Saturday, January 30, 2016

Banana Bread Chia Donuts (gluten-free, vegan)

Mornings are precious to me. The brightness of the angled sunshine gently tiptoeing into your window at first. Then the sun's shyness melts away and it promenades through your curtains, through the crack in your doors. I think if the sun were a dancer, she'd start as a ballerina then twirl into a silent tap dancer in the morning, ecstatically drumming out the glory of the light, rousing you from slumber with gentle, quick tiptoes and soft gestures then ending her announcement with a wild, proud finish.
 
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Mornings are when I try to read my bible. My little boy wakes with me and I read him the bible while he toddles around. My daughter comes down and we have a good morning hug then we start breakfast (if you can tell that is my favorite meal of the day) and then we wake Daddy.
 
That is my ideal morning, anyways. Not that it always happens. I'll admit sometimes Mom wakes on the wrong side of the bed or I sleep in because I was up late editing or dealing with a teething toddler.

But doesn't it sound simply glorious? If only, I could start every morning this way.

Speaking of my little boy - Monkey Toes - he loves these donuts! He ate two and a half this morning! Normally, he's been a little bit more my pickier eater so I was super pleased.
 

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I wanted to make Angela 's Chia donuts from her latest The Oh She Glows Cookbook but I had a plethora of overripe bananas. Banana bread donuts it is! Complete with simple coconut butter frosting. They are a denser, moister donut. Full of banana flavor and crunch from chia seeds. They are really simply (and healthily) decadent dipped in berry sauce. But if you're on a time crunch, you can add 1/2 cup frozen blueberries to the batter (they will need to cook around 6 minutes longer).

These are not like normal donuts, of course. Expect a moist center yet crunchy with the addition of chia seeds. Banana bread-esque just in donut form. These pack wonderfully after they've cooled. A great and economically-wise alternative to power bar snacks. I think I'll try to find a bigger donut pan (or make them in my muffin pan) to freeze for future.
 
And thank you to my friend Alisa who dropped her donut pan off at my house after my silly post on facebook. You're a dear!
 
Banana Bread Chia Donuts
1/4 + 2 TB cup chia seeds
1 cup oats
3 bananas (enough for at least 3/4 cups), overly ripe
Vanilla Stevia 15-20 drops *
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

*If you don't have vanilla stevia, you can substitute half of the coconut milk with maple syrup. I used Sweet Leaf Vanilla Crème.

1. Mash your ripe bananas in a bowl.
2. Add the coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla stevia drops, sea salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
3. Add chia seeds and oats, stirring well.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you oil donut pan (like this fellow Wilton Nonstick donut pan) with coconut oil. Place batter in donut oils. This will fill about 8 holes so either fill a 6 donut pan and use a ramekin for the remainder or bake another batch.
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes (extra if you added frozen blueberries as mentioned in text). Let cool for 5-8 minutes and then enjoy!

To make coconut frosting, mix equal parts coconut butter and coconut cream with a couple drops vanilla stevia. Alternatively, you can use Daiya cream cheese for a vegan topping.

And for berry sauce, I just add 2 cups frozen berries to a pan with 1/2 cup water (or herbal tea for interesting twist), and couple drops stevia or a large dollop of honey at the end. Let water boil then mix on low for 15 minutes.
 
Enjoy, my sweet readers!

And btw, I'm looking forward to next week! We start our Week of Love! A weeklong journey celebrating Valentines and love. This year, we have some homeschooling fun and a DIY Galentine's spa day! I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you!

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