Out of all the baking, I think I make banana bread most often. It’s a great thing to make when you have ripe bananas (which I always have), it’s easy and everyone loves it. This is why it is so so weird that there isn’t a single banana bread recipe on my blog yet! How is this even possible?? That needed to change. So I made my favourite ever banana bread, to share it with you. I think it’s a great autumn recipe too, with lots of delicious cinnamon. I do not always feel like it, but you can also add 1/2 a tsp of ginger powder or all spice, to get the taste of autumn a little bit more. It’s up to you! This banana bread recipe is free from refined sugar and made with coconut oil. I don’t think I will ever call it healthy, but let’s say that it is not that bad for you. Unless you eat it with (plant based.. duhh!) vanilla ice cream, like I often do (sooo good!). Just an extra tip.. after it is all cooled down, slice it up and freeze them separately. This way you can have a fresh slice of banana bread for snack whenever you want to.
BANANANANANA
Serves: 8-10
Dry Ingredients:
1,5 cup flour
2 tbs custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1,5 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
Wet ingredients:
1 cup medjool dates
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup oat milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs ground flaxseed
Extra:
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 tbs sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1 small banana (finely chopped)
1/3 cup chocolate (chopped, optional)
1 banana (cut in length, optional)
-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Mix all the dry ingredients.
-Mix all the wet ingredients and slowly mix this into the dry ingredients.
-Mix in all the extra things, except the banana you’ve cut in length.
-Grease a baking tin and divide the banana bread mixture in the tin.
-Put the cut banana on top and press it lightly into the mixture.
-Put it in the oven for 55-65 min.
-Let it cool down before slicing it up.
Do you love banana bread? It’s a great thing to make and to share! Please show me your creation. You can do this by tagging e or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X
An extra recipe this week! Tomorrow my ultimate banana bread recipe will come online, but I wanted to add this one as well, as I already made my first few cups of this and I noticed that people around me are in need of this recipe (I’m not ill or anything, but I started to drink this to prevent this from happening). I thought this recipe was on my blog already, but I was very wrong. I gave this recipe to so many people in the past and I often use it myself. Especially in the colder seasons, which is now. You have probably noticed the (weather) change as soon as autumn started. Rain and moisture in the air.. people are putting their heatings back on (including me! A few times now I was super happy that I’ve got a little heater in my van), spreading germs everywhere.. the perfect recipe for getting a cold and the flu! This needs a counter-recipe and that is exactly what this is. I swear this recipe works. It’s simple, but it saved me so many times and the many people I shared it with benefitted as well. This isn’t only good for when you feel under the weather by the way, but it’s also a great way to prevent getting ill. I hope it will work for you as well!
MAGIC TEA 
Did you have quinoa for breakfast before? It’s not something you will think of as a breakfast, but it’s actually a perfect start of your day. Quinoa is super healthy! It’s high in protein and also contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids. That is not all, it also contains magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and it’s high in fiber. Oh and it’s gluten free! I often cook some quinoa in the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge. This way I can use it in salads etc. during the week, but also for this recipe. Quinoa is actually a seed and it has quite a neutral taste, this is why it’s perfect to enjoy in savoury and sweet dishes. I’m sure that if you’ve had quinoa before, you probably had it for lunch or dinner in a savoury dish, but why not try it like this?
QUINOA START 
This is the second pasta pesto recipe over here, but everyone likes a good pasta pesto right? ..and this one is so quick and easy. Quick recipes are always welcome I think, especially after a long and hectic day or when you have a whole family to feed. I highly recommend you to make your own pesto though. It really changes the dish. Of course it will be even quicker if you use a ready made pesto (and that is fine too), but if you have the time (or you took the time early in the week), please use a home made one. This transforms a simple pasta dish to something really special. I love using Vivera’s new bacon pieces in here. They are scary good and make such a good combination with the pesto. Btw.. I recommend some extra veggies on the side. It’s yummy with broccoli, green beans or a nice salad perhaps?!
