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Diet-Specific

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (healthy & vegan)

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Quarantine = Bakingtime, so here we are again with a different baking recipe. And this is one of my favourites: banana bread. If you ever have some brown bananas and are shortly before throwing them away, do not ever consider that again – just make (healthy & vegan) banana bread!

I think the first time I had that was in the US and it was heavenly (but not healthy at all hahaha) and then again in Lisbon. Since then I am obsessed with it. It just is so incredibly good and moist and sweet, plus it is so easy to make it healthy.

Brown Bananas?

The great thing about banana bread is that it is a use-up dessert and treat. Whenever we have overripe bananas I ether freeze them for smoothie bowls, or I make banana bread out of them. That way you save food that would otherwise go to waste.

Why Vegan?

Because why not? It is not always easy to bake something vegan but in this case it is. You do not need any butter, because the banana is taking the place the butter would usually do, and instead of eggs we are using a mix of vinegar and baking powder as well as chia eggs. Of course, you can substitute them out for eggs if you prefer that or if you do not have these things on hand.

Is it difficult?

It is everything else than difficult. You can actually throw everything into a food processor and mix and bake. If you do not have or want to use one, mash the bananas by hand and mix the other ingredients in by hand. Without a mixer or blender. Transform to a baking dish and voilà – you have it.

Is it versatile?

It is! If you are vegan make it vegan. If you want some chocolate – add some chocolate chips to it. If you feel like something fresh, add blueberries. Want a crunch? Add in some nuts. Want to make it healthier? Use wholegrain flour? Not a fan of wholegrain? – no problem just use plain. If you cannot do baking without butter, use it instead of the coconut oil! So really in the end it is up to you how you make it. Depending on what you like you can add a personal twist to it.

Breakfast, Snack, Dessert – when and how?

This can honestly be enjoyed as any of those three meal. It can be a healthy breakfast (because of the protein, fibre and carbohydrate content), a delish and filling snack or a satisfying dessert.

Maybe you ask yourself how to eat it! I can tell you: the best way is to spread some almond butter on top, some freshly sliced banana and a drizzle of maple syrup or brown sugar. That is the best. But you can also crumble it into a yoghurt (heavenly) or on top of ice cream.

A winner for families!

Want to know why? I can tell you! Because 1) it is so easy to make, so literally everyone in the family can help. 2) it is sweet so it will taste good but it is not an unhealthy dessert because the sugar content is not as high and it is high in fiber. 3) everyone can enjoy it the way the want to. No matter if it is with whipped cream, almond butter, vanilla ice cream or in their breakfast bowl. It is good.

I hope that you will like this recipe and it will become a staple in your house just as much as it is in ours!

Have fun baking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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(Healthy & vegan) Banana Bread

A healthy version of the all time favorite – banana bread. Moist, sweet, just good. Super easy and perfect for families.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 1 loaf (12 slices)
Calories 187 kcal

What you will need

  • 4 bananas the browner, the better (the sweeter)
  • 75 g coconut oil
  • 30 g Honey (use about 75g if your bananas are only a little bit brown)
  • 1 tbsp vinegar white wine or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp natron (baking soda)
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (can be substituted for 1 egg)
  • 4-5 tbsp water
  • 250 g (whole)wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • chocolate chips, berries, nuts or other optional add-ins
  • 1 banana for garnish

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    In a small bowl combine the chia seeds with the water and let sit for about 5 minute to make the "chia egg". In another bowl combine the vinegar with natron.

    Take a bowl or a food processor and mash or blend the bananas until very mushy. Add in the molten coconut oil, the chia egg, honey or agave, and apple cider vinegar mix. Blend/ mix again until all combined.

    Mix the flour with the cinnamon and baking powder. Fold it under the banana mash mixture. If you have any add-ins (e.g. chocolate chips, nuts, berries) fold them in now.

    Transfer the mixture to a loafpan lined with parchment paper. Cut the extra banana in half, lengthwise and add it on top. Sprinkle with some cinnamon and/ or brown sugar and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. After the baking time piek through with a toothpick. If nother sticks to it, the bread is done. If there still is some dough sticking to it, it needs more time in the oven.

    Take it out, let it cool down and cut into 12 slices. Serve each slices with some almond butter, fresh banana, and a drizzle of maple syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar

Black Bean Brownies (vegan option)

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Brownies have never been that healthy, simple and delicious. Packed with protein and fiber they are super fudgy and chocolate-y. You do not taste the beans but they are still hidden in and sneak in nutrients. My new favourite brownie recipe! Healthy, vegan option and so fudge.

