Wake up to a special treat with this fruity, flavorful Gluten Free Razzleberry Banana Bread! Made with a mixture of strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
I had the most epic surf day yesterday with a handful of girlfriends. We had an absolute blast!
Now it wasn’t an amazing surf day based solely on the waves. It was much, much more than that. In fact, the waves weren’t even that great. I mean, there were some pretty good sets out there that were just withing my comfort level, but then again there were also some pretty long breaks with almost completely flat water. In those moments, I just enjoyed being sprawled out on my board NOT thinking about being eaten by sharks.
Even with the waves being slightly sporadic, I spent a solid 2 hours in the water surfing without a single break. It was just enjoyable being able to spend the day with my friends, caring about no one and nothing but myself.
Well that sounds downright selfish, now doesn’t it?!
I’m not even going to defend myself. It was a selfish day, but that was the darn point of it!
With all the mommy responsibilities of life, you have to eventually find some time to mentally check out of mommy mode. And that’s exactly what I did.
Seven of us hot mamas met up at a friend’s house, threw our boards in the back of a truck, and carpooled out to a great beginners’ surfing beach. Within minutes of arriving, we had slathered on sunscreen, shot a few selfies to record this moment in history, and were out in the water to catch some waves. We laughed, swallowed too much salt water, slapped a few booties, and paddled until our arms could no longer move.
After surfing, we piled into cars again and hit up the good old local Chili’s where I was finally able to spend some of the gift cards I’ve gotten from my grandma over the past year. When there is only one Chili’s on the island and it’s 45 minutes away, gift cards don’t get used quite often.
At dinner we enjoyed some more carefree conversation, ate some surprisingly yummy food (not sure if we were starving, or it was really that good), and learned a new skill of paying for our own tabs with their high tech personalized computer system (we ended up with a 5 foot long receipt by the time we were done paying!).
By the time I arrived home to Ben and the girls, I was all smiles. Not only because the look on Ben’s face after spending 7 straight hours with our gruesome twosome is wildly hilarious, but I couldn’t help beaming from such a delightful day.
The past seven hours was precisely what a perfect day is made of: not just one moment of fun, but instead multiple moments swirled together to create one monumental moment forever carved into your memory. Yes, swirls and swirls of fun.
But then again, swirls are always fun. Always.
And that is exactly what brings this Gluten Free Razzleberry Banana Bread to life. It’s all about the swirls baby!
Now this banana bread recipe is delicious on it’s own. It’s been my go to banana bread recipe for the past few months because it doesn’t have any refined sugar and is made with mostly whole grains and very little oil/butter. It’s the perfect guilt free banana bread that is actually a healthy snack rather than “cake” disguised as “bread”.
Take this gloriously healthy banana bread and swirl into it a reduction of fresh strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry puree and you’re in pure breakfast heaven. It’s basically like eating a warm slice of banana bread with fresh preserves spread on top. So, so, SO yummy!
The thickened berry puree has a mild tartness that pairs so wonderfully with the slight sweetness of the banana bread, while adding an intensely fruity flavor. And just like the bread itself, this puree is also free of refined sugar. We’re talking pure maple syrup instead.
And can I just say that while you are cooking this puree, you won’t be thinking about anything but Christmas. The smell of the berries and the maple syrup cooking with a hint of cinnamon is a holiday smell you won’t soon forget.
So wake up and start your day with a perfect moment in a slice of this banana bread. It’s up to you to make happiness happen and to find your own special swirls in life.
How do you switch up your banana bread recipes?
- For the Banana Bread:
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sweet sorghum flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- For the Filling:
- 1½ cups sliced strawberries
- ¾ cup blackberries
- ¾ cup raspberries
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1½ teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Begin making filling by adding all ingredients to a sauce pan, mixing, and heating over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Push mixture through fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Return mixture to saucepan and simmer an additional 10 minutes until reduced by about half, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, melt butter. Allow butter to cool slightly. Add coconut sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add dry ingredients and whisk until well incorporated. Gently stir in mashed banana and stir well.
- Pour ¼ of batter into pan to cover the bottom. Spoon ½ berry mixture randomly on top. Add half of the remaining banana bread batter on top. Spoon remaining berry mixture on top. Add remaining banana bread mixture on top. Gently run a knife through loaf pan in a zigzag direction long ways to swirl. Repeat one more time short ways across the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until top springs back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center comes out with very few crumbs.
- Set pan on cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to loosen and gently flip banana bread out from pan. Turn right side up and allow to finish cooling on rack.
- Store leftover bread in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
