Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Almond Flour

My favorite way to use up end-of-life bananas is in this banana-blueberry banana bread made with almond flour. This bread is gluten-free and naturally sweetened with bananas and a touch of maple syrup.

Almond flour is lower in carbohydrates than wheat flour. I'm definitely not anti-carbohydrate but given baked goods as a whole tend to be carbohydrate bombs, I love making this simple swap to lower the overall carbohydrate content.

Almond flour can be substituted for wheat flour at a 1:1 ratio in baked goods however the end-result is often a flatter, more dense product (gluten is what gives baked goods their height!). Eggs can help compensate for this lack of volume so it's best to substitute almond flour in baked goods containing eggs OR in recipes calling for very little flour to begin with (i.e. breaded chicken).

Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Almond Flour
Makes about 10 slices

Ingredients
2.5 cups almond flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs. Stir in maple syrup, yogurt, mashed bananas and vanilla, until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Fold in chopped walnuts and blueberries.
5. Pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the loaf and then allow to cool for at least an hour. Remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

**Recipe Modified from Healthy-Liv.com