I am actually not a huge chocolate cake fn but brownies are something different. I do not know what it is, maybe because they are fudgier?! I don’t know, but they are good. But since brownies are not always the healthiest choice, I decided to switch some things out and sneak some healthy stuff in, to make them nourishing but still super delicious.

So the secret ingredients in this recipe are the black beans. Originally I wanted to try out sweet potato brownies, and I did, but they were a massive fail. When they were warm and straight out of the oven they were good but as soon as they cooled down, they did not taste like anything anymore and were just not good. But I was so excited to share a healthy brownie recipe so I continued trying out different versions ad that is how I came up with this black bean brownie recipe.

The great thing is that they are really easy to make. You do not need anything else than a fork but if you have a food processor it makes it easier. You need some black beans to mash, some eggs, or some flax or chia eggs for a vegan substitution (to make one „vegan egg“ combine 1 tbsp of either chia or flax seeds with 3 tbsp water and let sit for 5 minutes), milk or plant based milk, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and dark chocolate.

As for the sweetener you have two options. You can use dates to sweeten things up, which is my preferred choice, or coconut, brown or normal sugar. I prefer dates because in comparison with the alternatives, they have way more other nutrients. Dates are high in fiber, protein, and other vitamins and minerals whereas conventional sugar do not have any of those. But I know that not everyone is a fan of dates so I have got two recipes for you. They are pretty much the same, just differ a little because of the different textures of the sweeteners. Honestly, I would recommend to make the date version, because you cannot taste the dates and it is slightly healthier.

You might think, chocolate, that isn’t healthy? Actually it can be! Do not get me wrong and now think that every chocolate is super healthy, gosh no! What you need to be aware of are 2 main things; first, the darker, aka the higher the percentage of cocoa in it, the healthier it is. This is because cocoa is loaded with antioxidants and protein and actually is healthy in its pure form. The flavour of dark chocolate might not be everyone’s favourite but in this recipe it really works because you have other sweeteners. The second thing you should be aware of is the sugar added. If sugar is the first or second ingredient on the ingredients list, maybe this is not the best chocolate, because that means that there is a lot of added sugar. And also it depends on which sugar is added. Nowadays, you can find hundreds of chocolates at supermarkets or organic shops and there are some great healthy choices. I always put it that way: if you can pronounce every ingredient on the ingredients list and there is not a ton of sugar added, it is pretty save to say that it is healthy.

So that was a lot of information on chocolate now but who couldn’t talk about chocolate for hours? Anyway, I love making this recipe because it is really simple and my entire family likes it. Even my brother (!!) who is not the best friend of experimental, healthy or vegan things. BUT he liked it, because you could not taste any of those aspects.

The brownies taste best with a scoop of ice cream or coconut yoghurt and last for about a week in an air tight container or covered with foil outside the fridge. I do not recommend to store them in the fridge because they will loose some of their flavour.

I hope that you like them as well and will enjoy making them!
Happy cooking,
Kathi // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Black Bean Brownies (w/ dates)

A super fudgy, decadent and healthy version of regular brownies. Paces with protein and fiber (and of course chocolate) they make the ideal snack or dessert!

Course Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 12 brownies
Calories 149 kcal

What you will need

  • 4 eggs can be substituted for chia or flax egg (to substitute 1 egg, mix 1 tbsp of chia or groung flax seeds with 3 tbsp of water and let sit for 5 minutes), this makes a vegan version
  • 180 g kidney beans
  • 200 g dates soaked in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them up
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 50 ml oat milk or any other milk or plant based milk
  • 60 g dark chocolate the darker, the better
  • 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 50 g wholewheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • some chocoalte chips

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Place the beans in a food processor and plse until it forms a smooth paste. You can also mash them down with a fork. Add the eggs and mix or blend until everything is combined.

    Blend the dates until smooth. Add them along with the oat milk, maple syrup and molten chocolate to the bean mixture.

    In another bowl combine the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and mix until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture under the other ingredients.

    Pour in a baking tray, which is filled with parchment paper. Sprinkle it with chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes.

    Peak into the brownies with a toothpic or a fork. When it comes out without any dough sticking on it, the brownies are done.

    Take them out and let them cool out. Enjoy with some icecream.

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Black Bean Brownies (with normal sugar)

A delicious, fudgy, chocolate-y and healthy twist on the regular bronies. Packed with Protein and fiber ( and of course chocolate) but healthier.