PASTA PESTO
The best snack to stop that hungry feeling.. this! Filled dates are one of my favourite snacks. They are so tasty, super filling and a great snack for when you work out. They provide you with energy (I always eat 2-3 dates before I hit the gym and I notice a huge difference), protein and healthy fats. They also just look super nice and make a nice party food. I can hardly call this a recipe as it’s so easy, but promise me that you will make these? And let me know if you liked them. Will you make them with peanut butter or almond butter? I find it hard to choose which one I like best. You can also use both of course.
DATE ME 
The easiest breakfast ever! You probably heard about overnight porridge already. It’s the best, easiest and fastest breakfast you can make and it’s also nutritious and it releases its energy slowly. What more do you want?! The recipe I’m giving you is quite a basic recipe, but it’s how I make it. You can make lots of varieties. This one is a bit like a chia pudding too. Chia seed is full of fiber, protein, omega-3 and it has various micronutrients. This makes it a perfect way to start your day. The best is that it’s very easy to make. You make it before you go to sleep (will only take 1 minute, don’t worry!) and it’ll be ready for you the next morning. What means that even when you’re in a rush, you can still enjoy a nutritious breakfast that will keep you going all morning.
QUICK START 
A super quick lunch dish.. wraps! Wraps are easy, super tasty, nutritious, handy to take with you, easy to prep and filling. Perfect for lunch, but they can be enjoyed any time of the day really. I like wraps for lunch though. Especially bean wraps. They are high in protein and what I like about it, is that I can make everything the day before. The next day (and the day after that) I only need to warm up a tortilla wrap and scoop everything on top. You fold it up and it’s ready to go. If you want to take it with you, I advice you to cut it in half just before you will eat it, to prevent everything falling out. I hope you will enjoy these delicious wraps just as much as I do.
WRAP IT UP
A very pink morning to you! Did you have breakfast this morning? Or at what time do you break your fast? I often do this between 10:00-12:00 as I like intermittent fasting. Breaking my fast is always a nice moment. If I don’t drink a big glass of celery juice first, I like to start with this pink goodness. It’s a great way to get some extra fruit (vitamins!) and some healthy fats and protein into your system, what means that it’s a great start of your day. I can easily keep going on this for several hours. This is why I tend to have something like this when I break my fast early (10:00). Don’t worry about it not filling you up, because it’s a large portion. You can just sip on it whilst commuting or working or split it in half and drink it as a snack later in the morning or afternoon. This is definitely one of my favourite smoothies!
PINK MORNING
Thai food is probably my favourite food. I love the rich flavours and the creaminess of the coconut. So any Thai curry or soup is very much welcomed by my body. I used to always make curries, but then I thought I could make it in some sort of soup and add noodles instead of rice. So I experimented a bit and this is the result. I loveeeee this recipe! To make it easier, I used a red curry paste. Make sure to use a vegan curry paste. A lot of brands use fish sauce. I used Thai Taste Red Curry Paste. It’s my favourite and it’s 100% vegan. You can make the soup the way you like it best: I used wholewheat noodles, for some extra protein, but you can also use rice noodles if you prefer. I fried the tofu, but a healthier option is to not fry it. You can then just add the tofu at the same time you add the spring onions. To make it spicer, add some chilli flakes. No matter what you prefer, I’m sure you will love it!
THAI THE NOODLE 
I was in London to go to an event that I was invited to, but that was for some mysterious reason cancelled last minute. I did decide to stay in London that night as I drove for hours and I didn’t feel like driving all the way back to the country side. That afternoon on my way to my beloved Portobello Road I drove passed the cafe ‘Wild Leaf’ and I remembered that a few people told me to visit this cafe. So I decided to go there in the morning. It’s located super close to the Ladbroke Grove tube station (basically the opposite of the road). It looks super pretty from the outside and I really like the whole outlook. It looks so inviting, that it makes you want to walk inside. And when you do, you will see that it’s even prettier. I love the way it is all done. Very natural, using lots of natural materials and (light) colours. On the wall behind the counter there is a very nice painted wall decoration. This was made by the talented artist Sophie Glover. It’s a great eye catcher, but at the same time it’s not ‘in your face’. I like that.
