GF & Vegan Banana-Date-Chocolate-Chip Mini Loaves

Tis the season to bake! It's getting dark way too early, colder than I prefer and, thus, the best time of year to throw on the sweats, good music, pour a glass of wine and get busy in the kitchen. As mentioned in my last post, here is the recipe I promised to share. Try it, tweak it, let me know what YOU think!

Gotta say, I'm proud of this one because it was a total tawnee-special. Custom creation based on recipes I've seen and tried before. Definitely has the healthy flare, but with some "traditional" aspects thrown in. Baking is, of course, a little more sciencey and chemistry-based, but I was in the mood to wing it, and I won. I also unintentionally made this vegan. We were low on eggs and we love our eggs in the morning, so I decided to try one of those vegan egg substitutes: flax and chia mixed with water. It was a success! As you can see, I also made two mini loaves instead of one biggie (both in regular 9x5 loaf pans) since I've had issues baking gluten-free goods before (aka issues with them rising), but this one turned out really well in small loaf form, and I think it would work as one regular-sized loaf if you wanted.



INGREDIENTS
2 ripe bananas, mashed
10 medjool dates, pitted and finely chopped
1 1/4 c. gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp flaxmeal
3 tbsp filtered water
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
~1/3 c. chocolate chips
1-2 loaf pans
Optional: 1/8-1/4 c. brown sugar (I did add ~1/8 cup because I knew John would like a tad more sweetness, but with the dates and banana you could easily omit!)

DIRECTIONS
-Mix chia seeds, flaxmeal and filtered water in small bowl and let it sit and thicken.
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Grease 1-2 loaf pans; I used a light layer of coconut oil. You decide if you want 1 or 2 ;)
-Mash bananas in a large bowl then add all ingredients except chocolate, and mix well. Note: make sure flax/chia mix is thick before adding. Also, I just mixed with a regular spoon, nothing fancy.
-Pour mixture into pan(s) evenly and bake for 40-50'. Check it after ~30' with a toothpick or something. I've noticed ovens and cooking times seem to be so random, and I honestly didn't pay attention to the exact time I cooked mine (definitely less than an hour), and I don't want you to burn this!

Enjoy!