Here we have a vegan banana bread recipe that is also gluten free. Isn’t it amazing that 20 years ago we didn’t even know anything about gluten . . . maybe you did, but I didn’t. Every recipe is a new adventure. And on that note, you can add nuts and maybe even chocolate chips — as long as they’re vegan.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup gluten-free oat flour
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive or coconut oil
3 very large and very ripe bananas
optional: 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, plus an extra handful for the top
optional: 1/2 cup walnuts or almonds
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Get out a large mixing bowl and sift the gluten-free oat flour and gluten-free all purpose flour together.
Add baking soda, baking powder and salt to the mixing bowl and whisk it all together.
Get out a medium mixing bowl, this is for the very large and very ripe bananas. You’re going to peel them and mash them up with either a fork or your hands.
Add the mashed bananas, oil, optional chocolate chips and/or optional nuts to the dry ingredients. You’re going to mix this all together gently — don’t overdo it.
Spoon the mixture into a lightly oiled 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Add the handful of optional chocolate chips on the top.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. You want the top to be lightly browned. Test with a toothpick — you want it to come out clean, not gooey with batter.
Allow to cool thoroughly before removing it from the pan.
Wait about an hour before slicing it — you don’t want it to crumble on you.
Lil’ Diva had a busy day at the vet’s office. It was absolutely amazing how the staff and technicians absolutely went gaga over her. They remembered my precious Abby and seemed very pleased that I now have Diva to love.
Diva had a thorough examination and it was discovered she needed to have several baby teeth extracted to make room for her grown-up teeth. She had her teeth cleaned and basically had a clean bill of health.
To tell you the truth, when I picked her up after her dental work she looked like I had on occasion after seeing the dentist. I’m sure many of you can relate.
Diva’s getting plenty of pampering. I’ve softened her food and we started out with me hand feeding her. This process seemed too slow for her, so she ate on her own. It’s good to have her home.
Oh! I forgot the best part! They took Diva’s picture:
Originally we had an appointment for 3 in the afternoon, but after Heather spoke with Dr. McAnally, the appointment was rescheduled for “now.” So, we jumped in the car without finishing Diva’s grooming process. No matter the extent of Diva’s grooming, I think she’s beautiful.
This should be no big surprise, but almond butter is made with almonds. That’s it! That’s all there is. Now, some people roast their own almonds and others buy roasted almonds. You’ll need a pound of almonds roasted, or roast raw almonds yourself. You’ll need either a food processor or a vitamix to make your almost butter.
Place the roasted almonds into your food processor or vitamix and process on High for 5 to 6 minutes. To make your almond butter smoother, you may want to process it longer, but make sure your processor doesn’t get too hot.
Once you’ve made it and sampled it, keep it refrigerated because there are no preservatives added.
Now that you know how to make Almond Butter, you can make Cashew Butter and even your own Peanut Butter.
Isn’t it amazing the things you can buy to create tasty treats for your lovable pets. I just about fell out of my chair when I was looking online for a product to share with you here. Of course, my precious Diva is on my mind 24/7. I do buy gourmet dog treats for her, but I would like to put together a recipe of things I know she likes and have a fresh supply handy.
I do want to caution you about the recipes in the booklet that comes with this Bow Wow treat maker — don’t feed your dog garlic — it is toxic to them! Just because the recipe comes with this product, do your research. Don’t trust just any dog treat recipe. Ask your vet.
The thing is, you’re making these dog treats from scratch. It’s like making cookies, a bone shaped cookie cutter is included. Yes, that does mean rolling out the dough. If you have a batter, you could pour it into the maker, but don’t fill it or you’ll make a huge mess as it spills over.
This is a good product that allows you to not turn on your oven to make up a batch or two of doggy treats.
I was at my local garden supply center getting things together for my garden. I met a woman there who was telling me all about the rodent problem she was having in her home. Quite frankly the thought was a bit disgusting to me, but it did get me thinking. I’ve seen Victor products all of my life, but I never stopped to think about it. Whenever there was an unwanted guest that took up residence, I had someone to take care of it, but now, it’s time for me to educate myself about rodents that come and decide to stay. Well, there’s no shame in attracting one. If you have pets, they like the pet food. The important thing is to get rid of it/them as soon and as humane as possible.
There are plenty of traps on the market and people have become very clever in their way of ridding their lives of rodents. You need to keep in mind the safety of other family members — yes, that includes pets. You also need to realize that these rodents are very clever. Some traps just don’t work as well as others. When it comes to being humane, the quicker the better. So I got investigating the various traps and I found one that has batteries and zaps the rat in this case with 8500 volts to kill the rat quickly while its munching on the snack you put in the trap. One important key to remember, this trap works, just as others do — it’s the bait. You have to have the right bait. Peanut Butter is suggested, but dog food works and whatever you’ve found the rodent enjoys. That includes nuts, bird seed, grass seed . . . just about anything.
You put 4 C Cell Batteries in the compartment and you’re ready to get that dirty rat that’s been messing up your house with droppings and ripped bags of food. It is economical, one set of batteries will kill 50 rats. Oh good grief, I hope there aren’t 50 rats around here! A green light will indicate you got one! Well, in the case of a rat, you know you got it — the thing is in the trap. This trap looks like a mail box, I like it because you handle the outside. You bait it from the outside and when you see it’s occupied you just turn it off, pick it up and take it to the trash barrel to be emptied. You don’t need to worry about spring action clips to lift up and release the rat. I don’t want to get up close and person with the dirty thing. Once the trap is empty you check the bait and you’re ready to set it and turn it on for another intruder. You’ll likely make your second kill quicker than the first because your scent won’t be on it — your previous guest will leave hishers.
Here’s a YouTube Video I found informative:
I also know there are sensors that encourage rodents to stay outside the house. That’s wonderful, but if one happened to get in, it’s best to know ya got it and it won’t be getting into stuff again. But the method is entirely up to you.
