The "Now I Can Die Happy" Banana Walnut Bread

~The Best Banana Bread I've Ever Had. Period!~

I had a bunch of bananas that were about halfway ripe - you know, yellow, with a few brown spots, but nothing scary. Brennan won't eat them if they have even a tiny spot, and I had a good 6 of them on my counter so I knew I needed to do something quickly before I had an army of fruit flies in my kitchen. Enter Banana Bread 101. I LOVE banana bread, muffins, cupcakes, you name it, but I hadn't made banana bread in a long time so I thought I'd give that a try. No dice - I couldn't find my recipe. So I went through my stack of cookbooks and found a recipe I thought I could easily modify to my particular tastes and allergies. I found a recipe from Bette Hagman in her "The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" and changed it to my liking. This is gluten free, egg free, dairy free, corn free, soy free and vegan. I'm going to work on getting a lower fat version soon, but this is truly an amazing bread - the addition of walnuts and a secret ingredient (vanilla - shhhh don't tell!) make it to die for!

Banana Walnut Bread

2 cups Regular GF Flour Mix
1/4 cup Garfava Flour
1 slightly rounded tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3 Large, Ripe Bananas
3/4 cups Brown Sugar
Dash Salt
1/2 - 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
2 tbsp Ground Flax Seed Whisked with 6 tbsp Hot Water and left to stand until thick, about 3 minutes
1/4 cup (scant) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Hot Water

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and flour an 8-1/2"x 4-1/2" loaf pan. Set aside.
Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, salt and flax seed/water mix and mix well. Add the oil and mix. Mix the baking soda in the 2 tbsp of water and let dissolve. Evenly distribute the dry ingredients over top and mix, adding the baking soda/water mix towards the end. Add the Walnuts and mix until just combined. Pour into pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Here's a recipe for a great muffin that is free from gluten, egg, corn, soy, dairy, and is vegan! It is simple to make, and soooo delicious! The more ripe the bananas are, the better the recipe, but even green bananas have worked for me (it just means more work to mush them). The secret: olive oil. The olive oil makes the outside slightly crispy, while keeping the inside moist and soft. Try this one bowl recipe and you'll be glad you did.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
1 tbsp Ground Flaxseed whisked with 3 tbsp Hot Water, left to sit for three minutes, until thick
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cup White Sugar
3 Large Bananas
1-1/2 cups G.F. Bread Flour Mix
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
Dash of Salt
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (Vegan if possible)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Mix oil and sugar, then add flaxseed/water mixture. Add bananas and mush with a fork, leaving some small lumps for flavour and texture. Evenly sprinkle dry ingredients over the top of the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add Chocolate chips and mix until well combined. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing (if you can wait that long!).
Enjoy!