Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread

I don’t know about you but sometimes I just crave a good slice of banana bread but if you’re like me treats made with wheat flour cause bloating and pain in my stomach.  This is the ultimate treat!  Gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and low in sugar – but by no means is it low in flavour!

This recipe makes one loaf…next time I’ll be doubling it and put one in the freezer!

What you need:

• 7 dates (~1/2 cup), pitted & chopped into pieces (could also use other dried fruit like cherries or cranberries)
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 bananas (the riper the banana, the sweeter it will be)
• 1/8 cup maple syrup or honey (honey will make it sweeter, but not vegan)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond butter (or other nut butter
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, or gluten free all purpose flour mix (I ground my own buckwheat flour in Vitamix blender)
• 1/8 cup buckwheat groats
• 1/8 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/8 cup whole or ground chia seeds (replace with more ground flax seeds if you don’t have chia)
• 1/8 cup cacao powder
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tbsp maca (optional but will support your hormones!)
• Garnish with coconut and/or cacao nibs

What you do:

• Preheat oven to 350 deg, and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Chop up your dates (or other dried fruit) and add it to the warm water to let them soak and soften.
• Mash bananas with your sweetener.
• Mix in your nut butter and water/date mixture and stir until uniform.
• Grind up your buckwheat grouts to make buckwheat flour.
• In a separate bowl mix all remaining/dry ingredients together.
• Add mixture to wet ingredients and stir making sure there are no clumps.
• Sprinkle top with coconut and/or cacao nibs
• Pour into loaf pan and bake for 25-30 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!