Always yummy, moist and bursting with banana flavor — without any sugar!!
Research suggests that added sugars (particularly in excess or frequent consumption) are at the root of a lot of inflammatory conditions.
Here at SavvyGrub, we’ve created a few naturally “sweet treats” to avoid the negative outcomes that are associated with adding sugar to food.
Paleo and other “diets” often use “natural substitutes” for white table sugar.
While these may be better alternatives to the white refined stuff, even sugar’s relatives — like honey, syrup, nectar, palm sugar, (etc) — can trigger a pro-inflammatory response in the body if eaten too often.
Why? To be brief…
Sugar, honey, nectar, syrup and their “natural” relatives are what we call simple carbohydrates. There are essentially three different kinds of simple carbohydrates: galactose (part of lactose in dairy products), glucose (the main “sugar” found in the bloodstream), and fructose (think fruits for instance).
These simple carbs are quickly and easily absorbed into the blood stream. For this reason, a lot of endurance athletes will use “goo” or “gels” with glucose during a long workout to help sustain and replenish their body’s own blood glucose (blood “sugar”) from the physical impact that can deplete it.
In short, excess sugar that is not turned into energy by the body is stored for later use as glycogen…when glycogen stores are full, the body typically stores it as fat.
Excess fat in the body, especially around the organs (“visceral fat“) is directly related to increased risk for diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer… One reason for this relationship between excess sugar intake –> increased visceral fat –> and negative health outcomes is an inflammatory response that is partially mediated by our fat cells. Yes, our fat cells can talk.
Raw white table sugar, brown sugar and several others are made up of “sucrose” — a combo of two glucose molecules.
Honey is made up of mostly sucrose, then fructose and slightly less glucose. Read more about honey below.
Fun fact — fructose is not processed by the body for energy in the same way that sucrose and glucose are; these two can be stored as “glycogen” in the liver (primarily), to be used at a later time. Fructose goes through a different system for conversion into energy and is not stored as glycogen. While its metabolism is still being researched, it is typically either 1) used by the body for energy or 2) converted into an intermediate that can be treated like a partially-broken-down glucose molecule (a few outcomes possible), or 3) this intermediate is converted into “glycerol” which is the backbone for triglyceride fatty acids.
Fruit is a mix of fructose and glucose — which is good news because our bodies metabolize fructose much faster when it is in the presence of glucose than if we eat pure fructose on its own…another great reason to eat “whole foods”!
The complexity to fructose’s metabolism is still being researched, which is part of the reason there is some controversy on the impact of fructose on body fat. A number of researchers associate excess intake of fructose (from fruit, fruit juices, processed foods containing corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup, some yogurts and other processed foods – check the label) with increased triglycerides (a main type of fat in the body). High levels of triglycerides are associated with heart disease, increased risk for insulin resistance and diabetes, and other diseases.
Sugar and our Genes (the shortest version)
What we eat doesn’t just impact our body composition, it also directly impacts our genes — both how they behave today and what they’ll do 20 years from now. In my masters, had the privilege of studying under one of the worlds leading researchers and experts on longevity, Dr. Volter Longo.
Research shows us that (in general) eating added sugars negatively impacts our DNA in such a way that when we eat it, we essentially “turn off” specific processes and even genes that promote a longer healthy life. Researchers even suggests that extra sugars can even up-regulate the bad ones that promote disease.
“Added Sugars” Does Not = “carbohydrates” or “sugar”
“Added Sugars” is not to be mistaken with “eating carbohydrates”. ALL of the longest living populations on hearth eat a diet that is mostly comprised of carbs! It’s the type of carbs that is important: aim for complex carbs that are micro-nutrient rich (roots, tubers, green veggies, beans, legumes, certain grains, and a some fruits). Our bodies use carbs for a lot of reasons – for instance – to help balance our blood sugar, create energy and even protect us from burning our muscle.
Additionally, “sugar” on a nutrition label is different from “added sugars”; it is naturally occurring in the foods used. Have you seen the new food labels that are rolling out with a separate column for “added sugars” ?? That refers to sugars added to the food product; sugar, honey, corn syrup or high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, palm sugar & more. Keep that one LOW to NO.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 25 grams for women and than 36 grams for men. We think this is a very generous recommendation; when you eat food “from the ground up” or close to the way it is found in nature, you won’t come close to 25g or 36g.
We are not by any means demonizing carbs. We are suggesting that people try not to add sugars to their food but instead utilize what is already sweet, like fruits.
This recipe does just that.
We also know that sugar affects our GUT buddies! Processed foods and added sugars promote the bad guys. We want a healthy garden of “microflora” or the good GUT buddies to flourish. Eat your veggies and maybe don’t mess too much with the way God made the food!
A note on honey
If you do like to add “sugar” to life, we recommend sticking with some pure local honey (local to you).
