Recipe: Gluten and dairy free protein banana bread with Protein Pow's vegan mix

You know when bananas reach that sad, sorry stage, where they're black and wilted and begin to attract those tiny, irritating little flies?? Well, apparently this is when they're actually at their most beneficial nutritionally - and they make EXCELLENT banana bread.

So when Protein Pow tweeted me about my sad bananas suggesting I try her epic protein banana bread recipe, I jumped at the chance.

Everything on the menu looked pretty accessible - I already had some of the Protein Pow cooking mix and pretty much everything else in the kitchen. The only thing I didn't have was date syrup - which took me on a bit of an adventure!

I had no idea where to find it but ended up coming across it in the Grape Tree store in Atlantic Village in Bideford. It's worth tracking down as it was only about £2.50 and it gives the recipe a really toffee-like flavour and sticky consistency - it was lovely.

I did have to make *a few* modifications to the recipe due to unforeseen circumstances (read: forgot to go to the shops  beforehand) but the banana bread still turned out amazingly well!

You'd never know this was made with a protein mix, it's absolutely delicious. It's also free from gluten, wheat, dairy and refined sugar - so it makes for a healthier treat than a slice of cake.

The recipe can be found on Protein Pow's website here, and the modifications I made are as follows:

• I only had the vegan Protein Pow cooking mix (the recipe uses the whey version) so I used this instead which probably gives it a slightly different flavour - but it does make it dairy free for those who can't have dairy!
• I also only had 173g of the Protein Pow mix (epic fail) so I added 50g of coconut flour and 10g of unflavoured pea protein to make up the extra dry mix.
• I didn't have pistachios so I used pecan nuts as these are my absolute FAVE. They pair with banana just perfectly.
• I didn't add the optional flavouring - mainly because I didn't have any!

As I don't want to duplicate Protein Pow's recipe by copying it onto here, make sure you check it out here - and here are some photos of how my banana bread turned out - *drools*.

This banana bread is delicious straight from the oven, or I slathered a slice with some Whole Earth Foods three-nut butter and it was delicious. It will be perfect for my pre-workout meal to give me some energy in the gym tomorrow!

What is your favourite banana bread recipe? Comment below and share your favourite recipes - and make sure you share this with any banana bread fans!