Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
Blueberry Banana Bread
Butterscotch and vanilla flavor notes in this berry-packed moist banana bread make this loaf a delicious, super healthy option for breakfast, a teatime, and dessert ~ and all without eggs, butter, oils, sugar, or refined flour!
Prep time 15 minutes Bake time 60-75 minutes
Makes one 4”x8” loaf
2 cups whole grain flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat and 1 cup buckwheat flours)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground Ceylon (true) cinnamon (best to freshly grind the sticks into powder)
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon white (shiro) miso •
3 very ripe bananas, broken in 2" pieces
½ cup plant-based buttermilk from ½ cup unsweetened soymilk + 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dates, pitted and blended into a paste
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Make buttermilk by combining the soymilk with lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken. Whisk in the miso to completely dissolve. Set aside.
Make date paste by pitting, halving, and placing dates in a bowl, barely covered with water, and microwave for 2 minutes before cooling slightly and blending with the soaking water in a high-speed blender. Alternatively, simmer in a saucepan for 3-4 minutes to rehydrate and soften before blending. Set aside.
In a food processor add the buttermilk, date paste, banana pieces and vanilla. Run until smooth. Now add the whole grain flours, baking soda, baking powder, and Ceylon cinnamon. Pulse until just combined but do not overprocess.
Transfer to a bowl and gently stir in blueberries, distributing them throughout the batter.
Pour into a pyrex loaf pan (if you use a metal pan, you will need to line with parchment paper first), and place on a rimmed cookie sheet.
Move to your preheated oven and bake for an hour. The larger your bananas and blueberries, the wetter your date paste, the more time your bread will take to bake. Check at an hour by removing from the oven, piercing through the center with a metal skewer to test for doneness. If it is coated with batter, return to the oven for additional baking. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. If your banana requires more time because the center is uncooked but the top is browning, cover with parchment covered with foil and bake longer, checking every 10 minutes.
When the bread is ready, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. If you want to remove it from the pyrex loaf pan, run a thin knife or icing spatula around the perimeter, keeping the knife/spatula clean as you go, invert the pan and gently shake it to emerge.
Serve a slice at room temp or reheated slightly. Enjoy!
