Wheat-free, Dairy-free Maple Syrup Banana Bread

*I jotted this recipe down but didn't write down the source. I've made some modifications to this recipe as well. Sorry if this is your recipe!

I went through a phase where I didn't eat bananas.

1) They aren't native to BC so (according to some sources) they make your body think you're in Hawaii or someplace warm and wonderful, and therefore, your body doesn't produce Vitamin D, and therefore, you don't absorb calcium (whoa, that was long).

2) There's a lot of discussion going on about how unfairly-traded they are. This is just what I read in a student newspaper though, so I clearly need to do more research!

I missed bananas, though. They are a tasty portable snack, that's easy to eat anywhere. So in the past few months, I've been eating them... And then of course if a few days pass since you last ate a banana, and they start looking freckly and sad... I believe that's why banana bread was created. It both sweetens and moistens! How perfect!

I decided to use maple syrup instead of sugar for this particular loaf because I happened to have a jug of it (thanks, Costco!) but it is pretty pricey stuff so I think honey, rice syrup or even regular sugar would be just fine. I'm trying to avoid sugar in granular form (well, basically white and brown sugar) at the moment so that's also why I turned to maple syrup.

The result was a moist, surprisingly sweet loaf that was a bit oily on the bottom. Maybe too much margarine?


Ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1/4 cup rice milk (soy should be fine, too)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees celcius. Grease a loaf pan.

Beat together margarine and mashed bananas. Add maple syrup, vanilla, rice milk, and eggs. Beat for about 1 minute on medium speed.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir well so that the baking soda is well incorporated. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold using a spatula.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for *45 minutes.

*I've noticed my convection oven takes less time to bake than a recipe calls for so you may want to check whether the bread is done by inserting a wooden skewer. According to the recipe, this bread could take up to 55-60 minutes to bake.