Yo yo, my fellow veggieholics!
I’m Alexis (AKA Hummusapien), and I blog over at–you guessed it, Hummusapien! I was totally delighted when Hannah agreed to me guest posting on her fabulous blog. We both have a weird obsession with lentils and roasted vegetables and clean eats and all that jazz, so I obviously adore her and her blog. I’m here today to chat about a banana bread that’ll rock your socks off. It’s chock full of clean-eating goodies, but you’d never know if you tasted it. Sounds healthy, tastes amaaaaze.
You see, this lovely loaf and I are kind of in love. But every relationship has its downfalls. Is it just me or is grating squash suuuuuuper annoying? I don’t think it’s just me.
First the grater falls off of the bowl you’re awkwardly balancing it on. Then you notice half the seeds are on the counter instead of in the bowl. Then you notice your arm is weirdly sore and you question your strength. Then you accidentally grate your knuckle.
So now you like totally wanna jump off your fanny and bake this bad boy, right??
Just letting you know the fun that’s in store for you when you make this recipe. I just really need one of those box graters with a handy dandy container attached to catch what you’re grating. Is that not the best idea ever? I hear IKEA has them. You’ll be relieved to know that the sheer deliciousness of this bread makes it’s all worth it, grated knuckles and all. Not only is this bread incredibly tasty, but it’s also full of healthy whole-grains, almond meal, flax, nanners and squash. Wanna know what it’s not full of? That would be butter, oil and refined sugar, duhhh.
Who needs butter and eggs anyway, ya bunch of crazy vegans! I kid, I kid. There is a time and a place for butter, but it ain’t up in here. This recipe actually has no oil at all because it’s so darn moist from the ripe bananas and summer squash. PS–if you want to use good old zucchini instead of squash, go right ahead.
I’ve been getting spelt flour in the bulk bins at Whole Foods, and I had just enough left to make this loaf. You can definitely use whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, oat flour etc. instead of spelt if you don’t have it on hand. I opted for spelt because I like switching up my grains; plus spelt has a great delicate flavor and texture that lends itself quite beautifully to this bread.
You know the black banana drill. As I always say, your bananas should be the ripest of the ripe when baking banana bread. Mine were literally black and uber mushy, and that’s ok (as long as they’re not actually moldy or whatnot.) The riper the bananas, the more natural sugar you have and the less added sugar you have to use. I chose pure maple syrup, which I (unlike my wallet) have been a huge fan of lately. Did you know it’s even got some manganese and zinc to brag about? Get the “Grade B” kind because it’s less refined. Don’t you dare get out your Aunt Jemima for this recipe. She doesn’t even have a drop of real maple syrup in her! Poser.
The proposed health benefits of agave are highly debated these days, so I now stick to honey and pure maple syrup for sweetening baked goods. Feel free to use either one in this recipe. If I’m cooking for other people (ahem, Danny), I often toss in some stevia extract or liquid stevia to add extra sweetness without throwing our blood sugars out of wack. Eeeeeek.
Hold up: seriously moist bread warning. Make sure to reeeeeeally squeeze the water out of the squash. The good thing is that I think you bake this baby all day and it still wouldn’t dry out! Fab, no? Eat your heart out, friends.
Chocolate Chip Summer Squash Banana Bread
-adapted from this recipe
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp warm water (sub 2 eggs if desired)
- 1 cup mashed, very overripe banana (2 medium bananas)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour (or whole-wheat pastry, all purpose, etc.)
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 medium summer squash, grated and moisture squeezed out
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a standard-sized loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, make “flax egg” by stirring together flaxseed and water. Set aside to gel for five minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together mashed banana, maple syrup, vanilla and flax egg until very well combined.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, almond meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Squeeze excess water out of grated squash (I used paper towels). Fold in squash and chocolate chips.
- Bake for 55 minutes to 70 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 min before removing from pan and cooling on a cooling rack.
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Thanks, Alexis!! Alexis and I have found that we both have very similar tastes and a love for great vegetarian and vegan foods. Oh, and if anybody wants to give us both some avocado, we will gladly accept it! 😉 Do you know what else I would accept? A loaf of this bread! Doesn’t it sound amazing? I love Alexis’ creative use of squash in bread, and you can never go wrong with bananas and chocolate chips when it comes to baked goods. And this bread is vegan! This recipe is no doubt a winner! 🙂 Oh, and yes Alexis, grating veggies is SUPER annoying..and dangerous! 😉
