Homemade Banana Bread (allergy-free!)

I don't know about you guys, but I have been in a baking mood lately. I usually catch the bug on the weekends, and it is gone by the weekdays. So, I started channeling this baking energy into my meal prep for the week... here's how!

This recipe comes directly from my grandmother's kitchen - Mimi is the banana bread expert! The great thing about this recipe is it is entirely what you make it. I have been eating an anti-inflammatory diet for some health issues recently, so I have been making this recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, and with no added sugar. The wonderful thing is you can customize it exactly how you want it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of butter, softened

• 1/4 cup of oil, whichever you prefer

• 1 and 1/2 cups of mashed bananas

• 1 tsp of vanilla

• 1 tsp of baking soda

• 1 tsp of baking powder

• 1/2 cup of oats

• 1 and 1/2 cup of flour

• 2 whole eggs

• 1/2 cup of brown sugar

• 1/2 cup of white sugar

Alterations:

• Substitute the sugar for applesauce. I have been doing only unsweetened apple sauce ~1/2 cup. This really relies on the natural sweetness of the bananas. If you want your bread a little sweeter, play around with the ratio of applesauce to sugar. I found 1/2 cup of whatever ratio you want is plenty of sweetness - again this is personal preference!

• Change up your flour. I use almond flour for this. I buy it from the store. My grandmother grinds her own nuts for flour; she uses almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. You can also use regular white flour or whole wheat - this is what you make it!

• Special finishing touches - CHOCOLATE! I personally love some chocolate chips to top off my banana bread. I found a brand of allergy-free chocolate chips at the store, and I add about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup. Depends on how bad my sweet tooth is at the time! There is also the option of regular milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or even dark. Play with this, and see what you like.

• Greek yogurt. My grandmother uses both sugars (more dry ingredients) and adds 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt to her batter. She likes a more moist bread. I found using the applesauce instead of the sugar makes the batter plenty moist, so I do not use yogurt. Again, it all depends which route you take. If you have more dry ingredients (real sugar etc), you may need the Greek yogurt for moisture!

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine everything (except the chocolate chips) in a bowl - I do all the dry ingredients then add in the wet. Easy as can be!

3. Then, mix until the batter is smooth.

4. Add the chocolate chips in as the last step if you are doing so. Do not over mix here - just gently fold them in. I even save a couple chocolate chips to garnish the top of the bread.

5. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven. I usually check it at 30 minutes with a fork or toothpick. Then, I continue to check at 5 minute intervals until my toothpick is clean.

6. Let it cool for an hour or more before transferring the loaf to storage or wrapping it up. Then, enjoy!

On busy mornings, this has been a great go-to breakfast for me. I'll pop a piece in the microwave, and eat it with a hard-boiled egg and some blueberries. It even keeps me full until lunch!

Like I said, the beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to customize to fit your dietary needs and preferences. Try this recipe out the next time you are wanting to bake, and you'll have a quick and easy breakfast or snack throughout the week! Let us know what you think!