A few weeks ago I was sent a grocery “essentials” box from a company called Bearfaced Groceries , an online grocer who deliver straight to your front door. It was full to the brim with incredibly fresh fruits, veg and grass-fed beef, salmon and chicken. The one thing in the box which left me a little stumped as to what to make out of them were the bananas as ever since I was a little girl I have, to be honest, detested them.
It all stemmed back to a 8th birthday party where we were blind folded and made to try different foods and guess what they were. It all started off so well, with some custard and strawberries but then it turned from fun in to food horror as I was given banana, followed by cat food…I mean, who DOES that at a child’s birthday party???!!! Needless to say, I never did eat banana again, keep in touch with the birthday girl or her family and as a soon-to-be parent I would never think to do anything so cruel!
So, the bananas had sat in the fruit bowl ripening away before I suddenly decided that I was going to make and master a healthy banana bread. Loaded with flavour, texture and incredibly moist with no added sweetener or sugar, this banana bread is a certain winner in any household (so long as you like bananas!). I thoroughly recommend using ripened bananas as they are naturally much sweeter and bake beautifully. The loaf has since been made twice and tested on a lot of friends who have been making their final visits to meet bump and wish me luck before D day!
Per loaf I get around 15-20 slices out of it and this works out as 6g carbs per slice. Of course, if you really feel the need for added sweetness then do add in a sweetener or some raw honey or alternatively some 80%+ chocolate chips. However, my trusty guinea pigs have PROMISED me that this loaf is certainly sweet enough. I have tried it on my friends young children, who adored it and my husband has been eating it for breakfast and as a snack during the day! He’s also been toasting it too which he says is divine, especially with a dollop of homemade Nutella. It keeps in a bread bin for up to 5 days or in the fridge to up to 7 days.
- 500g Ripe Banana (approx 4)
- 80g Ground Almonds
- 20g Coconut Flour
- 4 Eggs, Large (approx 80g each)
- 50g Coconut Oil, Melted (1 TBSP)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1.5 tsp Cinnamon, Ground
- 80g Walnuts (optional)
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 356°F
- In to a food processor place 450g banana (chop the other 50 g in to slices to decorate the top) and 4 eggs, blend on full speed until creamy and combined
- Carefully add in melted coconut oil and continue to blend
- Now add in the cinnamon, ground almonds, coconut flour and baking powder and continue to blend
- Add in walnuts and pulse to break up (alternatively, used chopped walnuts and just fold in to the batter)
- In to a greased bread tin pour batter mixture and decorate the top with the chopped banana
- Place in to oven at 180°C / 356°F for 45 minutes. Check bread by placing a sharp knife in to centre and checking it comes out clean- you will notice that it might seem a little bubbly from the coconut oil but this will solidify
For more information about Bearfaced Groceries then read their website and FAQ’s here.
I LOVe when banana bread is dense and moist like this! Looks so yummy!
Look delicious!!! I definitely try this recipe this weedkend!!!
I noticed you are using almond flour in a lot of your recipes. I think they are better alternatives and also you do not seem to advise to soak nuts prior using them in your recipes which is a fairly straightforward process which activates the nuts thus making them easier to digest and more nutritious. Just a thought..
Thanks for the thought.
1) almond flour / ground almonds are affordable, accessible, low carb thus little blood sugar impact , paleo, vegan and easy to use- hence the relatively frequent use in my recipes
2) re activation – on the recipes where whole nuts are used (not shop bought almond flour as this simply would not work) it’s up to my loyal readers what they do with the nuts prior to using them – I make the recipes simple for a purpose but thanks for your comment. Ps. There is no hard scientific evidence to suggest that activating nuts (an arduous / timely process and also expensive if you buy pre-activated) will make them any more ‘nutritious’. Raw / non activated nuts and seeds are still nutritious and are good sources of healthy fats, vitamin E, B vitamins, protein, potassium and fibre. However, everyone is allowed their own opinion and if this is what works for you then that’s great.
A good article- http://gabriellemaston.com/top-5-nut-myths/
Thanks,
Hi! I really want to try this recipe, but I can’t eat eggs. What can I use to use in place of the eggs that would still make this bread delicious?
Hi Cara, thank you, I haven’t tried this bread without eggs and I wouldn’t want to suggest anything unless I could confirm it worked. However, I do have this recipe- https://thelowcarbkitchen.co.uk/banana-and-chia-muffins-vegan-egg-free/ which is egg free and very popular! I’m sure you could make this in to a banana bread – you will just need to follow the same cooking time and temp instructions as per this recipe. Good luck! Emma X
Banana is a perfect ingredient. It has a unique flavor and is extremely healthy as it is rich in nutrients like iron and potassium. Almonds adds extra taste to it.Thank you for sharing.
I’m trying it! It’s in the oven as we speak. I did buy a pack of walnuts the other day but they have disappeared somewhere in my kitchen!!…so I made it sans walnuts so hope it’s still ok.
45 mins later….ohhhh my! ! It’s gorgeous! Would have been even better with walnuts …which my son ate by the way!!
Ah! I am so so pleased you enjoyed it so much. I hope you try it again with the walnuts this time 🙂 Emma x
Hi! Firstly, I’ve recently bought your book and it is AMAZING – I was diagnosed with type 1 at 23 almost 3 years ago and your book is such a game changer. It’s genuinely made me excited about cooking again, so thank you!
I baked this last week and once it was cool, I left it in an airtight tin but the following day it had gone extremely soggy and a bit spoiled. I was really sad to have to bin it – should I have refrigerated it it to store it? May have just been bad luck so will try again but would appreciate any tips
hi, firstly, thank you for your kind words about my book. I am so pleased you found it and are getting so much enjoyment from it.
Hmm….I don’t know why the banana bread would have gone soggy, esp if it was already cool, what a shame… My only suggestion would be to keep it in the fridge, esp with all the warm weather we have been having lately. Do let me know if you try it again! Hope you continue to enjoy the recipes in the book and that all is going ok with your t1d. Emma x