Here’s another vegan recipe! I’ve used flax seed meal and water for the egg replacer. Cacao nibs can be hard to find for some people. I got mine from Theo Chocolate. You can find cacao nibs at small specialty stores, some Whole Foods Markets, and other natural food stores. You can omit the nibs, or use something else, like walnuts, to add some texture.

Vegan Banana and Cacao Nib Bread
Makes 16 servings
5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus Values per serving

1 1/2 cups bananas, pureed or smashed
3 Tbsp ground flax seed meal
6 Tbsp water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups sugar
1 cacao nibs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp table salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the sides and bottom of a regular loaf pan.

An hour ahead of time, in a small dish, mix the flax meal with cold water, and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Make a well in the center for the wet ingredients. Combine the flax meal and water mixture with the pureed banana, sugar and oil with the dry mixture. Stir together until all of the mixture is moistened and still a little lumpy. Gently stir in the cacao nibs. Put in the baking pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool and rest .

I’ve had to be dairy-free while attempting to breast-feed my son, as that he’s allergic to milk. This means that I have to kill my sugar cravings with dairy-free foods. I figure, might as well go vegan, since I have vegan friends and like the challenge.

This recipe can be made with a home-made graham cracker crust, or canned vegan whipped topping. I did what was easiest for me to grab at my local grocery store. The assembly is the easy part. The secret is the chocolate “pudding.”

Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie
6 Weight Watchers PointsPlus Values per serving
Makes 8 servings

1 vegan 9″ graham cracker pie crust
1 pound soft silken tofu (usually, one cold-pack package of tofu)
1 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips (usually 1/2 a package)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
5 ounces Soyatoo Vegan Whipping Cream

Set the graham cracker crust aside, ready for the filling.

Cut the silken tofu into about 4-6 pieces, and throw in a food processor. Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. You can also melt the chips in a double boiler. Mix up the chips to make sure that it creates a smooth, melted chocolate mess. Pour in with the tofu. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt and nutritional yeast. Yes, salt and nutritional yeast. This is the secret to its deliciousness. Pulse the food processor, initially, then let it go until the contents are evenly mixed and very smooth. Make sure to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula.

Pour the pudding mixture into the pie crust and smooth in evenly.

Take the soy whipping cream and whip with a hand mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Here you can get creative. You can either pour it/spoon it on top of the chocolate pudding, or you can do what I did (sorry, no pretty pics!), which is use a plastic bag with a 1/4 in hole cut in the corner, fill it with the whipped cream, and pipe it in a circle from the outside to the inside. This is where a can of aerosol whipped topping would come in handy.

Throw in the refrigerator for an hour or so, and serve!

Please let me know if you try this recipe, and if you do, what the results were like!