Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting (For Dogs)

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Katherine Baker

I’m between jobs that require me to be places and wear pants at the moment, and am starting school in just a few weeks so finding a job outside of my various freelance gigs feels kinda pointless at the moment.

So what’s a girl to do? Bake. Bake all day. Duh.

Millie Loves her Banana Bread!

But what about when you’ve baked so hard you have too many baked goods to handle? Well, you bake for your dog, of course.

Dog Banana Bread Peanut Butter

I made this banana bread with some random stuff I had around my kitchen. You can customize it to your liking or based on what you have in your pantry (there are several variations offered in the recipe; see below).

Millie_Banana_bread_Dog

The awesome thing about baking for dogs is that if there’s peanut butter involved, they probably won’t be very fussy. I’m pretty sure I could have baked a piece of rotting bread and spread peanut butter on top and Millie would still be a happy gal. Bless her.

Dog Banana Bread

In case you were wondering, she really liked it. Shocking, I know. I even caught her jumping on the kitchen counter to get more (yes, she’s small, but the girl can HOP).

Banana Bread for Dogs with Peanut Butter Frosing

Feel free to think baking your dog banana bread is over the top. Because that might be partially true. But I’ve always believed that if you’re going to have a pet, you may as well spoil the crap out of them.

I’m working on another pet-related post to explain why this week has been tough for me, so stay tuned.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread for Dogs

Also, I’ve promised to myself I’m going to be more consistent and candid with my blogging. I’m investing my time and energy into this instead of pursuits that do not grow or benefit me in any way.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread for Doggies!

So buckle up and get ready to join me next year as I go back to school yet again for my third degree (lol school forever) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. #schooltilim50 #noregrets

BananaBreadMillie!

Without further adieu…

Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting (For Dogs)

Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus time to chill dough
Cook Time: 30-45 minutes
Servings: 1 medium-sized loaf of doggie banana bread (enough for 8-14 treats)

Ingredients – Bread:

2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup oat flour (you can make your own by pulsing rolled oats in a food processor or blender until a powder/flour forms)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup ground flax
2 eggs OR 4 tablespoons chia seeds + 1/4 cup water
3/4 cup water or milk or unsweetened almond milk or apple sauce

Ingredients – Frosting:

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2-3 tablespoons plain yogurt, non-diary yogurt, milk, or nondairy milk to thin (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F . Oil a loaf pan.
Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add peanut butter and mix well. If necessary, microwave peanut butter for 30-60 seconds until it becomes melty and pliable enough to stir.
Add oat flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and flax. Mix well.
Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes, until a crust forms on the top and a toothpick/fork poked in the center of the loaf is clean upon insertion and removal.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
To prepare frosting, thin out peanut butter with milk/yogurt (if using) until desired consistency is reached. You can also just spread peanut butter on top. Your dog probably won’t mind.

For human banana bread, check out this recipe.

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Katherine Baker

Puppy chow!! Aka muddy buddies (apparently). Aka the best darn sweet crunchy snack of all times ever period!I remember puppy chow sales being a thing when I was little. Were they a thing where you grew up? Because when I went to college I realized they aren’t a thing everywhere. In fact all 3 of my freshman year suite-mates hadn’t heard of puppy chow. How sad, I know. MuddyBuddys_Katherine_baker

I think Puppy Chow is a Midwest thing. I could be wrong. All I know is that everyone I know from the Midwest knows what it is, and I’ve met lots of coasties who do not. But that could be an anomaly.

Baker_Katherine_puppy_chow_mix

If you look on the back of a Chex box for a puppy chow recipe, you may notice that that recipe contains butter and vanilla. I find these additions to be unessential. Like, when you’re eating puppy chow, I feel like they don’t add much.

At least to me. I just use peanut butter, chocolate, powdered sugar, and cereal, and I don’t miss anything. So I reason I’ll save vanilla and butter for instances where it really does add shine. Gotta save those valuable baking resources, amiright?

PuppyChow_KatherineBaker

So here is my coincidentally, stripped-down, bare-bones, completely delicious vegan puppy chow recipe. If you’ve never had it, make it right the fuck now. Trust me. KatherineBaker_Chocolate_peanutbutter

This is another adapted recipe I posted on Spoon University, but here you’ll find it completely unabashedly dairy-free and with slightly different photos. Enjoy!

