I admit, when I used to think of overly "free" recipes I assumed they'd either be entirely too complicated, requiring special, costly ingredients, and/or produce a rather lacking product. This banana bread though, was a game changer.
It is the easiest banana bread recipe I've made and has a great texture and taste. I've made it five or six times now, and we eat all the food groups. It keeps fantastically and has become our new go to protein packed hiking treat. Creating this made me question why we put so much additional sugar into standard banana bread recipes. I bet we could cut most down by 1/2 if not more? Certainly worth being curious about. Here is a genuinely delicious adventuring (or lounging) snack, if you are looking for something with less sugar and simple straightforward fare, or a treat for food sensitive friends and family, enjoy!!!
Ingredients
3 large ripe bananas (as their natural sugar provides the sweetness, its worth waiting until they are nicely speckled brown)
2 large eggs (if eggs are part of your sensitivity then use an egg replacer by all means)
2 cups almond flour/meal
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
*optional add-ins: 1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips (obviously this adds sugar, yet still its the only tiniest bit compared to regular quick bred recipes, and yes, as you can see in the above picture, this is a family favorite), dried blueberries or cut up dried dates are also great if you're more of a purist and add some color and pop flavor wise, dried pineapple bits and toasted coconut flakes folded into the batter are AMAZING - the coconut adds a nuttiness, and dried pineapple a sweet pop - the optional add-ins are just a great way to make this your own, so be creative and try something new!
Pre-heat the oven to 350, grease a standard 9 inch pie plate (I just use a little coconut oil).
In a large bowl mash up the bananas, add in the eggs, and mix well.
Add in the baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
Add in the almond flour, mix well.
Add in your optional add-ins, fold in.
Scoop into your pan and smooth out.
Bake for 40-45 min.
Cool for 1-2 hours before cutting into - this is hard, yet important for the bread to set up, and a free mini lesson in patience for little ones.
Enjoy!!
