Hemp Banana Bread
There’s nothing like heating up your home with the warmth of something baking away in the oven and the promise of a sweet treat, like my Hemp Banana Bread, when you’re done.
This banana bread recipe is a little different to ones you may be used to. Until only recently it would have been deemed ‘illegal’ to make this recipe in Australia with such a ‘controversial’ ingredient like hemp seeds. But they became legal to consume late last year and you may have noticed these little wonders popping up in all kinds of products, from nut butters to chocolate.
The reality is hemp seed are a completely safe and healthful ingredient loaded with goodness, more protein than red meat and really high in omega 3 essential fatty acid. It has a nutty, creamy flavour and makes baked goods soft so I think it works well in breads, cakes and muffins rather than cookies.
I’ve also included ground flaxmeal in this recipe that is similarly high in omega 3 and great for baking when combined with other flours. So, adding a little hemp seeds or flaxmeal to your smoothie, cereal or baking is a great idea! If you’re wondering where you can buy hemp seeds or flax, take a visit to your local health food or bulk wholefoods store and they will certainly be able to hook you up
Banana Bread is one of those products that can be disguised as being healthy when it’s often full of sugar, white flour and vegetable or canola oils. Look what I found on the Boost Juice website when I looked up their ingredients for their banana bread.
Banana (39 %), Wheat Flour (this means white), Water, Egg, Sugar, Canola Oil, Raising Agents (450, 500).
Alarm bells are ringing for me as it’s actually a basic cake recipe disguised as being a good food choice. Don’t get me wrong I don’t have a problem with having a slice of cake now and then, but many people wouldn’t see this as being cake, but ‘healthy’ banana bread, so may end up eating it more often thinking that it’s good for you. But I don’t see a whole lot of good coming out of that ingredient list unfortunately.
Thankfully you can eat Banana Bread like it’s going out of fashion with my recipe! It’s packed with good fats, protein and omega 3. If you’d like a vegan or low fructose option then swap out honey for rice syrup.
It’s a perfect recipe to have for a morning or afternoon tea when friends pop in! Enjoy.
HEMP BANANA BREAD
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes 6 mini banana bread loaves or 1 loaf of banana bread (also works well as a muffin mix!)
Ingredients
Dry
½ cup ground Melrose flaxseed meal
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup coconut flour
½ cup hemp seeds (plus extra for topping)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon aluminium free baking powder
Wet
2 bananas, mashed (approx. 1 cup)
2 free range eggs
½ cup honey (or for a low fructose option try rice syrup)
¼ cup dairy free milk (drinking coconut or almond milk)
¼ cup Melrose macadamia oil
Method
Preheat fan-forced oven to 180 degrees, line a normal bread loaf tin with baking paper or grease a flexible mini loaf well with a little macadamia nut oil.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl including, flaxseed meal, almond meal, coconut flour, hemp seeds, cinnamon and turmeric and baking powder. Stir well to combine.
Combine wet ingredients in a separate mixing bowl, including mashed bananas, eggs, honey, milk and oil, mix well to combine then add into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Place mixture in prepared loaf tin, top with hemp seeds and bake for approx. 30 – 40 minutes if using full sized load tin or about 20 if using mini loaves, or until the bread looks golden and smells toasty and the centre springs back or you insert a thin skewer in centre of bread and it comes out dry. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, before removing and allowing to cool on wire cake rack.
Tip: This batter also works well as a muffin, divide mixture between muffin liners then top with extra hemp seeds to decorate, and bake for approx. 15 – 20 minutes, until the muffins spring back in the centre.