-Kbakes

PS: If you want more p chow in your life, check out this Puppy Chow Granola post!

PuppyChow_KatherineBaker_

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cook Time: nada
Servings: varies on how much you can eat at once (I can eat a lot of this at once)

Ingredients:

6 cups Chex or other plain cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut butter (almond or sunflower seed butter would also be yummy)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Trader Joe’s) or chopped dark chocoalte
1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar, depending on if you’re one of those people who likes a little or a lot of powdered sugar on your chow

Method:

Melt the chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl by heating in 30-second increments in your microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring between each until chocolate is almost (but not completely) melted. Add peanut butter to the bowl and return to the microwave and heat for an additional 30-60 seconds, until peanut butter is also melty.
Mix those two together. Enjoy the views and the smells.
Add cereal to bowl and mix gently. You want to coat the cereal with the chocolate/peanut butter mixture, but also want to be careful as to not crush the cereal.
Transfer to a large zip-lock, add powdered sugar, and shake it up until cereal is coated with powdered sugar.
Eat the shit out of that delicious puppy chow.

That Time I Made Rosa Park’s Pancake Recipe (Vegan Style)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Katherine Baker

If you follow me on Instagram, you may recall these pancakes I posted a few weeks ago. Screen Shot 2017-05-18 at 9.26.56 AM

So what’s so special about a damn picture of pancakes with awkward irregular shaped edges and a few walnuts and banana slices on top as a despite attempt on food styling? Oh, that’s right. They’re Rosa Park’s pancakes.

Well, not Rosa Park’s pancakes per se; I didn’t go back in time, steal them from her table, freeze and then defrost them decades later for the sake of an Instagram photo. No, I merely made them from a recipe she had written on the back of an envelope, a photo of which was featured in this article for NPR (side note: I <3 NPR).

They’re endearingly called “Featherlighte Pancakes,” and the recipe is written in handwriting that looks charmingly like my Oma’s. As soon as I set my eyes on the recipe, I knew I had to make them.

And you know what? They were darn delicious. I was hesitant to add a full two tablespoons of baking powder, but then decided since Rosa Parks was right about so many things, she was probably right about this too. I put my trust in her and was not let down. The pancakes truly were, featherlight.

The pancakes were fluffy and delicate, yet substantial and hearty, with a bold peanut butter flavor that could stand on its own, and also tasted great with maple syrup. Just a few would fill you up, which according to the article, means the pancakes achieved their purpose of offering a form of delicious, extended substance from inexpensive ingredients. They were delicious, and I do plan to make them again.

And while I was eating them, yes, I did think of Rosa Parks. How humbling is it to remind ourselves that we all must eat? No matter the time period, our religion, our views of the world, our level of education, or our environments. All humans eat, and it is something that connects us and equalizes at a primal level.

I slightly adapted the recipe to make it plant-based, but the original recipe can be found here.

Recipe adapted from Rosa Parks.

Rosa Park’s Featherlight Pancake Recipe (Veganized)

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: about 2

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (I subbed 1/2 whole wheat flour)
2 “T” baking powder
1/2 “t” salt
2 “T” sugar
1 flax or chia egg (1 tablespoon chia/flax + 3 tablespoons water) –> original recipe calls for 1 egg
1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk –> original recipe calls for milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon oil

Method:

Combine flax or chia and water in a small dish and allow to thicken, at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Add flax/chia egg. Mix until just combined.
Cook on a griddle at 275F (I cooked each side roughly 3 minutes before flipping)

Peanut Butter & Sriracha Veggie Sandwich

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Katherine Baker

Hello and welcome to a recipe post that probably sounds very strange at first. But bare with me. Let me walk you through my logic.

Vegan Peanut Butter and Sriracha Veggie Sandwich

Behold the PB&S. PB&S? Can we make that a thing? Okay great. Because it’s surprisingly delicious. Sure, the combination sounds weird and perhaps even a bit icky at first, but think about it: do you like pad thai? Of course you do. Pad Thai is delicious. Pad Thai also has a peanut butter-based sauce. And is spicy and has veggies in it and is paired with carby noodles.

