A few weeks ago I spotted too many darkening bananas on the counter and decided it was time to make some banana bread. A quick search of recipes using SpringPad on my iPhone located this recipe by Emily Malone on the Dailly Garnish site.
I have modified this already vegan recipe somewhat. My goals were two-fold: make it healthier, make it tastier, and make it from ingredients already in the kitchen. Okay, that’s three goals. Thank you Emily for a fantastic recipe. You can, of course, choose to follow the original version or my version or make up your own variation.
Ingredients
I’ve italicized ingredients that are not in Emily’s recipe, as well as measurements that differ from Emily’s recipe. Also worth mentioning: as much as possible, I try to use organic ingredients.
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the chia seeds to a one-cup glass measuring cup and a 1/4 cup cold water. Stir.
- Wait around 15 minutes until the chia seeds absorb a significant amount of water to form a gel.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, and chia gel.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the ingredients for a few minutes until well combined.
- In another one-cup glass measuring cup (or perhaps you could simply clean the cup in which you made the chia gel), add the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the non-dairy milk. (I’ve used both soy and almond with good results.) and stir. This concoction makes a non-dairy version of buttermilk.
- Add the milk and vinegar solution to the mixing bowl along with the vanilla and mashed bananas. Beat with the mixer for a few more minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix together with a fork.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined well. Don’t over-mix.
The mixture before placing it in the loaf pan.
- Grease a loaf pan with a little olive oil and a paper towel.
- Pour the bread mixture into the loaf pan, leveling it as much as possible.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Check the bread by inserting a knife into the middle of the loaf until it reaches the bottom of the pan and withdraw it. The knife should be pretty clean; that is, no wet batter stuck to it.
Fresh out of the oven. The smell is wonderful!
- Let sit on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the loaf to separate it from the pan. Bang the pan on the counter a few times and turn it over, the loaf should come out pretty easily.
- Let the loaf cool on a cooling rack. If you’re like me, you won’t be able to resist slicing off a piece while it’s still warm. Enjoy.
The finished product right before the first slice was made.
What’s so great about the recipe is that it uses whole wheat flour, a relatively small amount of sweeteners, and is vegan without really trying that hard. We love it anyway!
The Whole Geek 
I love banana bread and I also usually make it only when I have bananas that need “saving.” I’ve never cooked with chia seeds and I’ve learned something new today. I know they’re really healthy and I’m glad to now know a way to incorporate them into a recipe. Thanks!