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GRINCH CAKE (aka Kermit Cake, aka grain-free spinach banana bread)

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In case you haven’t noticed, this banana bread is green and named after a much-loved Christmas character.  Trust me here, though, it's so moist and delicious that you'll barely believe it’s packed with spinach and totally dairy, grain and nut free!

SPINACH BANANA BREAD GRAINFREE.jpg

For this paleo-friendly recipe, I used cassava flour.  It’s a great non-allergenic option for baking.  It has a mild flavour and soft consistency and can be used as a 1:1 substitute for regular flour in many recipes.

Cassava flour is made from the starchy yuca plant, so it is rich in non-refined carbohydrates.  With only 120 calories per 1/4 cup, it is less calorie dense than many other traditional and gluten-free flours, including wheat, corn, almond and coconut.

Topped here with homemade coconut yogurt and additional chocolate chunks.

Topped here with homemade coconut yogurt and additional chocolate chunks.

Ingredients for one loaf:

  • 3 1/2 cups raw baby spinach

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil, plus additional for preparing pan

  • 1/2 cup Lakanto Golden monkfruit sweetener (or coconut sugar)

  • 2 pasture-raised eggs

  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed

  • 1 cup Otto’s Naturals cassava flour

  • 2/3 cup almond flour

  • 1/3 cup arrowroot flour

  • 1/3 cup Further Food collagen or shelled gluten-free hemp seeds

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

  • 1/2 to 1 cup dark chocolate chunks (such as Enjoy Life) or walnut pieces or 1/2 cup of each

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8.5 x 4.5" standard loaf pan with avocado or coconut oil.

  2. In a blender or food processor, blend together spinach, oil, sweetener, eggs, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.

  3. Put spinach mixture in a medium bowl, add mashed banana, and mix well.

  4. In a separate bowl, mix together cassava flour, almond flour, arrowroot flour, collagen peptides, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and/or walnuts if using.

  5. Scrape the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

  6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Grinch Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for a week, or the freezer for 2 months.