a big bowl of pasta! This sauce is perfect for #meatlessmonday, and helps to use up all the extra zucchini from your garden or farmers market. Pair this sauce with a quinoa pasta, or whole grain option to bump up the fiber. This is an easy pasta sauce that you can freeze to pull out for later use or can! Side note: Whenever I have an extra chunk of rind from Parmesan I throw it in a resealable bag and place it in the freezer to use for flavor in future recipes.

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 onion chopped (any size)

-2 fresh garlic cloves chopped

-1 large zucchini cut into the thickness of your choice

Saute the above ingredients until the zucchini are browned and onions translucent. Next add:

-5-6 large tomatoes cut into wedges

-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

-1 sprig of fresh thyme, oregano, and 5-6 leaves of chopped basil

-1 chunk of parmesan rind (optional, leave out if you want your sauce vegan)

Let sauce simmer until the tomatoes break down and form a cohesive sauce. Enjoy!

Marinated Chicken Tacos

This is a simple taco night idea that can incorporate any vegetables you have on hand! Topping these with some mashed avocado or guacamole is a great way to get your heart healthy fats in! As always to make this vegan/vegetarian use tempeh versus chicken.

-Place 1-2 lbs raw chicken into a resealable bag

-Pour in 1/2 a jar of mild taco sauce, the juice of 1 limes, and a handful of cilantro

Marinate for at least 1 hour. Cook chicken on the grill or grill pan. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing!

-In a hot pan sauté a sliced sweet onion, sliced green pepper, and 1 sliced zucchini  until browned.

-Take 2 avocados and combine them with a handful of chopped cilantro, and the juice of 2 limes. Mash together.

To make tacos: Warm corn tortillas, add in sautéed veggies, top with chicken, lastly top with avocado. Add any other toppings you like! Enjoy!