Would you ever guess that this loaf of banana bread is healthy?!
Not only is it vegan and made from whole-wheat flour, but it does not contain any refined sugar, oil, or dairy!

I love bananas, in fact I think they are my favorite fruit (at the moment)!
I love them right out of the peel, dried as chips, frozen and dipped in chocolate, sliced on my almond butter toast, blended in my smoothies, and of course hot and gooey in my banana bread.

I had a huge bunch of bananas that were about to go bad yesterday, and my freezer was already filled with a bag of frozen bananas, so I decided to experiment with my very first vegan baking recipe from Love Food Eat. I love vegan baking because it’s always a challenge to substitute dairy products, and you can lick the entire bowl of batter without getting sick! While I was at it, I wanted to attempt to make the healthiest banana bread possible, without the use of oil, butter, shortening, eggs, or sugar!

Vegan Banana Bread

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups very ripe mashed banana
1/3 cup Medjool dates – finely chopped
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, combine ground flaxseed with water. Set aside and stir occasionally until it forms into a sticky/gooey texture. In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon). Mash the banana and chop dates. Add mashed banana, dates, and flaxseed mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until it turns into a dough. Lightly coat a baking pan in nonstick cooking spray. Pour the dough into the pan and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 55-60 minutes until edges are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.