You hear a lot of discussion in the news, on food blogs, and in grocery stores about organic food. Organic food is something my husband and I try to buy as much as we can, mostly because we think it tastes better, and because we prefer our food pesticide free. Another label that I think occasionally gets overlooked is food that is Fair Trade Certified.
Fair Trade is exactly that – making sure that the farmers, and by extension, farm workers, are paid fairly for their products. Fair Trade USA (@FairTradeUSA) is a non-profit organization, but they are not a charity. Instead, they work to make sure that growers around the world have the knowledge needed to operate in the marketplace and get a fair price for the food they produce.
October is Fair Trade Month, and for the next week, I’m going to show you as many ways as I can for you to integrate Fair Trade products into your grocery cart. I think you’ll be happily surprised at just how often you can support the Fair Trade initiative with purchases that make your family smile.
I received a box chock fully of goodies from Fair Trade USA to play around with, and what better way to enjoy them than a breakfast bread full of all sorts of delicious Fair Trade goodness?
I built the recipe around the most intriguing (to me) ingredient in the box, Fair Harvest Foods Banana Acai Spread. This stuff is billeted as a dessert sauce, a spread for toast, or even a quick snack on crackers. So why not the star ingredient for a breakfast quick bread?
This bread also features Fair Trade honey, chocolate chips, and even Green Mountain Fair Trade Columbian Coffee. In fact, one of the reasons that I love GMC as much as I do is their commitment to Fair Trade.
I’ll be talking more about them later this week, along with an exciting giveaways tomorrow for a box of Fair Trade goodies, and on Thursday for a Keurig Mini Plus brewer! Make sure you keep checking in!
Fair Trade Breakfast Bread
Makes one 9″ Loaf
Ingredients
3/4 cup Banana Acai Spread
1/2 cup room temperature Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified Columbian Coffee
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Glory Bee Fair Trade Comapi Honey
2 large eggs
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup SunSpire Organic Chocolate Chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9″ loaf pan with cooking spray for baking. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the Banana Acai spread, room temperature Columbian coffee, canola oil, brown sugar, honey, and eggs. Whisk together for several minutes to ensure ingredients are well mixed.
In a separate smaller bowl, combine flour, salt, and cinnamon. Use a clean and dry whisk to mix the dry ingredients together and also aerate them.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add the walnuts and chocolate chips to the batter and mix through just to distribute.
Pour the batter into the 9″ loaf pan and cover with foil. Bake 65-70 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Please note that if you bake the bread in a ceramic pan, it could take a solid 20 minutes longer to cook through in the center. Make sure the bread is covered with foil to prevent burning around the edges.
I was provided with a box of Fair Trade Certified goods to sample for free. I have not been compensated for this post, nor was I asked to create this recipe. All opinions are my own.[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Fair Trade Week :: Fair Trade Breakfast Bread – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Casey@Good. Food. Stories.
Friday 19th of October 2012
The Fair Trade honey sounds incredible - I get my honey from my friends' beehive whenever possible, and I swear it tastes better because I know exactly where it came from.
Tracy
Thursday 18th of October 2012
Hooray for Fair Trade! This banana bread sounds fabulous...and coffee in there, too - I'm totally in!
shelly (cookies and cups)
Wednesday 17th of October 2012
I could go for a slice or three of that right now!
Kathryn
Wednesday 17th of October 2012
I'm a big supporter of fair trade so I'm so happy to see this post! This breakfast bread sounds delicious : )
Jamie | My Baking Addiction
Tuesday 16th of October 2012
I would totally dig this bread for breakfast - it looks and sounds amazing. I love the fact that you used a fantastic assortment of Fair Trade products!