Better-Than-Mom’s Banana Bread From Forks Over Knives Cookbook

Better-Than-Mom’s Banana Bread From Forks Over Knives Cookbook

Those bananas seem to ripen much too quickly, and “on-the-spot” decisions must be made! Should I throw them away? Absolutely not! Peeling, cutting and freezing them always works. Then I could use them at a later time for making smoothies or a yummy non-dairy frozen dessert. I could make my rolled oat banana bites. That works too. What about banana bread? I love banana bread, and I haven’t made it in such a long time.

I decided to break open my new Forks Over Knives Cookbook to seek out a healthy banana bread recipe. Didn’t the amazing vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz contribute the dessert recipes for this book? Yes! I was so happy to find this “clean” recipe which does not use oil, sugar or any other yucky ingredients. This banana bread is sweetened with 100% pure maple syrup and uses only a few simple ingredients.

And it’s so easy to make. You just have to add some wet ingredients to some dry ingredients.

How hard is that? If you desire, you could add other stuff to the batter, such as walnuts, pecans or blueberries. I went for the vegan chocolate chips!

The result…a fabulous Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, as healthy as it gets!

BETTER THAN MOM’S BANANA BREAD (WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS) FROM FORKS OVER KNIVES COOKBOOK

Makes one 8×4-Inch Loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed banana (approx. 2 1/3 bananas depending upon their size)

1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup unsweetened plant-based milk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

*Note: You can add 1/2 cup of other “stuff” to the batter, if you desire, such as walnuts, pecans, blueberries or vegan chocolate chips. I used 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips in my banana bread.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×4-inch loaf non-stick or silicone baking pan (I lightly coated the pan with coconut oil)

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the mashed banana, maple syrup, applesauce, milk and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is easily moistened.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Distribute the batter evenly along the length of the pan but don’t spread the batter to the edges; the batter will spread as it bakes.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. It’s hard to test for doneness with a knife because the banana tends to stay moist, so judge by the edges of bread. They should be golden brown and pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Let the bread cool completely, about 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and carefully invert the loaf onto a cooling rack. Be sure it is fully cooled before slicing.

Enjoy!