SUGAR FREE, GLUTEN FREE BANANA BREAD (AND PLASTIC FREE TOO)

This recipe is slightly modified from one I found online when I was looking for a gluten free banana bread (I'm lucky enough to live a life free from any dietary intolerances but some of my friends can't eat any foods with gluten). Either way, I don't think it hurts to find grain-free alternatives sometimes.

Considering this recipe packs a pretty wholesome punch, I figured it wasn't too gluttonous to eat a couple of slices for breakfast. Slathered in butter because seriously, what do you take me for? A joyless ascetic?

So, without any further ado, here's the recipe

120 grams salted butter (about half a cup)

3 ripe bananas (the riper the better)

1 ½ cups buckwheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1/3-1/2 a cup of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I also add extra vanilla seeds scraped from a dried pod)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a couple of handfuls of chopped walnuts

1. Melt the butter and set aside.

2. Whip the bananas with a hand blender until they are smooth and airy.

3. Add the egg, vanilla, cinnamon and butter to the bananas.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry.

6. Mix in the walnuts, then add the milk

7. Bake at 180°C /350°F for about 30 minutes

Look, I'm not going to pretend that it's in any way decadently cake-like or that the natural sweetness of the bananas somehow magically overcomes the lack of added sugar. Don't expect it to be very sweet. However, it's still super tasty and very nutrient-dense, and is fairly guilt-free - if you ignore the lashings of butter (like I do). I can also do this recipe pretty light on plastic as, apart from the baking powder and the milk carton, I can get all of these ingredients packaging or plastic free.

Anyway, there's someone in the house that doesn't care if the cake has sugar in it or not...