Naturally sweet, this bread won't make you miss sugar - and it's AIP friendly.
Feel free to challenge me, but there’s nothing better than a delicious slice of banana bread for a treat on a cold snowy afternoon.
Banana bread is one of my favourite treats to make during the winter months (and when there is an abundance of bananas in my kitchen). There is something about a slice of banana bread, a good book and a cup of coffee that is so comforting especially when the temperature starts to drop.
I have made a few banana breads, like this Choco Chip Peanut Butter one, and this Double Chocolate Chip one.
The way I see it is, you have two options… You can freeze overripe bananas to use in a smoothie later or you turn them into delicious banana bread. I definitely prefer the second, as baking bread smells so much better than a smoothie does. I literally have zero regrets when I made the choice to bake banana bread.
This one took a twist - when I decided to use tigernut flour instead of regular flour. I was rummaging through the cabinets and realized that I had a lot of strange flours. So I decided to try one out.
I’m honestly surprised it took me this long to make banana bread with tigernut flour. Tigernut flour has consistently upped my baked goods game. This banana bread is more dense than most and won’t rise as high as conventional banana bread since there are no eggs, but it is just as delicious. I absolutely love this bread!
About some of the ingredients:
Tigernut flour
Tigernuts are not actually nuts despite their name. They are a tuber which is a very small root vegetable originating from Africa, making them completely paleo and AIP friendly. This is a great flour for subbing almond flour in other recipes and has a very similar texture and nutty flavour. Tigernuts are rich in Vitamin E and oleic acid which can help reduce oxidative stress. Although tigernuts are a starch they also act as a fermentable fibre in the gut feeding out friendly gut bacteria (yay for a healthy gut).
Bananas
We can't be friends if you don't like bananas. They're such an excellent source of nutrients including potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, fibre, magnesium and carbs. Bananas are also a gut friendly food for those with IBD. Bananas are especially high in potassium which is one of the most important electrolytes in the body. They are also soothing to the GI tract because bananas are also high in pectin.
Cinnamon
I love adding cinnamon to EVERYTHING. Not only does it add a rich and warming flavour but it is so good for you. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and immune boosting properties. Cinnamon’s essential oils act as an anti-microbial and have been shown to help in cases of Candida overgrowth. Cinnamon is also commonly used to help normalize blood sugar (all you need is 1/2 tsp a day).
So I mentioned the AIP Diet - but you might be wondering, "what Is the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet?"
The autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is a relatively new, food-based approach to eliminating unwanted inflammation in a person’s body. It’s a diet that’s thought to help heal your gut to reduce inflammation created by autoimmune conditions.
The diet is very restrictive and mainly includes meats and vegetables. Generally, you would try the AIP diet for several weeks before adding in foods outside of the diet. It's very limited; there’s a long list of foods you can’t eat. These include some of same foods you’d avoid if you were following the paleo diet, such as:
grains
legumes (beans, soy, peanuts, hummus, etc.)
dairy products (including raw products)
processed foods
refined sugars
industrial seed oils (such as vegetable or canola oils)
The AIP diet also restricts the following foods, which aren’t always banned in the paleo diet:
eggs, nuts and seeds, including foods you might not think are in this category such as coffee, chocolate, and certain spices (for example, coriander and cumin).
If you slice this bread straight out of the oven it’s going to be very soft and delicate. I think that it tastes best after it’s been refrigerated for a bit - and then you can toast it in the oven if you'd like.
TIGERNUT BANANA BREAD (GLUTEN-FREE)
Serves 10-12
INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cup tigernut flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or tigernut flour)
1/2 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas
3 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil melted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup your choice of add-ins (I used walnuts and toasted coconut flakes)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a bread pan with parchment paper & grease the sides.
In a large mixing bowl mash together the 3 bananas. Add the coconut oil, lemon juice vanilla and set aside
In a large bowl combine the flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients together and mix until combined
Fold in your add-ins of your choice
Pour batter into loaf pan and use a spatula to smooth out the top
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (mine took about 1h 10)
Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan
Let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.
Serve and enjoy!
NOTES
This will stay good for about 5 days, in fridge for about 7 or you can put it in the freezer for a couple of months.
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