Today with food prices soaring and the consciousness around food waste coming to head, it makes me cringe a little bit every time I'm not able to finish some produce before it passes its prime. Its not the worst thing in the world because I know it will help to create a nourishing compost for my garden. However, being smart with our shopping and finding creative ways to use produce that's just on the verge of spoilage is still both satisfying and responsible.

And in comes the banana, it doesn't matter how green they are when I buy them, one day they're perfect and the next they're spotted and sickenly sweet to eat by themselves. Luckily this is the point at which they are PERFECT for banana bread. In fact I believe that banana bread was invented by some genius woman in order to save these mushy outcasts of the fruit world.

To go the extra mile of reducing food waste I decided to use Coffee Flour in the recipe. If you've ever seen a coffee plant you'll know that the ripe red berries contain the green bean that is later roasted and ground into what you put in your daily french press. Coffee Flour is made from the otherwise wasted coffee berry which is dried and ground into flour. You can sub up to 1/3 of whatever flour a recipe calls for (p.s. its gluten and grainfree). I love the idea of this product because it provides additional income to the coffee farmers, as well as reduces food waste and security. Plus its pretty tasty. Win-win-win.

Now this Banana Bread recipe is damn near perfect. Moist texture, subtly sweet, and thanks to the almond and coffee flour, it has a distinctively nutty flavor. Its GF, free of refine sugar and can be made vegan by subbing two flax egg in place of pasture raised eggs. If you can't find Coffee Flour (it's available at trader joes), than just add an additional 1/2 cup of almond flour in its place.

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas
2 eggs (or sub flax egg)
3 Tsp melted coconut oil
1/4 cup date sugar, coconut sugar, honey or lakanto (monkfruit)
3.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup nut milk of choice
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coffee flour (or more oat/almond flour)
1 1/2 cups gluten free oats ground into flour
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 9x5 in loaf pan with parchment paper
Mash bananas in a large bowl and add all of the wet ingredients, whisking until well combined.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl then combine the wet and dry together. Let set for 5 minutes.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min. You can tell its ready when it feels firm and has little cracks on top
Let cool completely before slicing otherwise it will fall apart.
Serve with Macadamia nut butter, honey, or ghee. Take a bite and feel proud that you are the savior of the overripe bananas!

** leftovers can be stored in air tight container for several days or slice and freeze for up to a month (if it lasts that long)

Best Banana Bread Ever