So why not pair peanut butter and Sriracha (or not if you don’t care for spicy) with some crunchy veggies on bread, add some cilantro, and call it lunch?

So here we are. A savory veggie-packed peanut butter sandwich. This is a highly satisfying combination, and makes for a fun way to switch up your lunch time game. I suggest pairing it with a nice crunchy apple with additional peanut butter for dipping.

And then eat something sweet for dessert. Maybe a cookie. Or maybe a marshmallow fondant covered spotted dick. Have you been watching Great British Bake Off on Netflix?

I can’t stop. I binged the entire three seasons available on Netflix in 4 days. And now I’m rewatching it. If you haven’t seen it yet, you simply must. It makes every other food show feel inferior. I don’t think I’ll ever look at the Food Network again.

Vegan Peanut Butter and Sriracha Veggie Sandwich

There’s just something about how compassionate the contestants are towards one another that is simply beautiful. Also, the hosts are hilarious.

Would anyone reading this be interested in me diversifying my content? Because that’s what it’s about to happen. I realized I like blogs that share things like daily life info and eats so I’m going to try and experiment with that soon, instead of just recipe post after recipe post.

Also, I apolotize that pictures look blurry on WordPress lately. All of them look crystal clear on my computer, but WordPress keeps distorting them. So I’m working on figuring out how to fix that since it’s been stopping me from uploading content. So for now just deal with my blurry pics plz.

Anywho, happy spring. And on your mark, get set, MAKE (a sandwich) !

Peanut Butter Sriracha Sandwich

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: ~5 minutes
Servings: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread, toasted
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
Sriracha (as much or as little as you please)
3/4 cup chopped vegetables of choice (I used carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and lettuce, because that’s what I had in my fridge, but any of your favorite crunchy veggies would do)
small handful of cilantro (optional)

Method:

Toast bread.
Spread peanut butter on both pieces of bread.
Chop vegetables and cilantro and add to bread.
Drizzle with Sriracha.
Assemble sandwich and enjoy.

Best Ever Banana Bread {with Flax} – Vegan & Gluten-Free

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Katherine Baker

Holy buckets I have not blogged in quite a little bit! This may be the longest blog break I’ve taken in a year! Wowza. Where oh where have I been?

Welp, the month of July was insanely busy. In one short month I managed to go to New York, Chicago, Quebec City, attend two weddings, helped out with a fabulous bridal shower, attend Accepted Student’s Day at Columbia University in the City of New York (yup, that’s right, I’m heading back to NYC for grad school!) and spend a surprise night at a Ramawada Inn in Newark, NJ due to a clusterfuck of a travel situation heading back from Quebec.

When I wasn’t traveling, I was working working working! I’ve been trying to work at Trader Joe’s as much as I can while still establishing a balance for free time/sanity, which between travel and some other freelance projects I’ve had this month, has been quite the juggling act. But exciting things are coming and happening and it’s been a busy but fun month – despite the fact that it completely flew by!

So today, July 29th, I had off. Free of all obligations, duties, travel agendas, work, and any other sort of obligation that would require me to be wearing real pants at a certain time and place. Aka utter BLISS. Millie (bless her soul) of course decided woke me up at 5:34am on the dot. 5:34 am seems to be her favorite time to wake mommy up to go to the bathroom, eat breakfast, and promptly climb back into bed, leaving me up and awake for the day.

I’m naturally an early riser, but sometimes, sometimes, I fantasize of sleeping in til 6am on my days off. I guess I should just keep dreaming, right?

Getting up early isn’t always a bad thing – I’m most awake and productive in the early morning and it allows me to get things done before the rest of the world wakes up to distract me. The only downside is that often times I want to get errands done but things like the post office and Target aren’t open until several hours after I rise (-__-). Sometimes this leaves me time to do other things. Like bake.

This morning, I baked some banana bread. Can I tell you a secret? For YEARS I have had the hardest time perfecting banana bread. I just couldn’t do it! I don’t know why. It was always too dry, too wet, too clumpy, or the texture simply wasn’t correct.