Course Dessert, Snack
Servings 12 servings
Calories 140 kcal

What you will need

  • 3 eggs ca be substituted for chia or flax egg (to substitute 1 egg, combine 1 tbsp of chia or ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp of water and let sit for 5 minutes), for a vegan option
  • 180 g black beans (from the can)
  • 160 g coconut sugar can be substituted for brown or normal sugar
  • 60 g dark chocolate the darker the better
  • 70 g flour
  • 50 g cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • some chocolate chips

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Place the beans in a food processor and plse until it forms a smooth paste. You can also mash them down with a fork. Add the eggs and mix or blend until everything is combined. Add the sugar and molten chocolate to the bean mixture. 

    In another bowl combine the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and mix until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture under the other ingredients.

    Pour in a baking tray, which is filled with parchment paper. Sprinkle it with chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

    Peak into the brownies with a toothpic or a fork. When it comes out without any dough sticking on it, the brownies are done. 

    Take them out and let them cool out. Enjoy with some icecream. 

Shrimp, Carrot & Aubergine Mushroom Dumplings

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Dumplings are one of my absolutely favourite things to have. I always order them when going out to Chinese or Japanese restaurant but I have never dared to make them at home because I thought it was super complicated to make them. Wrong! They are not complicated at all, just require a little work, which is a lot of fun when doing it with someone else.

I do not know if anyone else loves the mix of textures and flavours or a decently spiced filling and a soft and doughy outer shell as much as I do. The combination always gets me and I believe that it is the perfect comforting and still healthy food. The great thing is that you can switch up the fillings and get so creative. There is nothing you cannot put into those cute, little dumplings.

Since everyone has different taste buds, I created 2 versions for this first dumpling blog post. A vegetarian (vegan actually) and one with seafood. They both are incredibly delicious. For the vegetarian I combined some super finely chopped eggplant and some super finally chopped mushrooms. The chopping really takes time but making it that small just changes the taste so much because it almost feels like ground meat, texture wise, and you have both veggies in one bite. This mixture is sautéed just for a minute or so and then tossed with a teriyaki sauce. The sauce really adds a lot of flavour and makes it so addictingly good.

The shrimp dumpling is even easier. I use frozen shrimps simply because they are easiest to get and to store. Before preparing them, they need to be defrosted, which you can either do by taking them out of the freezer a few hours before cooking or if you forgot to do that, you can place them in a bowl with warm water and let them defrost that way. The shrimps are also finely chopped. The other 2 ingredients are carrots, which are peeled and also chopped up really finely and wild garlic. I love to use wild garlic at this time of the year but if you do not have that on hand you can use normal garlic cloves instead. This mixture does not have to be pre cooked, because the shrimps I use are already cooked before frozen. If yours are not you can quickly pan fry them or you just cook them when steaming.

As for the outside dough, in this recipe we are using wonton wrappers. You can get those frozen at any asian market and sometimes even in supermarkets or speciality stores. Those are the same ones you would use for spring rolls. So you can deep fry, pan fry or steam them. Same with those dumplings. I am 100% down for steaming, simply because I believe they taste best and the flavours come out most, but you can also crisp them up in a pan. I would not recommend deep-frying them tough.

Here I decided to close them differently and bring them into diverse shapes but if this is too much work for you, leaving it with one is absolutely fine. The filling and shaping does take some time, because each wrapper is a bite, so it takes a while until you have gotten them all read but it is so worth it.

You can serve them as an appetiser when friends are over, or also if not, or just prepare more and make an asian spread for lunch or dinner (maybe with the satay skewers, which are coming up on the blog next week?). This recipe is totally family approved, not only everyone likes eating them, but the making them together part is. a lot of fun too!

When you serve them, then do so with some soy, teriyaki, chilli or peanut sauce to dip in!

I hope that you will love this recipe as much as I do!

Have fun cooking,

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Shrimp and Carrot Dumplings

Light, easy and super tasty. Crunchy carrot, soft prawns and fresh wild garlic, the result, an absoltue amazing dish!

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine asian, Chinese
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 dumplings
Calories 48 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 3 carrots
  • 300 g prawns frozen and thawed
  • 1 handful wild garlic
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • some sesame seeds

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Peel the carrot. Slice and cube it into mini chunks, about 2 mm large. The smaller you get them, the better they are. Or, grate them with a grater.

  2. Defrost the prawns and chop them very small too. Take the wild garlic, wash it and also cut this one into small sizes.

  3. Place all of those ingredients in a bowl and mix them together with the soy sauce.

  4. Take one wrapper at a time and place a teaspoon of the filling into the middle. Brush the edges of the wraper with some water and fold two diagonal edges together. Close the dumpling up by pressing the open sides to each other so they close.

