Flourless Banana Bread

My husband loves banana bread, so when I came across this flourless banana bread recipe from one of my favorite sites - Spoonful of Sugar Free - I was excited to try it. At the same time, I was a bit skeptical: how can fruit, nuts, chia seeds and eggs make bread? I ended up becoming a believer after making this recipe and make it 2-3 times per month for my banana bread lovin' hubby. It's a low glycemic, whole food option that makes a complete meal - protein, fat, and "something from the ground" (the banana!).

I have made a few changes to the recipe. First off - and this is most important - it needs to be cooked longer than an hour. This bread can be too moist if it doesn't cook long enough. I also leave it out to sit overnight to "dry" out a bit. It sounds counter intuitive, but the second and third day are the best for this bread. Secondly, I stir in cocoa nibs for extra crunch and nutrients.

This recipe uses chia gel to draw the ingredients together. To make the gel, the recipe instructs you to combine 1 tablespoons of chia seeds with 9 tablespoons of water and wait for them to puff up (~20 minutes). You only need to use 3 tablespoons of this gel for the bread, but the recipe to make the gel makes more than 3 tablespoons, so you can either use it in a smoothie or just make less (try 2 tsp. chia seeds with 6 tablespoons water).

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananans

1/2 cup almond butter (can sub other nut butters too)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

3 tablespoons chia gel (see above)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Optional: 1/4 cup cocoa nibs

Optional: stevia to taste

Instructions:

Chia seeds (pre-water):

Chia gel (after 20 minutes of soaking):

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas and mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Whole flaxseeds (ground are better, but my grinder wasn't working!):

Mmmm...cocoa nibs...

Pour the batter into a lightly greased bread pan or muffin tin. (I grease it with coconut oil.)

Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Again, cooking it a bit longer (until the sides darken) prevents it from being too wet. The picture below shows a not-quite-done loaf, which is how I made it the first time. I keep it in another 10 minutes when I make it now.

Looks like bread with flour, eh?

The bread will rise in the oven but will sink when taken out. Let the bread cool for 15 minutes in the pan, which is necessary for the bread to set since it doesn't contain flour. Turn the pan over on a cutting board, slice, and enjoy! This is delicious slathered with a bit of peanut or almond butter, or maybe some pasture butter. You can also top it with smashed raspberries or sliced strawberries for a nutrient punch.

Enjoy!

*M*