The Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe from the Yoga Girl® Kitchen

Do you need proof your brown bananas are a good sign? Here is it: the perfectly dense vegan banana bread recipe, with chocolate chips. Because chocolate.

Do you ever buy more produce than you can finish? I end up with overripe avocados or brown bananas a few times a month.

While I nearly cry when my avocados are no longer good for guacamole, brown bananas actually make me happy!

Why?

Because overripe bananas equal VEGAN BANANA BREAD. Every. Single. Time.

And I’ve found the perfect recipe! This loaf is perfectly dense, moist and delicious, and it’s so easy to make. Your non-vegan friends won’t know the difference, trust me.

Its decadence doesn’t mean it’s lacking in nutrients!

• The bananas are full of fiber and potassium, they help your digestion, heart health and blood pressure, and they help deliver oxygen to your brain. Some people say they help them with menstrual pains and heartburn.

• It’s commonly known by now how amazing coconut oil is. It’s a superfood that gives you MCT fatty acids (the good kind of fat that helps your cholesterol and your brain), and it can help kill off viruses, bacteria and yeast. Not to mention it’s my absolute favorite for my skin, teeth and hair!

• Vanilla extract isn’t just a dessert essential. It’s healthy, too (if you get the pure kind)! It’s an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial mood booster! It’s said to also help bring down a fever or high cholesterol.

• Chia seeds are another superfood staple in my kitchen. Get your protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants and omega-3s from these gooey little seeds! They also make a great egg replacement (ahem…vegan for the win!).

• Almonds are filled with protein, fiber, vitamin E (great for your skin), magnesium (great for your calm), and other super-good-for-you nutrients!

• Cacao nibs. Well, first of all, they’re chocolate. Second, they’re insanely packed with antioxidants, iron and magnesium. These are essential to a woman on her moon cycle, which helps explain why we need chocolate like we need water during those weeks!!

__It’s important to buy these ingredients from sources that practice #businessforchange and don’t take more from Mother Earth and the farmers than they give! __ We want these yummy foods to be around for our children and our children’s children. You can support their healthy existence with your wallet. I always look for the fair trade, organic and cruelty-free labels.

When you’re getting all your ingredients together, keep in mind the darker your bananas, the better the banana bread! Since the bananas are already so sweet, we'll only need to use a little bit of brown sugar.

I add chocolate chips because I love chocolate, but you can easily skip the chocolate and go for a more traditional banana bread instead. Or, fold in half a cup of chopped walnuts, almonds, pine nuts... Whatever you choose, this banana bread will be so, so good!

The Yoga Girl® Kitchen - Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 Loaf Serves Approx. 6

The Ingredients:

• 4 large, overripe bananas
• 1 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt (or regular sea salt)
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp chopped almonds
• 1 tsp cacao nibs

The Process:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F / 177°C.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, chia seeds and salt. Put aside.
3. Mash the bananas in a separate bowl (I love to use a potato masher) with the coconut oil and vanilla.
4. Mix the two blends together. When blended well, fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Grease a loaf pan and pour in the batter.
6. Sprinkle almonds and cacao nibs on top.
7. Put it in the oven for 1 hour - more or less! My oven bakes this perfectly in 60 minutes or one episode of House of Cards. But give it a check around 45 minutes to be safe.
8. Use a toothpick, or the bottom of a matchstick, to check if it’s ready. When it comes out fairly clean, it's ready.
9. Let it cool for as long as you can stand it.
10. Slice and serve with coconut cream or as is with a cup of tea.

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This banana bread gets better with time, so wrap up any leftovers in foil to eat with your morning coffee and a good book the next day.

Tell me how yours turned out! Did you eat half the pan in one sitting like I may have just done? Share in the comments below!

Enjoy!

X,

Rachel