Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Nut Bread - The 100th Recipe at A.T.Y & a meme

Yes.. this is my 100th recipe post. Looks like a lot of us are hitting the milestone these days.. Though, its been over an year I have started blogging, this is a big accomplishment for me.. with my lifestyle..Come to think of it.. Its so rewarding to see it all in action.. !! Through these 100 recipes.. came sweet and hot.. easy and hard.. quick and elaborate, healthy, and some not-so-healthy..but "all thingz yummy" I think ;)

Here is a sampling of a few favorites:

Lately, I have been so busy religiously taking pictures ...posting recipes.. I completely forgot when my blog turned one year.. Kinda felt bad about it.. so wanted to celebrate the 100th recipe post on A.T.Y with something interesting... and while I was wondering what it should be.. I noticed a couple of bananas going too ripe..and then I immediately knew what I wanted to make !My favorite kind of bread/cake .. The Banana Bread... (well I have it in the title name, so I guess it wasn't that much of a surprise;))

Only this time, I wanted to try making it eggless/vegan. I began to search for recipes.. like my favorite recipe that I have been making all these years..but without eggs and dairy ! And after frantically going through..many recipes here and here.. what felt like a million banana bread recipes.., I decided to just use my other recipe with some modifications to make it vegan (no eggs and no dairy), so skipped sour cream, and eggs and used whole wheat instead of all purpose flour...I felt nervous about using egg substitutes, so before trying those, I wanted to just skip and try..and see how it works out.. .its probably nothing new, or fancy.. but probably worth a try.. :)You might be surprised just like I was..

Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (use a sieve to sift the flour)
3/4 cup sugar (You can use 1 cup if you like a sweeter bread. This is just right for me.)
1/3 cup water
2 Ripe Bananas
1/3 cup Vegetable oil
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 tsp Apple pie spice(cinnamon + nutmeg + allspice)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Nuts (Optional-I used Almonds and Walnuts)

Process:
The first step is to caramelize the sugar. This idea came from my searches.. This is the only tricky part in the process... and its important to follow the instructions as closely as possible. Heat up a sauce pan, add 1/4 cup of sugar to it. Keep stirring. When the sugar starts to turn brown, on low heat, start adding water little by little while stirring use about 1/3rd cup of water total. Its important to keep stirring and make sure the sugar doesnt all become one big lump. You want it to be syrupy and all brown. If it does become a lump try to smooth it out and mix with the water.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a mixing bowl put in the sifted flour, add all the other ingredients to it. The remaining 1/2 cup sugar, mashed bananas, nuts if you are using them, vanilla extract, apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, oil and the caramelized sugar syrup. Mix them with a spoon to make sure everything is well incorporated. No need for kneading or anything.

Optional : You can taste the dough a little at this point and check if the sugar quantity I have mentioned works for you :) Add in more if you'd like.
If your diet allows , you may also add some honey instead of the sugar..

My loaf pan was in the dishwasher, so i just used a regular 8X8 corningware dish. Grease your pan, pour the mixed up dough into it and bake on 350F for 45-55 mins (depends on oven - mine took 50 mins). Use the toothpick to prick the bread in the center to check if its done. I started checking after 40 mins into the process. The toothpick should come out clean and dry. Let it cool on the rack for 10 mins. And wait for it to cool completely before removing from the pan. Slice it and enjoy !

I was very apprehensive about how it would turn out.. but, I have to say I was very very pleasantly surprised.. It was all gone in a few minutes. All of us loved it, and especially the little one. And since it almost tasted like my favorite recipe.., was quite easy to make..and probably fewer calories than my other recipe, this will be my new banana bread recipe from now on...

This recipe goes to the following events :
Sweet Vegan event hosted by Vaishali @ Holy Cow !
Food in Colours event hosted by SunshineMom @ Tongue Ticklers


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And finally the meme part...
Ramya of Ramya's Kitchen Corner tagged me for the "7 Facts about you" meme..

The rules are:
a) List the rules on the blog
b) Share 7 facts about you
c) Tag 7 other people at the end of the blog

1.I am a daughter,a sister, a wife and a mother. (My life centers around my 2 yr old son and his Dad these days)
2.My parents are my role-models.( Good Job mum n dad ! I hope my kids will feel that way too..)
3.Music energizes and soothes my mind..I am a decent singer...and love romantic songs..(I am hopelessly emotional..!)
4.I am frank and straight-forward (not all people like that type of talk ;)
5.I love challenges.. (at work, and at home - managing time, planning effectively, performing efficiently ... things like that)
6.I like designing (software/interiors/fashion),window-shopping, party-planning, playing video/computer/board games.
7.I cant imagine my life without a computer. (It is my bread n butter too.. so, works out well that I like it)

Wow..that was a lot to say !

I'd like to tag some of my dear blogger friends.. who shower me with their lovely comments.. and keep it all interesting.. Thanks Guys !

Happy Cook @ My Kitchen Treasures
Uma @ Essense of Andhra
Sangeeth @ Art of Cooking Indian Food
Meeso @ For the love of food
Priya @ Akshayapaatram
Sunshine Mom @ Tongue Ticklers
Lubna Karim @ Yummy Food

Gosh !! Its such a long post.. I hope I'll have opportunities to do many such long posts in future ;)