What is this Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread missing besides gluten, dairy and eggs??? NOTHING! This bread is so dang good thanks to a mixture of organic cane sugar and pure maple syrup, coconut oil, and ground flaxseeds.
So yesterday was quite the day of partying! We’ve never been major St. Patty’s Day party goers, but it being spring break and all, we totally lived it up!
And, well, HELLO, we’re in Hawaii!!! So you know, pretty much every holiday is full of fantastic events.
Our St. Patrick’s Day itinerary included a four hour long play date at the beach with the most beautiful greenish blue turquoise water I’ve seen since being here (perfect for the holiday), buying smoothies for ourselves and our flu stricken friends, darting over to Braelyn’s dance class with just enough time to wash the sand out of her booty, and finally a stellar swim party at a friend’s house where our girls swam until their eyes were bloodshot and they couldn’t move another muscle in their bodies.
Can you say SUCCESS?!!!
And then night came and Braelyn began barfing. Wahhh! Game over.
The poor girl was such a trooper. She’d wake up, throw up for a few minutes, and go back to bed. Even though I was getting up with her every hour, I didn’t feel like she was a burden at all. She pretty much took care of herself.
The saddest part of this whole flu business is that we were supposed to go on a mommy daughter date tonight…just the two of us. We planned on paddle boarding at the beach and grabbing pizza with friends. Braelyn was brokenhearted today when she realized she would miss it.
And to make things worse, I feel like there’s not much I can do to make her feel better. She just wants to lay there. She’s not interested in playing games, listening to a book, coloring, anything. Plus, my way of really showing love to my family is through food. And there’s no way she could even eat anything right now! Poor, poor girl.
BUT…on a happier, less depressed note, if there was anything I could give her right now to show her how much mommy loves her, it would definitely be this Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread.
Braelyn is OBSESSED with banana bread. It’s one of my favorite things to make when she’s at school. The look on her face when she comes home to find a fresh baked loaf of banana bread, or a cooling rack full of mini muffins, is absolutely priceless. It’s all I can do to get her to put her backpack away and wash her hands before she stuffs some in her face.
I’ve been wanting to experiment with a vegan banana bread that tastes exactly like the real deal for those of you who have additional allergies or food aversions aside from gluten free. Everyone deserves a delicious slice of banana bread when those overly ripe bananas on the counter are just staring them in the face.
Well guys…THIS IS IT!
Really, I’m telling you. This is the recipe. I’ve made it twice in the last week, and am about to make it again once the flu bug has evacuated our house. It’s absolutely delicious…everything and MORE (or LESS with allergies) that banana bread should be.
It’s sweet.
It’s tender.
It’s moist.
It’s light.
It’s flavorful.
And on top of all that goodness, it LOOKS just like regular banana bread. Let’s face it, we all eat with our eyes, too. I don’t care how something tastes. If it doesn’t look good, I’m not eating it.
This I will eat…and I did eat! I was so proud of how it turned out that I passed some loaves out to neighbors and friends. It received rave reviews!
And the best part is…it’s a lot healthier than traditional banana bread.
First off, with the gluten free flour substitutions, this bread is about 75% whole grain. Score!
Next, I replaced melted butter or oil with coconut oil. Another healthier option!
Then, I reduced the sugar that would be in a regular recipe and even cut that amount down by using part pure maple syrup. The sugar that I did use in the recipe was organic cane sugar which is slightly less refined that regular granulated sugar.
And lastly, I omitted the eggs and replaced them with ground flaxseed and water, which not only adds structure to the bread, but it also adds healthy fat and fiber.
BOOM! The perfect banana bread. What more could you ask for???
Well, besides healthy children that aren’t laying on the couch like zombies fighting the urge to barf in a bowl. But you know, count your blessings. It could be worse, right?
How did you spend your St. Patrick’s Day holiday?
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 6 tablespoons warm water
- ½ cup melted coconut oil, cooled to touch
- ⅔ cup organic cane sugar
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1¼ cups mashed bananas (2-3)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup sweet sorghum flour
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten free oat flour
- ⅓ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour 3 mini loaf pans. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together flaxseed with water and let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together coconut oil, cane sugar, and maple syrup until smooth. Add in flaxseed mixture and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl sift together salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, oat flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.
- Add ¾ of dry ingredients to wet mixture. Stir until smooth. Add mashed bananas and stir until smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Divide batter evenly between 3 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes (mine took 45) or until tops are brown and bounce back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove loaves and let cool for 10 minutes on cooling racks before removing. Flip out and allow loaves to continue cooling right side up until ready to serve.
- Freeze loaves in freezer bags or wrapped in plastic wrap covered with foil for up to 3 months.
