I have been in the banana bread kind of mood for a few months now. Banana bread isn't SUPER unhealthy, but I wanted to make it even more guilt free. In the past, I have made a boxed banana bread mix from Trader Joe's in which I substituted ground flaxseed meal for oil. It turned out really well, but I wanted to make a homemade version with fresh (ripe & squishy!) bananas. I looked high and low for a good recipe, but came up empty handed...I DID, however, find this recipe from smitten kitchen. I followed the recipe exactly, and promised myself that if it was good, that I would try it again - but substitute ground flaxseed meal for the butter. Well, it was awesome! So, tonight I set out to make my version...sorry I don't have any photos! (maybe those will come later).
Just in case you are unfamiliar with flaxseed meal: Generally, it's a 3 to 1 ratio for substitution (aka 1 cup of ground flaxseed meal to substitute for 1/3 of a cup of oil or butter). You can use this for basically all baking! mmm.
Flax Banana Bread (based off the recipe from smitten kitchen)
Ingredients:
3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1 cup ground flaxseed meal (can be found at most grocery stores)
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (I actually only had around 1/2 of a cup so I added a tablespoon or 2 of molasses)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional - I didn't have any, but think that it would be good!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves (I didn't happen to have this either - but if you do, add it!)
1 1/2 cups of flour
Other ingredients added by me:
Chopped walnuts (use as many or as few as you want)
Semi sweet chocolate chips (you can sprinkle them on top before baking, or mix them in)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix ground flaxseed meal into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl (you don't need a mixer for this recipe - do it by hand!). Mix in the sugar (and molasses if you use it), egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Let me know what you think if you try it :)
