I know what you are thinking…could it really be? Is it possible? Can you have great tasting banana bread with protein? And how on earth can you make it gluten free?

Well guess what? It’s possible and it tastes divine! Ok, so admittedly I had a few trials with this recipe that fell flat…quite literally the bread puffed up and sagged right back down as soon as it was out of the oven. Protein powder isn’t a particularly good raising agent and it’s a little difficult to maneuver in a lot of recipes because of its consistency. But with the right combination of other ingredients it’s possible to work it into a recipe without it tasting horrible.

So here goes…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whey protein powder (preferably vanilla or banana but even chocolate would do)

1 cup coconut milk or almond milk

1/2 cup egg whites (about 3 medium eggs)

2 bananas, mashed

6.5 tablespoons of heaped almond meal or almond flour

3 tablespoons coconut flour

4 pitted dates (you can choose to omit this and add sweetener instead)

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 .5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sweetener of choice (I used a 1/4 teaspoon of liquid sweetener (optional)

Handful of chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160C and lightly grease a medium bread tin. Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor (I often find it is easier on the blades if you put the liquids in first) Pour the ingredients into the bread tin and bake for around 45-50 minutes. The banana bread should be ready when a skewer comes out clean.

Happy snacking!

– Sweet Cinnamon Sin