Fully Vegan Banana, Walnut and Cacao Bread

Recently I have been discovering the many health benefits of a vegan diet.  I am definitely not fully vegan but after seeing the amazing effects it has had on my health, skin and many other lifestyle changes, it is definitely becoming more appealing to eat this way on a daily basis.  And why would it not be when you can eat yummy desserts like this, guilt free! I am loving experimenting with vegan ingredients at the minute especially when they include so much goodness and taste so amazing.  This banana bread is my first proper vegan dessert that I have made so I was fairly pleased with the outcome considering.  It is hard to believe that it contains no refined flour or sugar, is low in fat and all the ingredients come from natural sources, yet it takes devine!


 For this recipe you will need:

-5 ripe bananas
-2 flax eggs (1tbsp flaxseed+3 tbsp water=1 flax egg)
-1tbsp baking powder
-1tsp baking soda
-1 lemon
-1 cup almond milk
-2tbsp coconut oil (melted)
-1 1/2 cup of coconut flour
-1/2 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
-handful of crushed walnuts
-handfull of cacao nibs
-1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 170C and form the flax eggs, place these in a bowl and leave them in the fridge to harden for at least 15 minutes.  Mash the bananas and then sift the flours into a separate bowl.  Add the baking powder, baking soda, bananas, coconut oil, cinnamon, flax eggs, almond milk and the lemon to the flours.  Stir these together but be careful not to over mix.  Fold in the walnuts and the cacao and place the mixture into a lined baking tray/loaf tin.  Top with extra walnuts and cacao nibs.  Bake for approximately 1.5 hours and enjoy the sweet sweet smell and taste of this very healthy banana bread.

Ready for the oven!

Inspired by Ceramics

I am currently studying Textile Art, Design & Fashion at The University of Ulster Belfast and for my final project of First Year I have picked weave with the influence of interiors.  For a recent piece of coursework I wrote an essay about the Sao Bento Train Station in Porto, Portugal and was massively inspired by the work of Jorge Colaco. Even though Jorge Colaco was originally an oil painter and caricaturist, he specialised in designing and painting azulejo panels to decorate large surfaces.  His designs had a late Romantic taste, celebrating the achievements of Portuguese history.  Along with historical themes, he also produced ethnographic and landscape scenery.  The walls that line the Sao Bento station hold many ambitious azulejo designed tiles.  For those of you who do not know, azulejos are a form of Portuguese or Spanish painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work. I find the work of Jorge Colaco truly fascinating and my love for all ceramic artists has severely grown recently.  I think ceramic works and pieces of art fit in extremely well with interiors.  As well as tile walls, I am really inspired by colour, especially from exteriors and interiors around the world and how they influence the interior and current fashions around us. Below I have inserted a collection of images that I have found and/or taken myself that have influenced my on-going weave project.  I hope you feel as inspired as I do! :)

If only all Train Stations looked like this (Unfortunately this is not my own photo, one day maybe. A girl can dream….)

Ulster Museum (ceramics section 28/03/14)

Mauel Canovas 'Jardin Bleu' printed fabric

Azulejos Tiles can be used for exterior..

and Interior.

Prada 2011

Oscar de la Renta

Dream Kitchen

Photograph from 'Iznik'-The Artistry of Ottoman Ceramics

Azulejos inspired Fashion

Handwoven cotton Vintage fabrics, Indigo Blue, Hmong, Table runner- www.etsy.com

Cindy Hamling - weave on loom

www.pinterest.com

Charity Shop Findings - £2

Charity Shop Plates - Total= £4

Ulster museum 28/03/14

Ceramic Antiques found stacked away in my Granny's cupboard- she needs to use these more often!!

The Spaniard Bar in Belfast has amazing exterior

The World Of Interiors (world's best magazine!) included an article in the December 2013 issue on the City Palace of Karauli in Rajasthan.  The painted walls are complimented by jali screens that cast filtered light through the windows and onto the floor.

St Georges Market Belfast

For my first ever blog post I decided what better to write about than one of my favorite places in Belfast.  St Georges market on a Sunday afternoon is becoming quite a tradition for me and my mum.  Just after buying a new camera a week or so ago I brought it along to gain some 'inspo' for my new blog!   After getting a bite to eat at one of the burrito bars we did the usual dander around the market whilst I snapped away at anything and everything that I found inspiring.  Being a food lover and a Textile and Fashion student, I am sure you can see a running theme throughout these pictures, but I just couldn't resist :)