Flourless Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Instagram inspires me so much. I think that it's so nice to have a place where you can follow people that are doing very different things all around the world. Or even people that are interested in the same subject as you are.

This week I got so inspired by Garden In The Kitchen. Not only the author, Silvia, is a Brazilian living in the USA just like me, but she's so inspiring. What I really like about her is that she does wholesome recipes and very nutritional ones, but also very flavorful. 

When I saw this double chocolate banana bread on her feed I knew that I had to try it. Since I had scheduled a tea time with one of my best friends that was the perfect opportunity. But my friend can't have gluten, so I had to do a few changes. And that's what I like - we can totally get inspired by something and not follow that through exactly how it is. I love that we can change recipes and create another one just by getting inspired.

Just like Silvia's recipe mine use only a blender. Luck for me I have a very potent one. If this is not your case, don't worry. You can blend the soft ingredients on the blender and then mix it in a bowl with the dry ones. Easy peasy. If you are looking for a vegan option, go for Silvia's, mine takes egg - since I had to found a solution for the oats in hers, I used almond flour. Also she used almond butter and I am pretty sure I didn't even need the peanut butter for mine since I used the eggs - probably you can add an extra egg if you don't want or don't have peanut butter around. 

FLOURLESS DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups almond flour
• 4 small ripe bananas (or 2 large)
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• Pinch of salt and cinnamon to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre heat the oven at 350F (180º C). Grease a loaf pan with canola oil or place a parchment paper. On the blender mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate chips. You can also start by mixing the bananas, maple syrup, eggs and peanut butter and then add this mix to the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Place the batter in the pan and bring to the oven for 50 minutes or until you place a toothpick in the center of it and it comes clean. 

Enjoy!

Flourless Banana Bread

I have a sweet tooth in this phase of my life. A few years ago I couldn’t care less about sugar, but since I moved to America I crave for it. I don’t blame America, if I’m being honest, I think that my palate has change so much in the last months and this is one thing that has changed as well.

In order to keep a health lifestyle I am always searching simple solutions about food. I try to eat ultra-processed foods as little as I can. So when I saw this Buzzfeed Tasty video I was shocked! How come we can do cake with only two ingredients? I was mesmerized.

I tried it. It works. I baked on a muffin tray and add some cherries as well. Delicious. 

As the days were passing by I wondered if I could use the same technique with banana. Today I finally took some time to try the idea and I am so happy with the result.

Of course I added a few more ingredients: cinnamon, walnuts, baking powder and agave. I think the baking powder is useless here, since we use whipped egg whites. But since I didn't test it yet, I listed on the recipe.

Another plus about this recipe: it is totally FODmap diet friendly! Not with the agave, but you can swap it for your preference sweetener, or don’t do sweetener at all since the banana is already sweet enough. Suggestions: glucose or maple syrup.

FODmap diet friendly. Low carb. Low sugar. And delicious!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 rippen smashed bananas
• 4 eggs - whites and yolks separated 
• 1 tablespoon agave (or glucose/maple syrup - for FODmap diet)
• 3 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre heat the oven at 350F. Whip the egg whites. Mix the smashed bananas with the egg yolks, cinnamon, agave and baking powder. 

Gently, mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the banana mix. Add the other 2/3. Always very slowly to no break the bubbles of the egg whites. Pour the batter in a greased the muffin tray. Spread the walnuts on top of the muffins. Bake for 25 min or until the top is golden.

A sweet treat to my sweet tooth.

Just to be clear: I am not against carbs or sugar. Not at all. I just want to enjoy the most the foods around. I like to eat. A lot. But I like to eat healthy as well. That doesn’t mean that once in a while I’ll not eat a nice dessert. The thing is: I try to save these moments for something that really worths the calories. And I don’t blame myself later. I am always looking for balance :)