I love banana bread! Not only does it taste amazingly good, but it’s also a very efficient way to use up those super ripe bananas that you inevitably end up with week after week. Well, if you’re like me, that is, and buy bananas every week but only eat them when they are a beautiful bright yellow and then completely lose interest in them as soon as they start to develop the tiniest of brown spots… although I have gotten much better and now eat my bananas a lot riper than I used to, because I know they are in fact better for me when they are good and ripe. But still, I must end up throwing at least one, if not two per week in the freezer to use in smoothies or banana bread, mini loaves or muffins.

Up until now, I’ve always used the same recipe, but this week, I decided to play with the Pumpkin, Rasberry and Buckwheat Loaves recipe and to turn it into a More Power Walnut, Carob and Banana Bread.

Basically all I did is replace the pumpkin puree with banana puree. It took 3 bananas to make the required cup and a half.

Of course, I left the cinnamon, ginger and all spice out of the equation. Oh, and I added 100g of carob chips, which ended up being an enormous waste of time, since they all sunk right to the bottom, and I think they also decided to gang up and have a little party right in the middle of the loaf!

I mean, look how sad! All you can see in the picture is a mere dark spot, a lonely chip that got lost or something… I guess when I get more towards the other end of the bread, I will get a mega dose of crazy happy carob chips all bunched up together!

They’re probably having a good laugh right now at this great prank that they pulled on me.

Maybe next time I will use a little bit less milk to make the batter a tad on the firmer side, that way, the carob chips won’t get to sink that much. Still, the loaf has a very good texture as it is, so you can feel free to go ahead and use that exact recipe.

If you are the kind of person who loves their toasts in the morning, this makes for an absolutely gorgeous breakfast. Just cut a couple of slices and pop them in the toaster, then spread some good all natural peanut or almond butter on them.

Of course, this would also make an excellent afternoon snack!

INGREDIENTS
(for one large banana bread)

WET

  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • ¾ cup soy milk
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup egg whites
  • 1½ cup banana puree
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

DRY

  • 120g vanilla flavored whey protein powder
  • 1½ cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/3 cup black chia seeds
  • 2 tsp baking powder

ADD-INS

  • 100g carob chips (entirely NOT necessary!)
  • 75g walnuts, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425F and line loaf pan with parchment paper
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix wet ingredients together and whisk until well combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. Add wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Fold in carob chips and nuts. Mix to combine, no more.
  4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Put them in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375.
  5. Cook for 40-45min until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan then cool completely on a cooling rack.
  7. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to a week