The battle of low to no sugar is now a part of most households. Whether you are trying to lose weight or attempting to introduce your kids’ and other members of the clan to a no sugar and gluten free lifestyle, the struggle is real. Take weight loss for instance; the mantra to losing weight and keeping it off is – No Sugar-Low carbs! I like calling it-sugar shaming. If you are reading this recipe and looking forward to making this banana bread you probably are aware of the havoc sugar causes in your body.

Now, the story behind this banana bread. I was not going to give up desserts in this journey of No Sugar-Low carbs, so I knew I had to improvise. It took me six months of trial and error to perfect this recipe: and when I did, my baby, banana bread was born! There are no bad ingredients in this recipe. It has no gluten, no sugar; its paleo, and a loaf of pure guilt free goodness. The sweetness comes from the bananas and dates-that’s all. When I say this banana bread will knock the pants off of you; you will just need to believe me, and see for yourself. You better buckle up.

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins (Prep time:15 mins+ Cook time: 1 hour)

INGREDIENTS

For the Bread

• Bananas – 2 (over ripe)
• Almond meal or flour – 2 cups
• Avocado oil or coconut oil – 1/4 cup
• Eggs – 2 large
• Cranberries – 1/4 cup
• Medjool dates – pitted and chopped about 1/4 cup (about large 6 dates)
• Pecans – chopped 1/2 cup
• Shredded unsweetened coconut – 1/2 cup
• Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon
• Baking powder – Gluten free or Paleo, 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt -1/4 teaspoon
• Vanilla extract – 2-3 tablespoons
• Cinnamon – 1/4 teaspoon (optional)

Optional topping for the Bread

• Maple sugar – 1 tablespoon
• Shredded unsweetened coconut – 2 tablespoons

DIRECTIONS

Pre heat the oven to 350 F (176.6 C

Mixing the dry ingredients

1. In a bowl, incorporate the dry ingredients consisting of almond meal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. In a separate bowl add the chopped nuts and dates, shredded coconut, and cranberries. Add a tablespoon of the almond meal mixture to lightly coat the nuts. This will prevent the nuts from sinking to the bottom of the loaf pan and burning.

Mixing the wet ingredients

1. With the back of a fork, mash the bananas in a plate or bowl, set it aside.
2. Beat the eggs, oil and vanilla extract using a balloon whisk or hand mixer. You may choose to use a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, it should take about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the mashed bananas and whisk for another 3 minutes.

Incorporating the wet and dry ingredients

1. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, minus the nuts and mix it until all combined. If using the standing mixer, switch to the paddle attachment and mix it on high for about 4 minutes.
2. Finally, fold in the nut, dates, and cranberry mixture.
3. In a small bowl, mix the maple sugar with the shredded coconut and set it aside.
4. Line the loaf tin (pan) with some parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper, you can spray the tin with some nonstick cooking spray.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and sprinkle the coconut maple sugar mixture on top. This is a completely optional step. You can omit the maple sugar and just sprinkle shredded coconut. That works great too.
6. It should take somewhere between 45 to 60 minutes for the banana bread to bake. Oven times vary so after 45 minutes, insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it comes out clean, your banana bread is done. If it doesn’t, you can check on the banana bread every 7 to10 minutes.
7. Let it sit in the loaf tin for at least 20 minutes. Then remove and set it on a cooling rack for another 20 minutes. The cooling process makes it easy to cut and reduces the chances of crumbling.

NOTES

• Almond flour vs. almond meal: Flour is finely ground blanched almonds (skin removed). Meal is coarsely ground almonds that may or may not be blanched. Both types make great banana bread but I prefer almond meal over almond flour for this recipe.
• Banana: If you don’t have over ripe bananas you can leave the banana in the freezer for a few hours. When thawed the taste and texture will be of over ripe bananas.
• Cranberries: Read the label when buying cranberries. If you wish to make a paleo banana bread, the ingredient list on the cranberries should read unsweetened apple juice or any fruit juice and not cane sugar. Cranberries can be replaced with raisins.
• Maple sugar: Maple sugar is made from the sap of a maple tree. It is a perfect replacement to white or brown sugar. If you do not have or cannot find maple sugar, you can skip it completely. Or use the same quantity of regular or brown sugar.
• Nonstick cooking spray: If you do not have a nonstick cooking spray, use a pastry brush or paper towel to rub some cooking oil onto the loaf tin. If you follow a paleo diet, you could use coconut oil, avocado oil, or ghee. Using olive oil may conflict with the flavors of the banana bread.