Although were heading into spring, it hasn’t exactly felt like spring yet to me so I decided to try out a new vegan chocolate banana bread recipe because I was in a baking mood and wanted something comforting. There is something about banana bread baking away that screams comfort food to me, probably because I used to love when my mom would whip some up for us when we were younger. The smell that overtakes the house is absolutely magnificent and I could eat the whole loaf in a matter of days no problem. I love adding chocolate chips to mine, but if you prefer to leave them out, no worries, it will still taste amazing.
Life is like a box of chocolates…
Life can be so completely full of surprises, don’t you think? Sometimes good and sometimes not so good. In this case, it was not so good. The first time I made this banana bread my life was going along pretty smoothly, one week later when I got around to trying it out again, my life was completely different. As you may know, I lost my fur baby, Simba not too long ago and it was one of the toughest things I have had to go through. I have unfortunately had my fair share of loss throughout my life, some through death and unfortunately some by choice. Losing my mom nearly six years ago remains the hardest thing I have ever gone through, but at least I had some time to prepare for that one which did make it a smidgen easier. When I lost Simba, I had absolutely no time at all. We were lying on the couch being lazy and snuggling one minute, the next he was throwing up, lost all feeling in his back legs and we were rushing him to the vet. A few hours later, we had to put him down as he was immense pain and had a heart condition that unfortunately couldn’t be changed or reversed, no matter how much we wished it. Life had dealt me another blow and this time it was without warning. Perhaps in some weird way I needed the reminder that life is precious and that there is no guarantee how long we will be here on earth. It was a reminder that every moment spent here should be spent doing something you love with people that you love no matter what. Life is too short to spend it doing things you loathe or wishing you were somewhere else, someone else or something else.
The ingredients:
I used sprouted spelt flour which although is not gluten free, it’s a great flour to work with as it is much easier digested than other gluten containing flours, plus it has a good amount of fibre and protein as well. Rolled oats also help to bump up the fibre amount and in my opinion because they are primarily a breakfast food, this makes the bread totally breakfast acceptable. My favourite way to enjoy this is with a good dollop of almond butter on top. You can also omit the almond butter swirled in as well if you want a nut free option. The bread is really moist and holds together really well, plus the addition of cinnamon provides a great kick of spice and warms you right up.
I really hope you enjoy this vegan chocolate banana bread as much as I do and if want to try making it gluten free, please let me know what flours you use instead as I would love to know.
As for some of the specific ingredients I used, please see below:
Sprouted spelt flour: I use this brand which I purchased from Whole Foods.
Chocolate chips: I always use this one.
I just wanted to add a few pictures of my baby, he was fiercely protective over ‘his’ territory, an absolute snuggle monster with me and his dad and LOVED food almost as much as me and begged for food All.The.Time! I take a lot of pictures of food, but a close second had to be this little guy, I would actually never delete a picture of him from my phone because I just couldn’t bear the thought of doing so. Hope you enjoy these pics!
Classic Simba pose:
Do I look intimidating?
Getting sleepy…
Getting snuggly with mom…
- 1 tbsp. chia seeds
- ½ cup non-dairy milk (I used homemade hemp milk)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large bananas (spotted is best) approx. 1 cup mashed banana
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
- Approx. 1 tbsp. almond butter (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Whisk the chia seeds with the milk in a small bowl and set aside.
- Melt the coconut oil and add it to your bowl along with the vanilla.
- Add the mashed banana, maple syrup and then the chia egg.
- Then add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt and mix it all up.
- Add the spelt flour and rolled oats and mix until combined, then add the chocolate chips.
- Place in your loaf pan and swirl in your almond butter (if using).
- Place in your pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.
- Test if it is ready by placing a toothpick in it and if it comes out clean, it’s ready!
- Omit the chocolate chips and add some nuts, walnuts would be nice.
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