EASY COCONUT & BANANA LOAF

We've been a bit baking crazy in our house since The Great British Bake Off and thought Nadiya was a very worthy winner. I loved her wee speech when she won. and I think we can all relate to what she said.


I'm never going to put boundaries on myself
ever again
I'm never going to say I can't do it,
I'm never going to say maybe,
I'm never going to say 1 don't think I can
I can and I will!,

It's something we could all do with, believing in ourselves! We can all achieve great things if we believe we can!
So back to the baking, I've always loved baking, my mum was an ace baker
and I loved helping her! This easy coconut loaf is one of my mums recipes which I've adapted to make it vegan and healthier. There is something wonderful about the smell of cakes baking in the oven, it brings back all sorts of happy memories!
Now most of us don't have the luxury of afternoons dedicated to baking so this loaf takes minutes to throw together. It is, quite simply,the easiest I have ever made and its delicious and relatively healthy!
The only equipment needed is a bowl, a cup, a wooden spoon, a fork and a loaf tin!!
​No weighing of ingredients, everything is measured in the cup!
The original recipe used an egg and milk, which is fine, but I prefer the dairy free, vegan version, which replaces the egg with half a banana and the milk with a dairy free version. I use Organic, Soya Milk for baking but almond, coconut or oat milk would work equally well.
The original used yellow food colouring, which is just artificial and not a great idea so I replaced it with ground turmeric, which imparts a nice yellow hue and a wee pinch of freshly ground black pepper, which helps us to absorb it better. It sounds odd but turmeric is a superstar food and I add it to as many foods as I can. It doesn't have much of a taste but has so many health benefits it is definitely worth sneaking into your diet!
Having said that, its not essential to use it here, it just makes the loaf a nicer colour!
The other adaptation is to reduce the amount of sugar, which we all know is bad news! Both banana and coconut are naturally sweet and contain soluble fibre which slows the rate at which the sugar enters your bloodstream. I use 1/4 cup of sugar.since I don't have a sweet tooth but feel free to add up to 1/2 cup, if you prefer it sweeter. It is a treat after all!!
I'd also recommend buying organic flour since wheat is one of the most heavily sprayed crops and has high pesticide residues, so does anything produced from it. You certainly don't need to be adding more pesticides to your diet.
So here is the very simple recipe, I hope you enjoy it!

EASY COCONUT & BANANA LOAF

Use the same sized cup to measure out all your ingredients. If you use a small cup the recipe will make a small loaf; a bigger cup will make a bigger loaf. Easy peasy. I use a small mug and a small loaf tin 20cm x 10cm

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of self raising flour, preferably organic
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of caster sugar
• half a mashed ripe banana 
• Organic Soya milk, almond, oat or coconut milk
• 1 level teaspoon of turmeric (to give the loaf a lovely yellow colour)
• a wee pinch of black pepper

 
Method

1. Quite simply mix the flour, coconut, sugar, turmeric and black pepper in a baking bowl.
2. Mash the banana into the cup and fill up to the top with soya milk. Mix with a fork.
3. Add to the dry ingredients and fold together until well mixed.
4. Lightly grease your loaf tin, then cut a long strip of greaseproof paper to line your baking tin, with an overlap at both ends. This makes it easy to lift the loaf from the tin.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven at 180degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the loaf is nicely browned.
6. Cool then cut into slices and serve with organic butter, coconut oil and/or jam, 

...your health in your hands....
​