The owner of the cafe was lovely and really took the time to tell me all about the cafe. She is an interior designer (like me! ..hence why the place looks so incredible) and used to do projects with her husband who is an architect, but now she is focusing on the cafe. She is vegan herself and her goal for the cafe is to be all vegan too. For now they do have 2 things on the menu that has egg and they serve cow’s milk in beverages. I hope they make the switch quickly, even though at first it might feel scary to do so. Let’s all show them our support and order a latte! Because talking about lattes (they do matcha, charcoal, turmeric & red velvet), they do an ah-mazing matcha latte. It was the best I’ve had. Great taste! The balance is just right, between the bitterness of the matcha and the creaminess of the oat milk (Oatly Barista!). And if you have time, please order some food, because the food is so good. She ordered me the pancakes and I could have a taste of the Mushroom Toast as well. It was good I had the pancakes first, 
becuase otherwise her breakfast would have been all gone too. It was hard not to eat it all! Definitely go for this option when you feel like a savoury dish. The mushrooms are cooked perfectly and the bread full of seeds (which btw you can buy as a loaf to take home!), with the cream ‘cheese’ and the rocket make a taste explosion in your mouth. Highly recommended! Next time I’m definitely ordering that for myself. Oh en about the pancakes.. they don’t only look incredible, they are incredible! I felt like the portion is exactly right and the cream, the flowers, fresh fruit and the crispiness of the buckwheat all work well together. Every bite was a true treat.
Oh and when you do not have a lot of time, don’t worry, because they do a great grab&go that they are expanding at the moment. They do chia pots and overnight oats already, but they are also going to make grab&go salads. Great news! Because in the weekdays they don’t work with a menu, but they offer a salad bar instead (also take away). I definitely have to try this too, because the veggies come from a sustainable non spray company (uhh yay!). If this isn’t enough, they specialise in juices and smoothies, that are all organic. They also do freshly made kale crisps (made with cashew, sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast) and they have a big range of all vegan cakes and treats. I tried the raspberry cake and it was divine!
I think by now you understand that I’m a big fan of this cafe! But if you aren’t convinced yet, let me tell you this. They are aiming to be zero waste and plastic free! There are some things in (recyclable) plastic now, but it will soon all go into glass jars that will be reusable (the juices are already in reusable glass jars). They use organic wherever they can. This doesn’t mean that just a handful of things are organic, but about 90% of everything they offer is organic! They are all refined sugar free, but instead are making use of coconut sugar and date syrup etc. The food comes on the prettiest bespoke plates and bowls. She designed these herself and are made by Linda Bloomfield (@lindathepotter). So pretty! I really appreciate these kind of details, because it means that there is a lot of passion and creativity involved and this really shows throughout the whole cafe. They do catering, so if you have an event and need great food, I think they are a very good an original choice. And last but definitely not least.. Something that really makes them stand out is that they are all gluten free(!!). So if you have coeliac disease, are intolerant to gluten or you want to eat less gluten, then this is your place to go, because you can order everything they offer.
Now the last thing I didn’t talk about yet, but wanted to write in a separate paragraph is: coffee! Now many of you know that I don’t drink coffee myself, but I know a lot of you do. Another special thing about Leaf Wild is that they serve coffee beans from the brand ‘BrewCoffeePlus’. The owner of this brand actually works in the cafe and has some mad barista skills (I’m sure this is one of the reasons my latte was so amazing) that he’s teaching to the rest of the staff. You can choose between 2 options: ‘PB Handege’ (Forest Fruit, Blackcurrant, Rose Water, Flora and Elderflower) from Kenya and the ‘San Pascual Natural’ (Vanilla, Strawberry Cream, Cherry, Blueberry) from Colombia. As you can see, they are both coffees with fruit notes, so if you are into that, please go an try it out.
Planet Manel 