Are you ready for a delicious summer treat…even thought it doesn’t feel quite like summer here in Minnesota…YET? It’s been chilly, wet, and windy here for the past couple of weeks and unfortunately, more rain is in the forecast?.
This past Friday on my long run I was cruising along feeling strong and in spite of the light rain and humidity, I felt good. Even my one minute pickups at the end of each mile felt comfortably hard. About 6.5 miles into my run I turned around and it didn’t take long to discover I’d be fighting a strong head wind all the way home. To my surprise, it actually didn’t slow me down that much. Yes, my heart-rate did creep up a bit, but over all I was really pleased with my run.
I definitley felt like I earned my post workout treat! It was also the perfect weather day to spend a little extra time in my kitchen. After all, it’s a holiday weekend so why not splurge a little. By now you may know, besides chocolate, I love a good pastry! My husband agrees…” this banana bread is amazeballs!”
So if you’re craving something a little sweet, but not too sweet, for a late morning snack, brunch, or even desert, I have you covered. This is so fluffly, fruity, moist, not to mention the most delicious blueberry banana bread EVER. And it’s vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and healthy.
As much as I love this scone recipe, and I can’t say enough about these muffins, this banana bread, made with only 10 ingredients, is a new favorite of mine. I used oat flour (ground oats) and almond flour (finely ground almonds) as my flour mixture but you can sub any other ground nuts/seeds for almond flour.
As an egg substitute, I used ground chia seeds but you can also choose ground flax seeds. Bananas are also an egg substitute and they add a pleasant taste and a natural sweetness. Moreover, they are rich in vitamins and minerals and espeically good for runners!
I love to use canned (or homemade) coconut milk because it’s higher in fat than e.g. boxed oat milk, rice milk or almond milk etc. which are all watered down a lot. You could use oat cream, soy cream, homemade cashew milk (or any other homemade nut milk with not too much water) as a substitute.
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Healthy
- High in antioxidants
- Refined sugar-free
- Plant-based
- Easy to make
Ok my friends….are you ready to get busy with me in the kitchen? I am sure you’ll agree this blueberry banana bread will soon be a new favorite of your’s too! It’s a wonderful breakfast, snack, or dessert. You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. It stays moist, fluffy and delicious.
BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST BANANA BREAD
INGREIDENTS:
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups oat flour (GF if necessary)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds or ground flax seeds or one egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or any other liquid sweetener
- 1/3 cup coconut milk canned
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 2 tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)
Frosting:
- 5 tbsp Swerve or Erythritol (or regular powdered sugar)
- 1-2 tsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp or more plant-based milk
- 1 to 2 tablespoons crushed berries of choice or berry powder
DIRECTIONS:
- Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until there are no clumps.
- Process all wet ingredients (except the blueberries) in a food processor or blender and pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk. Now fold in the blueberries.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. My pan measures 8 x 4 x 2.5 inches. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan.
- Bake in the oven at 355 degrees F for about 40 minutes. The blueberry banana bread is ready when a toothpick comes out almost clean (don’t over-bake). Let it cool in the fridge.
- For the berry frosting: Put the sweetener in your food processor or coffee grinder and mix until it’s very fine like icing sugar. Use a whisk to mix it in a small bowl with the plant-based milk, the lime/lemon juice, and stir in some ripe mashed berries or powder . If the frosting is too thick add more milk or lime/lemon juice. If it’s too thin add more Erythritol. Spread the frosting on the bread and put it in the fridge until the frosting is hard. Enjoy!
Do you enjoy running in the rain?
I love data…do you upload your runs and analyze your data after every run? I think it’s kind of fun.
What’s your favorite pastry to splurge on? I love a yummy scone!
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