Leigh's Monkey Bread: AKA The Best Banana Bread Ever:)

So we've all been there...those sad, smelly, over-ripe bananas show up from time to time in all our kitchens, demanding attention within a 10-foot radius. "EAT ME! USE ME!" Well, in my house growing up the silver lining was knowing that a mouth-watering warm loaf of freshly baked banana bread was soon to follow. The baker in our kitchen knew that under that dark brown-black skin those bananas were super sweet and creamy and ready for action. Mom, I dedicate this post to you:)
I've adapted my mom's fabulous recipe into a much more wholesome version I like to call "Monkey Bread." (The less obvious reason for this being that I always go ape for this bread and have to eat at least 2 slices when it comes out of the oven!) I figured out I could simply substitute whole grain flours for the white flour, maple syrup for the white sugar and add in some Omega 3-rich walnuts and ground flaxseeds. But not to worry, the organic eggs keep the loaf light and moist- no door stoppers here! So the next time you buy a bunch of bananas, please leave a lucky few to linger in your kitchen. You'll thank yourself later, I promise.
To your health! xox Leigh

Leigh's Monkey Bread
Serves: 8-10 humans, 6-8 apes Time: 1 hour 15 min

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

1 cup expeller-pressed canola, grapeseed or safflower oil

(plus a little extra for greasing the pan)

3 large organic eggs

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

3-4 over-ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed



1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs and mashed banana.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking soda and spices. Stir in the ground flaxseed.

4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir in chopped nuts.

5. Pour into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake for approx 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for a minimum of 20 minutes before serving.