My Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Lunchbox Winner!

I’m a huge fan of recipes that:

• you can remember and whip up easily
• forgive you when you don’t measure exactly
• my kids actually eat
• have one bowl = less washing up
• have a decent protein and healthy fat content to keep little bellies full and brains working throughout the day

Here’s one I have adapted that ticks all those boxes. It’s also:

• gluten free/dairy free
• per 100g serve: 10g protein; 19g carbohydrates; 23g healthy fat (Note: protein and fat help stabilise blood sugars which are raised by the carbs)

Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

3 ripe/overripe bananas

3 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup (warning: be sure to get real maple syrup, not “Maple Flavoured” syrup, which is absolute rubbish and will send your kids hyper)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil (or butter, but coconut = dairy free)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

2.5 cups almond meal

1/2 cup buckwheat flour* (you could also just use 3 cups almond meal, I like buckwheat, it makes it a little lighter).

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 ish degrees celsius (or a bit less for fan-forced) and line a loaf tin.
2. Mash bananas.
3. Add eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, sprinkle baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
4. Add almond meal and buckwheat flour and fold in well.
5. Add mixture to loaf tin and bake for 30-40 mins. (My oven is ready to retire and is a bit slow, usually about 35-40 mins so keep an eye on yours, it’s ready when the knife comes out clean and it’s a little crusty on top.)

*Buckwheat is a seed not a grain and is gluten free. It has a slightly bitter flavour, but I love it. You can get the flour in supermarkets or health food stores.