Today I’m taking a break from my regularly scheduled fall eats to pay tribute to my grandma. I first told you about her on Mother’s Day. She raised 7 kids and didn’t have the easiest life, but she always kept a smile on her face and kept going.
This October 13 marks the 7th anniversary of her passing. As each year passes, the pain of missing her lessens a bit. This day becomes less about being sad that’s she’s gone and more a marker to take a moment to think about her and all of the things she passed onto me and taught me.
She loved to bake. Baking was her catharsis and safe haven from whatever was happening at the time. I find myself doing the same thing sometimes, and I think about her when I bake. Sometimes when I miss her a lot, I bake some her favorites.
One of my all time favorites of hers was her banana bread. Even though I wasn’t the fondest of bananas as a kid, I would always love her banana bread: the sweetness, the flecks of banana in each slice, sometimes the crunchiness of the nuts.
I decided on making a healthier banana bread to honor Grandma’s memory today. Banana bread doesn’t have to be a sugary calorie bomb. This banana bread has no butter or refined sugar (maple syrup instead) and is packed with chia and flax seeds for a good slice fiber and omega-3s.
This one’s for you Grandma.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chia gel or virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2-3 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, and soda. Stir to combine.
In a food processor, blend the chia gel and maple syrup until throughly combined. Add eggs one at a time while running. Add bananas.
Add wet mixture into dry and stir until fully incorporated. Fold in nuts.
Pour mixture into loaf pan and cook for 40 minutes.
Notes
To make chia gel, use a 1:9 ratio (1 part chia to 9 parts water). Let the combination sit for at least 30 minutes before using. Store the rest in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.
Adapted from For the Love of Fiber