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3 Medium sized extra ripe bananas 

1/2 Cup frozen or fresh blueberries 

1/8 cup walnuts 

2 cups buckwheat flour 

1 1/2 cup date sugar 

1/2 cup coconut oil 

2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce 

1 tablespoons vanilla 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon sea salt 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl.
2. Add coconut oil, vanilla, apple sauce, date sugar to bowl and whip together
3. Add the buckwheat flour, baking powder and sea salt to the bowl and mix well.
4. Fold in the blueberries and walnuts to the mixture
5. Add batter to a non-stick baking dish
6. Heat in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until done.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pure coconut oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons of Chia Seed mixed into 6 tablespoons of water (it’s the equivalent of 2 eggs)
1/3 cup coconut yogurt or other dairy-free yogurt options
2 cups mashed bananas or 4 large ripe bananas
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5” loaf pan with nonstick spray or coconut oil and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine coconut oil, brown sugar, bananas, chia-seed mixture and vanilla extra together.
3. Add flour, baking soda, sea salt to the bowl and combine until mixture is smooth.
4. Add in the coconut yogurt into mixture and fold the chopped walnut into the mixture last.
5. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake in the pre-heated oven for 55 minutes until done. Use the toothpick test through the center of the loaf to insure your banana bread is cooked throughout. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool before serving. Enjoy!

In the catering and restaurant industry, we stock our pantry with food and supplies to service our customer base and fulfill rush orders on short notice. Lately, our chefs have been asked “what should I keep on hand in an emergency?”  The answer depends on what you eat regularly and the shelf life of those items.   Some of Dine With 9’s catering menus are more popular than others, so we keep more of those ingredients on hand than those less ordered.  You should consider the same rule of thumb when stocking your home pantry.  If you have outdoor space, an easy to manage garden filled with your favorite vegetables is highly recommended.

We store the items most often ordered for catered meals like breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Dry and canned goods tend to have a longer shelf life than items that require refrigeration.  Some vegetables can also survive well in a cool dry space like your pantry and can be included as part of your survival pantry.  You should continually rotate your inventory using what you need daily and restocking as you go.  Only purchase items that you would normally eat because items you don’t use regularly will likely set in your pantry beyond the expiration date and won’t be usable in the time of an emergency.  These items become a waste of money, which is something you should really be storing in in the case of an emergency.  Ideally you want to have a pantry that will allow you and your family to survive for up to 3-weeks.  This doesn’t mean eating your regular 3-meals a day, but at least having 1 sustainable meal each day until help reaches you.

Below are a few recommendations to get your survival pantry started.  The quantity of each item depends on the size of your household.  It’s best to measure how much you current use on a weekly bases and multiply that times 3 weeks, if you have the storage and space for those items.  An added benefit to having a well-stocked pantry is you’ll save time on weekly shopping by having staple items on-hand.  I also recommend giving the gift of a “survival pantry” to a family in need or to help out an elderly family member.  No matter where you store your food items, be sure it’s a cool and dry space that’s not accessible to rodents or bugs.  Air-tight storage bins can help.

• Bottled Water
• Rice (any & all varieties)
• Dried and Canned Beans (any variety)
• Canned Vegetables
• Canned Soup
• Almond Milk, Coconut Milk and/or Powdered Milk
• Olive Oil or other plant based oil
• Hot cereals like Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat or Grits
• Nut butters like Peanut or Almond butter
• Variety of Nuts
• Dried Fruit (Cranberries, raisins, prunes, etc.)
• Honey, Maple Syrup, Jellies or Preserves
• Pasta Noodles
• Whole Root Vegetables: onions, garlic, potatoes and beets
• Dried Mushrooms or Canned Meat such as tuna, chicken or sardines
• Crackers
• Canned tomatoes, pasta sauce and tomato sauce
• Coffee and/or tea
• Apple Cider or White Vinegar
• Salt
• Condiments like ketchup, salsa, mustard, etc.
• Dried Seasonings
• Water purification tablets
• Dish Detergent
• Paper Towel
• Aluminum foil
• Ziplock bags (variety of sizes)
• Food handler gloves
• Polyvinyl film

When planning your survival pantry, consider items specific to your dietary needs, allergies and food restrictions.  The idea is to have healthy staple items that you normally consume that have a 6 month to 1-year shelf-life, not including the root vegetables you’ll keep in your pantry.

Employers spend quite a bit of time and resources recruiting top quality candidates to help them succeed in business.  Keeping a low turn-over rate is the key to success.  Your employees want more than a salary, they want to be appreciated.  March 6th is Employee Appreciation Day.  It’s a great time to evaluated where the company is in the first quarter of the year and recognize your best staff.  Here are a few ideas to help get the ball rolling:

• Bring in a catered lunch for the team
• A certificate to recognize those who exceeded expectations
• Close the office early on Friday to give everyone a head start on the weekend
• Off-Site event to encourage esprit de corps like helping at a local shelter
• A financial bonus or an extra paid vacation day for your top employee
• A hand written letter to each of your employees to recognize the contribution to the company

While it’s important to have at least one day out of the year where employees can be recognized, offering regular catered lunch is one way to really show your staff that you appreciate them.  Lunchtime is necessary but often people find themselves stressed out with limited time to leave the office and secure a healthy meal and return in time.  Even 1 catered meal a week, gives employees something to look forward to and Dine With 9 Catering makes it affordable for employers.  Call our sales team at 818.769.1883 to discuss options for your company.