Dish Type - Breakfast, Dessert, Bread

The last two lonely bananas sat on the counter for far, far too long! Today was the day I wanted to put them out of their misery and out of my way! We’ve both been training quite a bit and could use a healthy, hearty but satisfying snack on hand - something that felt like a treat without too much sugar or fat. I also had about 1 cup of cooked quinoa in the fridge that didn’t have anywhere to go. You can go ahead and add the quinoa or leave out!

Ingredients:

Wet

• 1/3-1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (1/3 cup yields a not-very sweet loaf, so adjust to your liking)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 overripe bananas, mashed

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup any milk (I used almond)

• 1/4 cup melted butter (or coconut oil)

Dry

• 1 cup cooked quinoa

• 1/3 cup rolled oats

• 1 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat, all-purpose, or a mix)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp clove

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup raisins

Top

• 1 pear, cored, halved and sliced (optional)

• pinch brown or white sugar

• pinch cinnamon

Also

• nonstick loaf pan

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven:

   • Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. If using parchment the best trick is to crumple the sheet entirely to soften it, then open up and easily place in pan!

2. Mix the Wet Ingredients (by hand or in blender)

   • In a large bowl, mash the overripe bananas.

   • Add the eggs, almond milk, melted butter (or oil), honey or maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir well to combine.

3. Mix the Dry Ingredients:

   • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using), and salt. Add quinoa, oats and raisins.

4. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients:

   • Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Don’t overmix.

5. Craft caramelized pear-bottom:

   • Drizzle a little coconut oil in the bottom of the loaf pan, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Halve, core and thinly slice pear halves. Fan out along the bottom of the pan slightly overlapping. When you remove from baking this will become the ‘top’.

6. Bake:

   • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.

   • Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

7. Cool and Serve:

   • Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: What to Do If You Don't Have Cooked Quinoa

If you don't have cooked quinoa on hand, you have a couple of options:

1. Leave It Out:

   • If you omit the quinoa, the bread will still turn out moist and delicious, but it will have a slightly different texture and slightly less protein content. In this case, you can replace the quinoa with an additional 1/4 cup of oats or flour to maintain the structure of the bread.

2. Cook Quinoa Fresh:

   • If you want to include quinoa but don't have it pre-cooked, cook 1/3 cup of dry quinoa in 2/3 cup of water - bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 15 minutes until tender. Once cooked and cooled, use the 1 cup of cooked quinoa in the recipe as directed.

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