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Snack Today: Banana Bread
Posted on by Paula Gallagher

Raise your hand if you have overly ripe bananas. Now raise your hand if you are buying bananas just to watch them turn brown so you can make banana bread. If you are like me, you may be doing a little extra baking during this time – and banana bread is an easy and healthy thing to try, even if you aren't really a baker!
You can use any type of flour you have on hand, but using a whole grain flour will give you more fiber and nutrition than using an all-white flour. You can also use gluten-free options, my favorite being chickpea flour. Chickpea flour is nutritious, packed with fiber and protein. Each serving of chickpea flour packs a whopping 6g of protein and 5g of fiber. This flour is naturally slightly sweet, too, which means that it's easy to cut back on the sweeteners in the recipe. You can also make this into muffins – just adjust the baking time to 20-24 minutes.
Banana Bread
• 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional add-ins:
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together chickpea flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, honey, vanilla extract, eggs, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar, and mix until well combined and creamy.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over-mix! This is also the time to fold in any of the optional add-ins. My favorites are walnuts and chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert, remove bread from pan and place the load back on the wire rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy!
Photo from here, with thanks.
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