I know, I know how can this be? I can make homemade Cronuts and elaborate cakes with my eyes closed, and I’m a well-known banana fiend, but for reasons beyond my explanation, I couldn’t make a decent banana bread to save my life. Well, recently, I am happy to say, I conquered the banana bread beast. Yes, I won. I won at life.

This recipe is several years and about 200 loaves of mediocre or failed banana bread in the making. But here, right in front of your eyes, is the best-ever, hearty, moist, pleasantly filling / not junky vegan and gluten-free banana bread. I think two major keys to perfect banana bread are almond flour and coconut oil. I really have tried this recipe with peanut butter and almond butter, but to me, texture and flavor wise, coconut oil (though boring) reigns supreme.

Winning at this recipe was a major hurdle for me to overcome in my life. I finally feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my culinary shoulders. In a sense, accomplishing this banana bread was a pleasant reminder that if I bust my butt hard enough, I can overcome any life obstacle. Which, when you’re moving halfway across the country again to throw yourself into grad school after some relaxing time off, is a pretty good reminder.

Onwards and upwards, friends! Happy banana bread to you. 😀 And in the words of Apu from the Simpsons, “Hallelujah, we have banana bread.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 60-80 minutes
Level: easy

makes one 12 inch loaf, serves about 10-12

Ingredients:

3 large very-ripe bananas
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (can sub peanut butter or almond butter, but I like coconut oil best)
1/3 -1/2 cup maple syrup (can substitute 1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar or raw sugar)\
- adjust amount based on desired level of sweetness
1 cup almond milk (or other nondairy milk)
1 teaspoon vinegar (any kind will do)
1 1/4 almond flour / almond meal (can sub oat flour)
1 1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (can sub more oat flour)
1/4 cup ground flax seed (can sub more rolled oats)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a cup, combine almond milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle, at least 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt coconut oil or nut butter in a large bowl. mash bananas and add to melted coconut oil. Stir will. Add maple syrup. Mix well.

4. Add almond flour, oat flour, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Fold into banana mixture. Add almond milk mixture and 1/4 cup walnuts and fold into batter. Mix until just combine.

5. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and top with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, and bake for 60 – 80 minutes, or until bread becomes browned and until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean upon removal. Allow to cool and serve with coconut oil, jelly, or more nut butter :-D.

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal for One

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Katherine Baker

This title of this recipe should come as no surprise to those who know me. I love bananas. I love oatmeal. Boom: it’s a Banana Bread Oatmeal Bake for One. YUM.

What’s more surprising than the title of this recipe, and the fact that it was nearly 70 degrees today and I actually started sweating while outdoors (which hasn’t happened in approximately 6 months) is the fact that I’ve never put this recipe on my blog. This is strange because I eat it all.the.time.

It’s a longtime favorite. A best friend in the breakfast department. A midnight post-all-day-study-marathon-at-Bobst meal. A lunch-time go-to when I feel like breakfast for lunch. A second breakfast when my typical 5:30am breakfast doesn’t hold me over til noon. In essence, I eat this baby several times a week, yet I’ve never shared it. Today, that changes.

Allow me to describe my BFF breakfast to you: It’s hot, fluffy, satisfying, creamy, filling, and tummy-friendly, and the whole thing tastes like you’re own personal hearty loaf of banana bread goodness.

Vegan Easy Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal for One

Bonus: it makes your kitchen smell amazing and takes less than 2 minutes to throw together. Then you let it bake up nice and quick in the oven, and the smell of sweet, sweet banana bread will waft all throughout your house, tickling your nostrils and getting your tummy oh-so-ready to eat it all up. It’s also vegan and gluten-free, making it highly allergen-friendly to you and your kin. I don’t know why I just referenced a Christmas song. Anyways…

Easy Vegan Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal for One

I really hope anyone looking to mix up their breakfast or late-night-snack routine gives this baby a whirl. It’s never let me down, and I believe it won’t let you down either. You can add syrup, sugar, or honey to the top if you desire, but I find the sweetness of baked bananas to be plenty. I like it best fresh out of the oven, covered with a splash of almond milk to cool it down, and drizzled with ooey gooey almond butter that gets all melty when it hits the hot oatmeal bake. But that’s just me. You do you. And you eat dem oats, homie.

