Banana, Pecan & Chocolate Bread

Makes 12-14 slices

FINALLY, thanks to all of the foodie gods, I have nailed my banana bread recipe and it took a bloody loooong time! It was the one recipe that kept on eluding me and I’m delighted to say that many too dry/too dense/too sweet/not sweet enough loaves later, this one is total and utter perfection. It just happens to be vegan, gluten free, sugar-free and even oil free although none of that was my intention when I started out!

But this is different from your typical banana bread recipe because it is best enjoyed toasted with a dollop of butter or nut butter on top, that melts into the bread perfectly.  Technically I should have called it Banana Toast instead, but that conjured up visions of people burning actual slices of banana in the toaster so I thought that was best avoided!  One of the reasons I love this recipe (apart from the fact that it is delicious, healthy and very easy to make), is the fact that there are no added sugars at all.  It wholly relies on the natural sweetness from the bananas themselves - the riper and browner the banana the better!  Having two slices with some nut butter on top makes a great vegan breakfast that is low in sugar, but that is high in fibre and plant-based protein.  The complex carbohydrates help to stabilise blood sugar levels and keep you satisfied until lunchtime.  It also makes a great after school snack for the kids or much-needed afternoon pick me up (coupled with a giant cup of coffee) for me.

I just love Sweetpea Pantry’s Grainy Brainy Pancake Mix – they make the most wonderful American style pancakes with all the nutritional goodness packed in.  So I thought I would substitute regular flour for their pancake mix in this recipe and it worked a charm! Apart from the bananas that need mashing, everything else just gets chucked into one bowl haphazardly, which is just the kind of non-meticulous baking that I like to do!

One slice provides 164 calories, 3g of fibre and 4g of plant-based protein.

INGREDIENTS

·     1 packet of Sweetpea Pantry Grainy Brainy Pancake Mix
·     45g Chopped Pecans (or walnuts)
·     2 Tbsp Pecan Butter (or any nut butter of your choice)
·     1 tsp Baking Powder
·     1 tsp Baking soda
·     1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
·     20g Unflavoured Unsweetened Protein Powder (I used Neat Nutrition)
·     90mls Water
·     60mls Milk (I used unsweetened Oat Milk)
·     1 tsp Vanilla Extract
·     Pinch of Salt
·     3½ Bananas (approx 365g)
·     20g Dark Chocolate Chips

METHOD

·      Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
·      Line a loaf tin with some greaseproof paper.
·      In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas.
·      Add all of the ingredients and mix well.
·      Pour into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes (or until a knife comes out clean).
·      Enjoy warm with some butter or nut butter on top.
·      Or else cool completely, slice and freeze.
·      Simply defrost in the toaster.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories – 164
Protein – 4g
Carbohydrates – 24g
Fat – 6g
Fibre – 3g