  5. If you want to, you can make a small pattern by taking one end of the triangle and folding it towards the other side. The part of the wrapper where the dough has been folded over, now folds over in the same direction. Continue doing this until you have reached the other side of the wrapper.

  6. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up.

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro.

    Enjoy!

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Aubergine and Mushroom Dumplings

A vegan version of the best asian comfort food. Soft and tangy aubergine mushroom mix tossed in soft wrappers. INcredibly good.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 wrappers
Calories 39 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 1/2 eggplant
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 200 g mushrooms you can use champignons or oyster mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce can be substituted for 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp honey
  • sesame seeds
  • fresh cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 3 cm ginger

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Finely chop the ginger, garlic, mushrooms and eggplant into about 2mm sized cubes. The smaller the better.

    In a pan heat up the oil. Sautée the veggies for about 2 minutes. Take them off the heat and stir in the teriyaki sauce.

    Take one wrapper at a time and place one teaspoon of the mixture in the middle. Brush all edges with some water. Take the four edges and pull them up to the center and press them together. Take the remaing open sides and also press those together so the dumpling is fully closed.

  2. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up. 

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro. 

    Enjoy!

Wild Garlic Risotto

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Food tastes different when you have a relation to it. Like in this recipe. We went for a Sunday walk and my mom and I picked the wild garlic ourselves and cooked it into this delicious risotto for lunch. It makes you worship the ingredients, taste and work you put in it even more, which is so beautiful.

But I know we do not alway have the time or opportunity to go and pick the ingredients ourselves in the park or the woods, so it definitely is fine if you buy it at a fresh farmers market or even at the super market. But it will not totally taste the same as if you picked it yourself.

Risotto is such a must and a weekend meal in our house! We love to make it various ways. With peas, with mushrooms, with saffron, honestly options are endless. But it is spring, and right now almost everywhere in Austria you can find wild garlic and smell it from several meters apart. So we decided to take a walk and pick some ourselves and take it home.

Risotto actually is way less complicated than it might seem at first sight. It just is a lot of stirring, stirring, and stirring. No joke, it is an arm workout. So if you are currently in quarantine and wanting to work out and cook something good, here you have the perfect combination! The stirring makes it possible for the rice to absorb the liquid slowly and in depth to create a more intense flavour and a super creamy texture. You should not add all of the broth at one time because then the rice will become soggy and not creamy, which we do not want.

Also, the ingredients are pretty simple and you most likely have them all at home. It starts with the base: rice. For risotto, there is special type of rice, which is originally used in Italy. You can find it in any supermarket. The other main contents of this dish are broth and cheese. For the broth you can either use vegetable broth or chicken broth. Vegetable for the vegetarian version, chicken if you want more flavour.

After the cooking process is done, in other words the rice has finished cooking, we take it off the heat to stir in the remains ingredients. These are a mix of butter, grated parmesan cheese, cream cheese and of course the chopped wild garlic. The butter adds a lot of flavour and the cheeses melt into the rice giving it the typical risotto texture.

You can either serve it as it is because it is the perfect dish like that. If you want to serve it as a side with some grilled prawns or roasted beef that works perfectly fine too! Just grate some fresh parmesan on top and serve it with some wild garlic leaves.

This is such a comforting and family friendly meal. Perfect weekend lunch or dinner, super versatile and incredibly good. I hope you all like it and will enjoy cooking and eating it!

Love, Katie // One Petite Cuisinière

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Wild Garlic Risotto

Family friendly, spring viby, super creamy and delicious risotto. Weekend meal plans are saved. With fresh wild garlic and creamy rice this is incredibly delicious.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 509 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 1,5 l vegetable broth
  • 320 g Risotto rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 50 g wild garlic
  • 25 g butter
  • 45 g cream cheese
  • 80 g parmesan cheese

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Finely dice the onion. Heat up the oil and satuée the onion in it until it is glassy. Add the rice and gently stir through until everything is combined and slightly covered with the oil. Take one large ladle of the vegetable broth and add it to the rice. Reduce the heat to medium high and stir the vegetable broth through until everything has cooked into the rice, then add the next laddle.

  2. Repeat until the rice is cooked through, for about 15-20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime grate the parmesan, measure out the other ingredients and chop the wild garlic.

  4. Once the rice is done cooking, take it off the heat and stir the cheeses, the butter and the wild garlic in.

  5. Once everything is well combined, plate it in four bowls, garnish with some extra parmesan cheese and wild garlic.

    Serve and enjoy!