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal for One Vegan

…because as my BFF Jake Tully’s senior quote reminds us all, “It’s a whollllleee lotta oats.” 😉

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Bake Time: 18-25 minutes
Level: easy

serves one, easily doubled

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons oat flour or other flour (can sub additional oats if desired)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons nut butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup almond or other non-dairy milk
1 banana
1-2 teaspoons honey, or maple syrup to top (optional, I think it’s perfect without it)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small bowl, combine oats, oat flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix.

2. Cut banana in half. Mash half of the banana and add to the bowl. Add nut butter or coconut oil and non-dairy liquid. Mix well.

3. Transfer to an oven-safe ramekin or dish. Slice remaining half of banana on top of oatmeal mixture. Place in the oven for 18-25 minutes, until fluffy, browned, and liquid has all absorbed. Serve with almond or other non-diary milk, non-dairy yogurt, and syrup or honey as desired.

Puppy Chow Granola

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Katherine Baker

Wednesday was not my day this week. Someone hit me while driving, then drove away quickly before I could get any of their information. Yay nice humans! This occurred on my way to a doctor’s appointment where I found I have something quite creepy that I think most people would have no appetite after reading about, so I might refrain from details. Let’s just say, I’ve been eating for many…your dog may have had the same thing. They’re common in dogs. Which makes the title of this post a lil bit ironic. Moving on.

After my appointment, I went to the police station and filed a report about the hit’n’run. Then I went to Walgreens and tried to get my prescription but my insurance card wasn’t working and then I learned the prescription I needed was $3800 without insurance. Basically pocket change. Anyways, I was *done* with the day before 9am.

Then I worked all day. And it was -34 with windchill. And then my mom’s car died so I had to go pick her up. By the time I ate dinner around 8, I was so wound up by the day that I wasn’t tired.

So I decided to use my energy and soothe my grumpy pants by making cookies. And then I messed up the cookies. Ugh. Not what I needed.

Luckily, ruining the cookies ended up being the best part of my day, because through this experience, I ended up trying to morph what I was using for said cookies into something edible. And then one thing lead to another, and suddenly I had created Puppy Chow Granola. This was certainly the highlight of my day.

I ate the Puppy Chow Granola. For a moment, the world felt safe. I shared with my mom. She totally dug it, and she’s not very into peanut butter. We agreed that the stuff is INCREDIBLY addicting. And thus, I made another batch the very next day.

So here is the result of my poopy humpday this week. It is peanut buttery and chocolately and sweet and oath and crunchy yet slightly chewy in all the right ways. It also has the word “Puppy” in the title, which is an automatic win.

Make this stuff. Eat it. Try to practice self-control. Fail, eat it all, and make another batch. No one is judging you. Let it make you happy no matter what you find out is living in your intestines. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 20-30 minutes

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
3/4-1 cup (depending on how chocolatey you like it) dark chocolate chips or approximately 6 ounces Baker’s or other dark chocolate
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (optional, but helps to the granola form clusters & clumps)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanuts (optional, I left em out, but they would be a nice crunchy addition)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.

2. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate. Melt in the microwave using 30 second intervals, stirring between each.

3. Pour rolled oats into bowl with chocolate/peanut butter mixture. Add syrup or honey. Mix (a wooden spoon works well for this)until oats are evenly coated with chocolate/peanut butter.

4. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes, until slightly hardened. If desired, turn granola with a spoon halfway through bake time.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Transfer back to bowl and add powdered sugar. Mix well until all granola is coated lightly with powdered sugar. EAT!

kbaked

plant-based eats and treats

Tag Archives: peanut butter

Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting (For Dogs)

Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Frosting (For Dogs)

Ingredients – Bread:

Ingredients – Frosting:

Method:

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

Method:

That Time I Made Rosa Park’s Pancake Recipe (Vegan Style)

Rosa Park’s Featherlight Pancake Recipe (Veganized)

Ingredients:

Method:

Peanut Butter & Sriracha Veggie Sandwich

Peanut Butter Sriracha Sandwich

Ingredients:

Method:

Best Ever Banana Bread {with Flax} – Vegan & Gluten-Free

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal for One

Puppy Chow Granola