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Sometimes you just want easy, and nothing is easier than slicing some fruit and frying it. I am not a huge fan of raw bananas. I do like them cooked in banana bread and an occasional organic banana split. Yum!

I shy away from fried food unless it is done in a healthy fat like coconut oil, lard, palm oil (sustainably harvested), tallow, grass-fed butter, ghee, or bacon fat. Using one of these fats makes frying okay again and dare I say, healthy! 

Bananas are high in potassium and B vitamins, as well as iron, fiber and vitamin C. They really are a perfect food and if you were stranded on a deserted island you could survive on them if needed…at least for awhile.

Fried bananas are great if you just want something different with breakfast or as a snack. They are appealing to the kids with their funky texture and sweet taste.

​Instructions: 

1. Slice the banana any way you would like, long-ways or round slices.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and drop banana slices in one by one.
3. Fry until browned, flip and repeat. They will be soft in the centers.
4. Let cool slightly and serve while still warm. Sprinkle with a little sea salt if desired. This really brings out the sweetness of the bananas.

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That’s it! Enjoy this quick and easy recipe!

My family LOVES banana bread, especially if it has chocolate chips in it. I have a recipe that I got from Erin Krug of Krug’s Eco-Logic awhile back that I adapted and modified to be organic and healthier than other versions I have seen. It is so moist and delicious that you will want to keep a loaf or two around at all times!

This recipe can be modified even more to be either gluten-free or made with soaked or sprouted flour. You can also play with the sweetener because the bananas, applesauce, and chocolate chips really do add to it. I find myself putting in less and less sweetener in each time.

If you try to make this with white flour, white sugar, and artificial chocolate chips it won’t taste as good as this recipe, guaranteed!
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Serve and keep leftovers in the refrigerator, if you have any!

This banana bread is wonderful with breakfast or a quick snack.

Enjoy!
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What’s your favorite way to enjoy bananas?

My family loves banana bread, especially for breakfast or a quick snack. I make an un-soaked version that is on this blog post but really wanted an even healthier soaked version. I adapted a recipe from Nourishing Traditions that uses milk kefir and made a big batch this week. I had extra milk kefir that I needed to use up and this recipe did just that.

Soaking the flour before cooking basically predigests it for you making it easier for the body to assimilate. I use flour that I have already sprouted and freshly ground in all my baking which makes everything not only taste better but also makes it traditionally healthy.


Soaked Banana Bread

24 hours before baking:

• 6 cups of desired sprouted flour: whole wheat, spelt, kamut, einkorn
• 4 cups acidic liquid: I used milk kefir – could also use yogurt or plain water with a splash of apple cider vinegar

Mix well in a large bowl, cover with a plate and let sit until tomorrow.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter or line 4  loaf pans with parchment paper.

• Mash 6 large overripe bananas
• Add the following to the bananas:
• 6 pastured eggs
• 1 TBS. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. salt (I like Real Salt)
• 1 TBS. cinnamon (optional)
• 1 TBS. baking soda
• 3/4 cup raw honey,  organic maple syrup or sucanat
• 1/2 c. butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (preferably soaked and dried) or chocolate chips (optional)

When well combined, add to the soaked flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour into the buttered or lined pans and bake until well browned and a knife comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool mostly in pans, loosen the sides with a knife and remove onto racks.

These will keep well tightly wrapped in the freezer.

This banana bread passed the kid and hubby test with flying colors!

Enjoy and Share!
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Part of Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Simple Lives Thursday.

Banana bread is a staple in our house. We get bananas free from our church’s food ministry so I always have an abundance. My favorite banana bread recipes are Organic Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Soaked Banana Bread. Or, at least they were…

Now that we are grain free (at least for January) I needed a grain-free alternative. I wasn’t about to waste overripe bananas. I found a grain-free banana bread recipe over at my friend Kristen from Rethink Simple’s blog that is amazing! I asked her if it would be ok to modify it for my blog and she said yes! Yay! Now there’s a new banana bread in town!

I’ve made this grain-free banana bread 6 times in the last week-and-a-half. I kid you not! I am serious about getting a recipe perfect! I used Kristen’s base recipe for things like flour, eggs and baking powder amounts but revamped it because I wanted to add some ingredients.

When working with coconut flour you have to make sure you have enough liquid. Coconut flour is very fibrous and quickly absorbs the liquid that is added to it. If you don’t add enough, you will have a very grainy and rather unpleasant end result. 

I’ve been obsessed with adding gelatin to everything lately! I like to use Gelatin Hydrolysate for recipes that don’t need to be “gelled”. It adds nutrients to whatever it’s added to. You’ll see it pop up in many of my more recent recipes. 
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As always, there are links within the recipe itself to where you can easily purchase the ingredients. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a loaf pan (bottom and sides) with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl crack eggs and add coconut flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
4. Mix gelatin and maple syrup together in a small bowl and add to mixture.
5. Melt coconut oil if solid and add to bowl along with remaining ingredients.
6. Mix well and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. It takes mine about 1 hour 10 minutes for a knife inserted in the center to come out clean.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a baking rack.
9. Can be eaten warm or cold.
10. Store in the refrigerator.

This Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is my new favorite recipe! It is very moist and not overly sweet. I have to make two loaves for it to last into the next day with my hungry crew!


​Be nourished. Be happy.
Enjoy!