Local bees utilize pollen from local plants to create local honey! A few experts suggests that local honey can benefit our bodies by helping them adjust to seasonal pollen changes and reduce an allergy response. You probably also see honey used in a number of over-the-counter (OTC) natural cough remedies too; a few studies do support this. One example is Zarbees cough syrup for kids (over one year old).
Honey also has a number of B-vitamins and a few minerals like manganese and iron. Because there may be some “microorganisms” like bacteria in honey, experts do not recommend giving it to anyone 12 months old or younger.
What am I getting at?
The less “added sugars” we take in, the better. Enjoy this “no added sugar” banana bread!
If you decide you’d like some yummy chocolate in there (I feel ya!) — we recommend the “dark” variety. The darker, the better (think 72% cacao or more), to help minimize sugar intake and maximize the antioxidant goodness from unrefined cacao.
You might want to just break up a dark chocolate bar because the super dark chocolate chips are hard to find! If we want the “chocolate chip” look, we usually just go with 63% dark Guittard because we don’t add them often and they’re affordable.
Or simply add some cacao powder! Costco or Sam’s Club have got your back for bulk organic.
You could easily add another fruit or even zest some zucchini in for added nutrients!
Nature’s Savvy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 Bananas medium sized
- 6 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Free Range Eggs
- 1/2 cup Organic Flaxseed, Ground
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1.25 cup Almond Flour
- 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 3 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Raw Cacao Powder
- 4 tbsp Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips *optional
- 4 tbsp *Organic Hemp Protein Powder *optional, increases cost
Vegan Alternate for Eggs
- 9 tbsp water Only in Vegan alternate: to make "FLAX eggs"
- 6 tbsp Organic Flaxseed, Ground *Vegan eggs substitute only*
Instructions
Early Banana Prep — the sweet way!
- Purchase browning bananas or allow bananas to brown until there are several brown spots (more brown than yellow). A brown paper bag in a warm area (over a fridge) can help speed up the browning process.
- Freeze them **in the skin**! Once they're mostly "brown" – place them in the freezer. Allow 48 hours to completely freeze. Bananas that remain in the freezer for more than a few days will tend to be sweeter when thawed than those only frozen for a short time. I don't recommend waiting more than 3 months to use frozen bananas.
- Thawing: Either thaw the bananas in the fridge (48 hours or so), or rapidly in the microwave — but be prepared to cook them right away if you go this route. After thawing – you will remove them from their skin (yes, pretty gross looking but trust me – so good when baked!).
Making The Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Remove the bananas from the skin and mash until fairly smooth. Blend the bananas with melted coconut oil and olive oil.
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl until you reach a fairly even consistency and then blend with the banana mixture. Add vanilla extract.
- Sift in your dry ingredients, blending but not over mixing with banana mixture.
- *optional: add chocolate chips (delicious with out them too!) or consider adding 100% organic cacao powder.
- OPTION 1: Pour mixture into a 9×13 or 8×11 pan. This will make banana bread bars or squares and also make cooking easier.
- OPTION 2: Pour into a lightly greased bread-loaf pan. You can also make muffins with this recipe! Feel free to use a muffin tin instead if you prefer (fill them about 3/4 full, check them around 35 minutes of baking).
Baking!
- Option 1: bars/squares: Bake for 20-30 minutes; insert a clean fork – comes out clean. If you added extra bananas or larger bananas, might take 35 minutes. This method freezes really well & works well for large parties.Option 2: loaf pan: Bake 15 minutes covered, then uncover for another 30-45 minutes. Check the banana bread after 45 minutes of total bake time. The edges of the bread will begin to separate from the walls of the pan and the center will be firm.
- When done, remove from oven and place on a drying rack to cool.
Notes
- YES! This recipe is Paleo, Wheat & Gluten Free, lactose/dairy free, vegan, peanut free, etc, etc.
- Consider adding a half cup of grated zucchini to your mixture for an extra veggie boost!
Nutrition
That Savvy Alternates Table:
Here’s a table with external links for each recipe ingredient (plus a few alternate ingredient ideas). As previously mentioned, prices vary per region, season, city, store and personal preference for brand or specific type of food item.
| Bananas | Coconut Oil (extra virgin) | Hemp Protein Powder, unsweetened Organic |
| Almond Flour | Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Costco | Nutmeg or TJ’s |
| Cassava Flour (or Costco for Organic) | Organic Flaxseed Meal | Cinnamon or TJ’s or Costco/ Sam’s bulk |
| Baking Powder (aluminum & corn free) or TJ’s | Free Range Eggs (Costco or Sam’s) | Guittard 63% or 100% Chocolate Chips |
| Wild Local Honey or farmer’s market | Walnuts or Costco | Organic Cloves or bulk buy or club store |
TJ’s = Trader Joe’s . Sam’s = Sam’s Club . “Club Store” = Costco or Sam’s Club
