Banana Nut Bread

  Vegan and Gluten-Free, Raw and Raw Fusion Versions

Banana Nut Bread is such a comfort food,  but these raw and raw fusion versions are actually ultra-healthy and good for you.  Walnuts and flaxseeds are loaded with Omega 3’s and digestible proteins; Bananas are powerhouses of fiber and micronutrients, including potassium, Vitamins C and B6, Folate, Magnesium.   This is also a low-fat dessert or snack food.  You can add some coconut oil to the batter, or spread some on for a mid-morning snack.

Watch the video below where I am making this for eHow.com.  If you do not have a dehydrator, you can bake this in a glass or metal brownie pan, but make sure it is well-oiled.  Because there are no eggs, flour, yeast or baking powder in this recipe, the batter will not rise and remain rather flat.  Keep a close watch as it should be ready in less than an hour at about 325 degrees.  Another way you can bake this is to put the pan in a larger pan of water (bain marie) and bake it at the lowest temperature setting on your oven.

 Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups of walnuts
2 TB. maple syrup, agave, honey or coconut nectar
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup water plus 2-3 TB.
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
dash of salt
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla

Prep:  Soak 2 cups of walnuts overnight or for about 12 hours.  This will remove the phytic acid on the skin and enhance the nutrients in the walnut.   Grind flaxseed (you can buy already ground, but the fresher the better)  I use a dedicated coffee grinder for this.  Hint:  Filling up a small coffee grinder well makes a fourth of cup of ground flaxseed.

Directions:  Pulse walnuts in a food processor with the “S” blade.  Reserve 1/2 cup separate (this will be to sprinkle on the top)  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

This recipe will make one tray’s worth of banana nut bread.  Take an Excalibur tray with screen and a non-stick sheet.  Pour onto the sheet and shape (I usually make a rectangle as you will see in the video) and using a spatula, form the sides and corners.

Dehydrate for 1.5 hours at 145 degrees and then, using a spatula, you can score into the desired sizes of slices.  Lower to 115 for 2 more hours, then peel and flip onto screen.  Dry for 2 more hours then turn off dehydrator to let internal moisture come out.  Dehydrate again for one hour and it’s ready to eat and store the rest.  You can freeze these slices for a fairly long time!

For Raw Fusion baked version, see my instructions above.