superfitbabe

Do you like Food Network?

If I had to pick only one show to watch from Food Network, it would probably be “Cupcake Wars”. I don’t know what it is about “Cupcake Wars”, but I can’t get enough of watching it on Netflix, and that is saying something coming from someone whose television time is about the same amount as the average person’s time watching politics. I guess it’s because I like the way the cakes are decorated, the creative fire that the contestants present, and once in a while I find a cool place in Los Angeles that sells vegan or gluten free cupcakes that I’d splurge on if it fancies me! But also, my mother and I love their recipes.

Once in a blue moon, my mother gets this sudden urge to make banana bread. It’s generally when we have a giant bowl of overripe, mushy, browning bananas in our kitchen and are restocked with new baking products at the same time. And of course, because I love to bake, and because my family loves desserts, my mother, sister and I spend good quality time in the kitchen whipping up some new goodies, including this one, which is an adaptation of Food Network’s simple banana bread recipe at this link. All original credits go to this recipe!

However, Food Network does not always necessarily use the most wholesome ingredients. In fact, a lot of their dessert recipes, even the ones that are supposedly labeled “healthy”, call for lots of oils, sugars, cheese, and refined carbs paired with some type of superfood. Luckily, this banana bread recipe is made with sprouted whole grain flour instead of all-purpose flour and has half the sugar of Food Network’s recipe without sacrificing any goodness. While this recipe is very similar to my absolutely delicious crackworthy almond banana bread, it is a lot softer, more moist and has extra nutrients from the sprouted whole grains.

I highly recommend them both as healthier alternatives to your standard banana bread, coffee cake or blueberry muffin. You won’t be disappointed!

RECIPE

• 2 cups sprouted gluten free whole grain or whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, coconut sugar or cane sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, but we used 1 stick of organic butter–I would prefer to use coconut oil, but this is all we had
• 2 eggs or 2 flax/chia eggs
• 3 overripe bananas
• 1 TBSP plant-based milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coconut shreds
• Opt: walnuts, almonds, cacao powder, zucchini, etc.

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Whisk sugar and butter with an electric mixer until very smooth.
3. One by one, crack each egg in the bowl and continue to mix.
4. Mash the bananas with a whisk, potato masher or a fork in a separate bowl.
5. Add the plant milk and cinnamon into the banana mixture and combine evenly.
6. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
7. Thoroughly combine the bananas with the sugar and butter mixture.
8. Carefully stir in the dry ingredients until the whole mixture is smooth and even with no clumps.
9. Spray a loaf tin, preferably 9 x 5, and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the edges are golden-brown and a toothpick comes clean from the loaf.
10. Let cool completely, and then enjoy a slice with some Arctic Zero or on top of some blender-free protein ice cream! (Recipe for that coming up very soon!!)

What will you be eating this New Year? Do you like Food Network shows?