I have a freezer full of bananas. I always seem to get more bananas than I can eat, and they end up in the freezer doomed to be used in baking (not that there is anything wrong with that...). I also happen to have a fridge full of blueberries, because kamal gave me a pretty big box of them before he left for Kelowna on Saturday.
So I decided to try something a bit different. I could have baked a "normal" loaf. You know, that kind with sugar, flour and eggs... but I try and avoid wheat products as much as I can (although I have to admit I do not avoid it 100%...), so I was looking for something a bit more creative.
What you need:3 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup honey (I used 1/4 Babe's honey, 1/4 blueberry honey)
1 1/2 cups almond meal
3/4 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tbsp baking soda
1/4 cup organic shredded coconut
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
I also threw in some white chocolate chips, for good measure :-)
The end result turned out VERY tasty, but I made a few mistakes along the way...
1. To start off with, I should have used a bit more almond meal, perhaps closer to 2 cup.
2. Since I really do have A LOT of blueberries in my fridge, I kind of just threw them in without adhering to my initial planning of 1 cup. I measured everything else properly, but not the blueberries... and I added too many. Oh well... they are rich in Quercetin, which shows strong anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-pathogenic effects and a relationship to improved endurance performance. But enough with the science talk (even if it was pretty brief) - back to the loaf...
3. I should have baked it as bars, not a loaf...
4. I guess I can try adding a couple of eggs as well...
The above mistakes aside, there is hope for this recipe - I am sure my next try will turn out a lot better. At least I know it will taste SO good once it is perfected. I will try again when I get back from Kelowna/Salmon Arm/Revelstoke/Penticton at the beginning of September and keep you posted.
In the mean time, if there are any bakers out there reading this blog, please feel free to make some suggestions :-)