Gluten-Free Banana Bread

This post is for my friend Jennifer, who is in denial about her gluten allergy. To be honest, I love baked goods and bread. Love the stuff. And, if I thought I had a gluten allergy, I would probably try and endure the discomfort also, just to be able to continue to enjoy my favorite things. But, hopefully my friends that love me would try and get me to come to my senses and do what is right for my body. (Ahem ahem.)

The gluten allergy has always been really fascinating to me because it is so prevalent, and there are probably folks that have the allergy that aren't even aware of it. A friend of mine at work thought that she had a "weak stomach" until she was in her 40s before she discovered this allergy. Changing her diet literally changed her life.

I am not allergic, but I am a nerd. So, I was intrigued at the grocery store with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, and thought I would give it a whirl. This gluten-free flour substitute is made from garbanzo beans, as many flour substitutes are, which is just cool.

I had some bananas on hand, so I thought I would try out the banana bread recipe on the back of the flour bag, with a few modifications. The result was delicious! This banana bread is really, really good, and I honestly would not have thought that it was anything less than the "real thing", whatever that means.

I also used coconut oil in this bread, which is a newfound love of mine. Coconut oil is incredibly good for you and can be used as a butter and/or oil substitute in many cooking and baking applications. On top of that, if you run out of conditioner or lotion, you can just melt some coconut oil and lather up!

Anyone out there deal with this and have any favorite gluten-free recipes they want to share?

Jennifer - your friends, we care about you, and we don't want you to live life in misery and upset stomach-ness. I made this bread for you. And I tried really, really hard to save you some. I promise, I did. But it just tasted so good, you see. Which should be encouraging to you. I really have done you a favor here by showing you how good the other side can be. You are welcome.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Ingredients

1/3 cup coconut oil

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups gluten free flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspooon salt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9x5 inch pan. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl and add to oil mixture, alternating with mashed bananas. Blend until just smooth. Transfer to pan and bake for 1 hour.