Gluten Free Ginger-Banana Bread!

Oh man.  It has been a couple of crazy busy weeks, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop.  Between having dinner dates with friends for last minute catch up before I move, to going on spontaneous adventures with friends, the weekends have been jam packed.  When I woke up this morning, I had slept 4 hours for the last couple of days, and my body was definitely exhausted.  On days like this, what does my body want more than anything? (other than more sleep) SUGAR!!!!!  But~ being the person that I am, I'm not just going to go guzzling down a ton of sugar.  Exhaustion doesn't want to throw even the simplest ingredients together for pancakes, and jam on toast won't cut it.  So what do I do?  I pulled out the Ginger-Banana bread with Walnut and Chocolate Chips (optional) that I had made last weekend on a whim to use up bananas and had frozen.
Did it do the job?  OH YEAH BABY!!!!  Nutty, chocolatey, and completely gluten free (and whole wheat to boot) it was just what the doctor (and when I say doctor, I mean my body) ordered.

I adapted this recipe from a couple different recipes, and in cutting fat and sugar contents have made it my own.  I find that it's not too sweet and is perfect for that high tea accompaniment.

Gluten Free Ginger-Banana Bread (with nut and chocolate options)

Dry:

1/4c buckwheat flour

3/4c sorghum flour

1/2c teff flour

1/2+1/8c potato starch

1/4+1/8c tapioca flour

 1tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 c coconut palm sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

Wet:

1/2 tsp baking powder (mixed into the banana mash)

3 Tbsp  olive oil 

1/4c earth balance, melted

1/4c MINUS 2 Tbsp of molasses, at room temp

1/4+1/8c warm water

2 c ripe bananas, mashed (can use frozen;  just defrost and let runny juices drain)

1tsp vanilla extract

Extra Options:

**more spice: 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp cardamom (choose 1 or try all! experiment!)

**add ins:  

2 c rough chopped walnuts 

1-1 1/2 c vegan chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  

2.  Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. (I like the mix the walnuts and chocolate chips at this point, into the dry batter because I heard the flour mix coating the chips and nuts prevents them all from sinking to the bottom of the pan)

3.  Mix together wet ingredients.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, making sure to incorporate mixture with slower, large strokes just until there are no more dry pockets of flour.  Pour into loaf pan, and put into the oven for 55 min.-1 hour, until a toothpick or chopstick inserted into the center comes out clean (melted chocolate doesn't count). 

4.  Turn out of the pan, let it cool.  Serve immediately if eating fresh, or cool completely before freezing it in an airtight plastic bag or container.  

ENJOY!