Beanana Bread

The banana bread to replace your morning smoothie

Bean Supporters,

Last week, I had the honor of meeting with the Director of School Nutrition of Berkeley Unified School District. As a bean supporter—my goal is to get people eating more beans, and there is no better way than to start them young.

We discussed how a large gap for beans is breakfast. While this gap is new to me—I tend to eat my gut bowls for breakfast (more to come on those)—I realize piles of fermented vegetables and beans aren’t how everyone, especially children, wants to start the day.

I have developed a lentil waffle, bean-amon toast crunch, “nut”ella, bean bar, as well as blondies and brownies so nutrient-packed I often eat them for breakfast. But I needed a breakfast staple—Banana Bread.

This banana bread can replace your morning smoothie, as the loaf contains 70 grams of protein and 42 grams of fiber. If you want more on macros, you can drop the ingredients into ChatGPT, but when I tell you this is a powerhouse, I mean it.

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup lentils

• 50 grams dates*

• 2 cups water

• 2 eggs (or flax eggs – 2 tbsp ground flax + 5 tbsp water; let it bloom)

• 1.5 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1.5 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp honey*

• 1 cup mashed banana

• 1/2 cup oats

*For a sweeter banana bread, increase to 100 grams of dates and 2–3 tbsp honey.
Optional
Mix-ins: Chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, dates, blueberries—anything!

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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Rinse lentils. Add lentils and pitted dates to a large jar with 2 cups of water. Let this sit for at least 3 hours (can sit up to 24 hours in the fridge).

3. To a blender or food processor, add the lentil mixture, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and honey. Blend the mixture until fully smooth.

4. Mix in mashed banana and oats by hand. This is essential, as blending in the banana and oats will completely change the texture. If you're using mix-ins, stir them in here as well.

Pro tip: Never blend your bananas—hand mash them with a fork. This allows you to have nice moist banana chunks throughout your banana bread. Additionally, keeping the oats whole adds a bit of texture and bite.

5) Transfer to a parchment-lined (or buttered) loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 60–65 minutes.

Let it cool before slicing. Since this recipe is gluten-free, let it come to room temperature or you might end up with a non-sliceable mess.

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One thing I try to practice in my life is patience. Life is like a pot of beans—if you cook it on high, you’re going to unravel the skins and potentially scorch the bottoms. I, however, have the tendency to cook on high. For everything.

I have burnt countless batches of beans—both literal and figurative—and am working on tapping into the slow-working nature of batch cooking.

With my recipes daily on my social media, I’ve tried to stick to a weekly roundup here—but this recipe I really want to share. I want you to make it, hopefully love it, and always give me your feedback.

Tell someone you love them.

xoxo,
Bean Supporter