One comfort food staple from my childhood was banana bread. I have memories of watching my dad combine ingredients into the mixer. I was right there to lick the batter off the mixer beaters.
Years later, I see that there’s a greater physiological reason why banana bread brings back these memories for me. It’s filled with happy 🙂
Benefits of Bananas
This happy comes from the banana, which contains tryptophan, a protein that your body converts to serotonin, your feel good hormone.
Bananas are a good source of B6, which also helps your body make serotonin. B6 plays a key role in liver detoxification and the health of your fertility.
Ripe bananas are a major source of tyrosine, an amino acid that helps regulate and stimulate dopamine production, another feel good factor. The more ripe the banana, the more tyrosine content.
Added bonus: my dad’s banana bread always had great flavor. His secret: super ripe bananas, the blacker, the better.
Bananas are also high in iron, potassium and fiber.
Gluten Free, Grain Free Banana Bread Recipe
Things have changed since those early childhood days and many of the ingredients in that old recipe no longer agree with me. But, no worries. There’s a similar option available 🙂
I present to you a gluten free, grain free banana bread recipe, gifted to us from fellow health coach, Marines Portillo.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium size ripe bananas
- 2 chia eggs (see how to make them below)
- 2 cups of almond flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ cup of melted coconut oil
- ÂĽ of coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of maca powder (optional)
- dairy-free dark chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation:
1.) Pre heat the oven at 350F. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to a loaf pan to grease all the sides and edges (standard size 8½x 4½) but you can also make it in cupcake molds.
2.) Mash bananas with a fork in a big bowl then add the wet ingredients, mixing well until you can see that everything is combined.
3.) Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and keep mixing until it’s well combined.
4.) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, depending on your oven you might need to adjust the time. If you insert a knife in the center and it comes out clean then it’s ready. It should have a golden brown color on top when is done. (I ended up cooking mine for 70 minutes, so the time really could vary!)
To make the chia eggs: combine 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute.
On the Positive Side?
I love when fellow foodies share their recipes with me. I’ve been blessed to connect with fellow health coach and endo sister, Marines Potrillo.
Marines is the founder of Your Celestial Health. She works with busy women that need organization in their life to maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit.
Her motto is “Do everything with LOVE; with love you’ll cure it all”.
Connect with Marines @yourcelestialhealth on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter  and
YouTube.
Do you have an endo friendly recipe to share? I’d love to feature it here on the blog. Get in touch with me here.
