Preparation (if possible, the day before)
Coarsely chop the dried mangoes and bananas and let them soak in rum for at least four hours or overnight.
Making the banana bread batter
Add the peeled apple to the fruit and rum mixture. Mash the banana with a fork and sprinkle with lemon juice, and then add to the fruit mixture and stir.
Organic apple peel contains valuable nutrients. You can save the apple peel and use it later to make something else, for example, fruit tea, or dry it to make apple peel chips.
Mix the flour, baking powder, vanilla, carob powder (locust bean gum), and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the almond butter, maple syrup, and almond milk and mix with the fruit. You should be able to stir the batter but its consistency should not be too thin.
You can replace the almond milk with another plant-based drink.
The author recommends using a wooden spoon to stir the batter.
Chop the candied ginger and lemon peel and carefully fold into the batter. Fold in the coconut chips.
Baking and serving
Grease two smaller baking pans, pour in the batter, and bake at 180 °C for 35–45 minutes. If you make a single large loaf, bake for about 60 minutes.
Adjust the number of baking pans based on the amount of banana bread you are baking. These instructions are to make four servings of banana bread.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the baking pan, and then remove carefully. Serve and enjoy.
The quantities listed make two small loaves, each about 12 cm long, or one large loaf about 18 cm long.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
This banana bread is moist, yet dairy-free. It gets its delicious tropical flavor from candied ginger and rum-soaked mango and banana.
Dried fruit is often treated with sulfur dioxide: Treating dried fruit with sulfur dioxide has two distinct advantages for large-scale industrial producers. First, the sulfur dioxide layer helps to prevent spoiling as it inhibits the metabolism of many microorganisms and in this way increases the shelf life of the product. And second, it allows the fruit to maintain its original color. The latter occurs thanks to the fact that sulfur dioxide inhibits enzymes that promote oxidation. This makes the fruit look more attractive for consumers, but in general we advise against purchasing and consuming dried fruit that has been treated. The preservation process destroys several vitamins, such as folic acid, and sulfur dioxide can be harmful for people with asthma or allergies.
Spelt flour: Spelt flour is closely related to wheat and is often referred to as “proto-wheat.” It is classified by type number according to the amount of mineral content in 100 grams. Spelt flour can be purchased as type 630, 812, and 1050. The higher the type number, the more nutrient dense and healthier the spelt flour. Spelt flour is also available in whole grain form. Type 630 works well for making baked goods, and it can often be used as a substitute for wheat flour. Types 812 and 1050 have a higher mineral content. The differences between spelt and wheat are negligible when it comes to nutritional content. But compared to wheat, spelt does contain much higher levels of silica.
Almond milk: Almond milk is a plant-based milk containing almonds and water that is used as an alternative to dairy milk. You can use commercial almond milk or make it yourself. See the link under “Alternative preparation.” You can customize homemade almond milk and make it thicker or thinner to suit your taste preferences. Store-bought almond milk usually contains less than 10 % almonds. Almonds (like parsley) are a good source of iron.
Almond butter: Almond butter can be raw, but it is usually steam-treated and does not qualify as a raw food unless it is specifically labeled as such. It is a more nutritious source of energy than peanut butter and contains half the amount of saturated fatty acids. It can be crunchy or smooth. If the oil separates, this just means that the nut butter does not contain emulsifiers. Depending on how it is processed, almond butter may be made from raw or roasted almonds. You can also make almond butter yourself. Click on the link under “Alternative preparation.”
Carob powder: Carob powder is obtained by grinding carob pods. It is very low in fat and free of the stimulating substances contained in caffeine. Carob powder has a fruity, caramel flavor and is a good alternative to cocoa, and is often used as an ingredient in mousses, puddings, and cakes. To obtain high-quality carob, only the middle parts of the pods are used since the ends are often too bitter. The middle parts are then coarsely chopped, roasted, and ground into St John’s-bread (carob powder). If it isn’t labeled as such, carob powder is not raw!
Ground vanilla is not vanilla sugar: Although these two terms are sometimes used incorrectly as synonyms, they are two very different products. Ground vanilla, also called vanilla powder, is obtained by grinding vanilla bean pods. Vanilla sugar, however, is a mixture of vanilla and natural vanilla flavor or vanilla extract. Vanilla bean pods are not raw.
Tips
Quality of carob powder: When you buy carob powder, it will usually be sold in a closed container. As a result, you won’t be able to determine if you have purchased a high-quality raw carob powder until you open it. Raw carob powder has a light brown color, and high-quality raw carob powder has a relatively mild flavor as compared to the roasted variety. Roasted powders have a dark brown color and an intense flavor that is produced by roasting. It is actually difficult to find raw carob powder, but you’ll know you’ve found it when it says raw carob powder on the package.
Alternate preparation
Make your own almond milk:Click here for a recipe to make your own almond milk from raw almonds.
Make your own almond butter:Click here to learn how to make almond butter with no added salt.
You can replace the ground vanilla with vanilla pulp from a vanilla bean pod.
