I've made this cornbread a couple of times before, but not since the website changed. This particular batch was inspired by having too much cornmeal to fit in the jar I wanted to put it in. I try not to eat many flour products/breads, but every once in awhile, I just can't resist the urge to make cornbread to go with my taco soup.

 When January 2015 rolled around, I decided I wanted to go on a "cleanse." Rather than follow anyone else's guideline, I decided I'd just drink a green smoothie every morning for breakfast, avoid salt and oil for awhile (I already eat pretty healthy most of the time, but I felt that I was adding too much salt to my meals and wanted to sort of reset my taste buds), snack on fruit, and eat some sort of cooked starch dinner. After a couple of weeks of green smoothies, I was missing my banana nog (the green smoothies were sucking up a lot of my bananas). Do you blame me? That stuff is delicious. So being the weirdo that I am, I decided to combine them and make a green banana nog.

So way back in November 2014 I became addicted to banana nog. Yes, banana nog.

The good news is that banana nog is actually pretty healthy. That's why it was my drink of choice that year instead of hot cocoa (I had not yet figured out how to make The Skinniest Cocoa of them All). It's even pretty quick to toss together, so I didn't spend as much of my writing time procrastinating in the kitchen.

This is the liquid stevia that I use in all of my recipes. Usually I call it "Stevia Working Solution" just to keep it distinct from commercially available liquid stevia extracts, which vary a lot from brand to brand in sweetening power. If making my other recipes that call for liquid stevia, I strongly recommend using this recipe.

I am not a salad person. I do not like salad. Leaves are rabbit food and I would much rather blend them up in a green smoothie than try to eat them with a fork. I have a special hatred of kale...and chard...  Does that sound weird coming from a vegan? It probably does.

However, I really like this dressing. Not enough that I'd just drink it, but it makes milder greens like spinach and leaf lettuces more than bearable--almost tasty. This is a pretty big batch, so you might want to cut the recipe to 1/2 or 1/3, especially the first time you try it.

We try to eat as healthfully as we can whilst keeping sane. A few homemade "convenience foods" like this Italian Bean Soup and my Taco Soup help a lot.

Ah, the flavors of my childhood! My mom has used this taco seasoning mix for as long as I can remember, and I've started using it in all kinds of things, like this taco soup jar. Om nom nom!

We try to eat as healthfully as we can whilst keeping sane. A few homemade "convenience foods" like this Taco Soup and my Italian Bean Soup help a lot.