Banana and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding

What do you do with bananas that are on their way out-the-door and more sourdough bread than you can possibly finish? Banana and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding, of course! If you’re a fan of “dump and bake” kinds of recipes you’re going to love this one. The most time-consuming part is simply cutting up the bread and slicing the bananas!

Now, cards on the table…I don’t particularly love either bananas OR bread pudding but there is just something about this recipe that’s hard to beat! Great for a crowd, this vegan dish, that’s really more like dessert than breakfast is made with dairy free butter, oatmilk, and JustEgg and comes together in under an hour!

What you are going to need to buy:

For the Bread Pudding

• 3-4 cups of crusty bread, cut into cubes

• 3 ripe bananas cut into slices

• 2 cups of oatmilk

• JustEgg to replace 3 large eggs

• 1 tablepoon of cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, more for sprinkling

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• Splash of Vanilla

• 1/2 cup of peanut butter

• 1/2 cup of Walnuts

  
  For the Icing

• 1/2 stick Dairy Free Butter, melted

• Powdered Sugar, 1 cup

• Splash of Vanilla

• Pinch of Salt

What you are going to need to do:

1. Layer your cubed bread and banana slices into a baking dish (I used an 8 x 10) sprayed with non-stick spray.

2. Combine the remaining ingredients (minus the nuts and brown sugar for sprinkling) and wisk until well combined. Don’t be too worried if the peanut butter doesn’t completely combine or there are still little pieces. They will melt when baked!

3. Pour mixture over the bread and bananas. Spoon any peanut butter that didn’t totally dissolve evenly over the top.

4. Top with walnuts and sprinkle with brown sugar.

5. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. You can gently lay a piece of foil over the baking dish to keep the top from burning but keep sides loose and un-crimped. You don’t want your Bread Pudding to “steam” under the foil…it’s just to keep the top from getting too crispy! Remove the foil for the final 15 minutes of baking.

6. While the Bread Pudding is baking mix together 1/2 stick of melted vegan butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt. (Add more or less sugar depending on how thick you like your icing.)

7. At 40 minutes, remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before drizzling the top with icing and serving.
   

   A couple of notes about this recipe: I know there are a lot of “egg-replacers” that vegan and non-dairy diets use in baking. I used the product JustEgg and it turned out wonderfully. I can’t guarantee that others will do the same…they may be great but I’ve not tested any others with this particular recipe.

   Love chocolate? You could totally throw in a handful of chocolate chips to this recipe and it would be delicious!

   
   Love, Light, and Lentils, my friends!
   Sarah

Blueberry and Carrot Salad with Mustard Greens and Walnuts

I don't know about you but I'm ready for Spring and all the light, fresh, flavors that come with it and this Blueberry and Carrot Salad with Mustard Greens and Walnuts was just what I was craving.

Looking for a nontraditional spring salad for your Easter dinner table next month? This is it! The slight spiciness of the fresh mustard greens are the perfect balance to the sweet carrots and blueberries and the light and tangy dressing.

Dressed with a homemade vinaigrette made with brown mustard, lemon juice, and maple syrup its the perfect mix of tangy and sweet.

What you are going to need to buy:

• Carrots 2-3 large, shredded

• Mustard Greens, 1.5 cups, chopped into fine pieces

• Fresh Blueberries, cut in half, 3/4 cup

• Walnuts, chopped, 1/2 cup

• Olive Oil, 3 tablespoons

• Brown Mustard, 1 tablespoon

• Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon

• Maple Syrup, 2 tablespoons

• Māla Girl Sparkle Salt, 1 teaspoon

What you are going to need to do:

1. To begin, shred your carrots into a large bowl. Can you use the per-shredded carrots from the store? Honestly, I’m going to say no! There is just something so good and sweet about shredding fresh carrots. This salad simply won’t be the same with the per-shredded version!

2. Finely chop your Mustard Greens into small pieces. We’re looking for all the components of this salad to be roughtly the same size! Think of the texture that you’d chop cabbage for coleslaw!

3. Cut your blueberries in half.

4. Chop walnuts into bite-sized pieces.

5. Combine your carrots, mustard greens, blueberries, and walnut into a bowl.

Now, let’s make the dressing!

7. In a mason jar combine olive oil, brown mustard, lemon juice, maple syrup, and salt seasoning mixture. Shake dressing in the mason jar, for one minute, to combine.

8. Wait until you are ready to serve the salad to add the dressing to the carrot mixture. Mix well and serve cold! Serves 4-6, side serving sized.

This dressing is so, so simple, but I promise you, if you are a carrot fan, you’re going to absolutely love this spring salad…and because it’s totally dairy-free it’s the perfect thing to bring to pot-lucks and get-togethers this Easter! I can’t wait to hear how much you love it!

Love, Light, and Lentils!
Sarah

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