Banana nut bread

Growing up, I was extremely picky about my bananas. After long swim practices, I would only eat the bananas that had the perfect ripeness (perfect by my standards) which meant just past the green stage, but not one speck of brown. I could not fathom eating browned bananas. Unless, of course, these bananas were used as banana bread. That was the only suitable use for browned bananas and any respectable banana bread will use only the best browned bananas.

The only sugar in this bread comes from the bananas. Some of you may wish to add in some honey, but I really don’t think it’s needed. This is a wonderful loaf to bring as a hostess gift or into one of those pot-luck brunches! Think of this as one of your paleo treats!

3 cups (450 g) almond flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (60 mL) coconut oil, melted
4 large eggs
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup (50 g) walnuts, chopped

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Combine the almond flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut oil and eggs.
  4. Mix the flour combination into the oil and eggs, and stir until well blended.
  5. Add in the mashed bananas, vanilla and cinnamon. Fold in the walnuts.
  6. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Variation—This recipe also works well as muffins. Just grease 12 medium-sized muffin cups, filling up about 2/3 of the way with the batter.