It’s been a while since I posted a recipe on this blog, almost 6 years! When I first started cravingsweetskitchen.com it was truly my passion and it still brings back so many fond memories. As cliché as it sounds, life gets in the way and we run out of time to do the things that we love. The last few years I’ve spent every possible moment baking and cooking and eating and just learning so much. Baking has always been my passion but I’ve grown to love cooking just as much. Every stress and every sad feeling I would cure by stepping into the kitchen and letting myself disappear in the processing of making something from scratch. But all of this was tested last year.

Last February, my life turned upside down when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. It’s an autoimmune disease that affects your digestive system and causes chronic inflammation. I lost 30 lbs in mere weeks and with that went my appetite and my energy. My relationship to food was tested because I couldn’t keep anything down and for the first time in my life, food had brought me pain. I scoured the internet for recipes and tips but I ended up more confused and discouraged. I felt guilty about everything I ate and even more guilty about not eating enough. But what was the hardest part of this was that I felt like I lost myself.

When I finally stepped into the kitchen to cook for the first time I wanted to cry because I didn’t know what to do. I had adapted a gluten-free and sugar-free diet and had to teach myself how to cook in this new way. Nothing was working and baking was out of the question but I slowly picked myself up and told myself it would be a challenge (just like the time I went vegan for a year). Many mistakes later I would find dishes and recipes that excited me and helped me feel like myself again. I’m still learning about this new lifestyle and I’d like to document the recipes I create on this blog. Hoping that maybe I’ll help someone that is struggling just like I was (and prove that gluten-free recipes are just as delicious). Now on to the story of how this banana bread came about.

So I’ve been nurturing these two bananas for a week and I wouldn’t let anybody touch them or even think about using them. At first they were sitting by the window, it was a pretty gloomy week so they weren’t getting much sun, then as the sun came out I moved them further away not to disturb the ripening process. I would check in on them each day and with each new brown spot I was getting closer to that perfect banana bread. I knew I wanted to bake something that was chocolatey but also something bright and refreshing that didn’t just taste like bananas. I had some blood oranges sitting around and thanks to my sister the idea for blood orange chocolate banana bread came about. This banana bread is gluten-free and refine sugar-free so you don’t have to feel guilty about having a few slices or even half a bread when it comes out of the oven.

Gluten-Free Blood Orange Chocolate Banana Bread

Wet Ingredients:

2 large bananas (as spotty as possible)

2 large eggs

Zest and juice of 1 medium blood orange (about 1/4 c. juice and 1 tbsp. zest) + a few slices for topping

1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (or more depending on the ripeness of your bananas)

1/4 cup coconut brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup nut butter (I used mixed nut butter)

Dry Ingredients:

3/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup cacao powder

3/4 tsp. xanthm gum

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a bread pan with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil. Set aside while oven preheats.

Take out two bowls, one small and one medium. In the small bowl, add all of the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. In the medium bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients. Whisk until batter is smooth and transfer to the greased bread pan.

Smooth the top of the bread and top with the blood orange slices. Bake 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and there is no wetness (I took mine out too early so make sure you bake it long enough). Allow the banana bread to cool 5-10 mins before taking it out of the pan. Let it cool another 15 mins before slicing. Enjoy as is or top with nut butter, jam, butter, etc.

Store in an airtight container for 3 days or in the fridge for a week.

Enjoy!

**Note: You can make this recipe vegan by substituting the eggs with a flax or chia egg. Just mix one tbsp. of ground flax or chia seeds and two tbsp. of water in a small cup. Let sit for 10-15 mins and it should have the same consistency as an egg (add more water if it’s too thick).