GLUTEN-FREE, EGG-FREE BANANA BREAD

Aside from being extremely nourishing from ingredients like oats, non-fat Greek yogurt, olive oil, and of course…bananas, this banana bread is hands down the most addicting banana bread you will ever eat. I swear, I prefer it to the conventional ones. It’s also free of gluten, eggs, refined carbs and refined sugars — minus the chocolate chips, which you can easily omit.

So next time you’ve got some ripe bananas, grab the rest of these ingredients, and I promise your life will never be the same. (And if you’re a fan, which you will be, go and make our Pumpkin Bread because the recipes are almost identical and that one is just as addicting too!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups rolled oats or oat flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¾ tsp baking powder

• ¾ tsp salt

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• 3 ripe bananas

• ½ cup 0% Greek yogurt

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• ⅓ cup maple syrup

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• ½ cup chocolate chips, plus more for the top (optional)

• ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus more for the top (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. If using rolled oats, in a blender, blend oats till they turn into oat flour. (If using oat flour, you can obviously skip this step!)

3. Mix oat flour with baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon.

4. In a separate bowl, mash up the bananas.

5. Add the yogurt, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla to the bananas and mix.

6. Pour a third of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix. When combined, add in another third and mix. When combined, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until dry and wet ingredients are fully combined.

7. Fold chocolate chips and walnuts (if using) into the batter.

8. Pour batter into a greased 9x11 loaf pan. Top with extra chocolate and walnuts and bake for 30-40 minutes. When 30 minutes has passed, turn off the oven and keep the cake inside for another 10 minutes with the door closed. When the 10 minutes are up, the edges should be slightly brown, but golden.

9. Take the cake out and let it cool on a cooling rack before removing it from the loaf pan. Slice to serve!

4Q Journaling Guide: Even though this is a healthier alternative to conventional pumpkin bread, we would still consider this an indulgence due to the added sugar content. You could reduce the servings to 1/3 slice and have it as an after-dinner treat!