Sometimes it’s ok to eat ugly food, you know? Not every.single.thing you put in your mouth has to be pinterest-perfect gorgeous. These almond banana bread bites are perfect examples.
So, no. These little guys aren’t the most attractive things I have ever made, but it’s ok and I will give you three reasons why it is ok:
- They are good for you. These are healthy, vegan, gluten-free, paleo “cookies” full of good for you ingredients.
- They are super simple. These bites can be made entirely in a food processor and only require 6 ingredients, one of which is water.
- They are, most importantly, delicious. They taste like little bites of banana bread (which leads them to be very appropriately named).
Is that enough to convince you to dust off your food processor and find a ripe banana?
Good gracious, I hope so.
These healthy almond banana bread bites are perfect for so many occasions: breakfast, morning snack, lunch dessert, afternoon snack, afternoon snack dessert, pre-workout snack, post-workout snack, dinner dessert, mid-night snack. Basically, they are perfect for any time of day.
Now that I am a few weeks into marathon training, I am hungry all of the time. It’s key to have something that I can grab for a quick tie-me-over-until-my-next-meal snack and I already overdose on raw fruits and veggies as it is. Or I’ll just round out my handful of carrots with one of these guys.
These bites seem like sinful cookies, but they are not. They seem like a guilty treat, but they are not. They seem ugly, but they… are.
Looks are not everything, people! It’s what is inside that counts. Inside these we have almond butter, almond meal, banana, flax, and a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten things up – all simple, delicious, good for you, happy ingredients!
After plopping 6 plops onto a baking pan I decided to add chocolate chips to the remaining batter. These are for the days when I’m all like, “I don’t care if chocolate chips aren’t vegan, gluten-free, or paleo. I am none of those things either and today I will eat chocolate. Plus, antioxidants.” Add them. Don’t add them. Find vegan, gluten-free, paleo chocolate chips. Whatever choice you decide to make is the right one.
Now let’s talk about how these are made. I essentially made my own almond butter by toasting almonds in the oven and processing them in a food processor. Then I added the remaining ingredients and processed until everything was combined. Ta da! The batter is done.
If you already have almond butter (peanut butter would also work) on hand you are more than welcome to use that. Just know that oftentimes store-bought brands come with extra oils and sugars. If you have never made your own almond butter before I encourage you to try it out!
I am still pretty new to using almond meal in recipes, but I like it. I found mine at Trader Joe’s, but I am sure they sell it elsewhere. If you aren’t able to find some, throw an extra cup of almonds in the food processor and process them until they become very, very small almond crumbs. Then take out a cup and let the remainder become butter.
Once you’re set, plop rounded tablespoons of the batter on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. I kept mine closer to the under-baked side of the spectrum so they are nice and chewy.
I like to keep these almond banana bread bites in the freezer, because I like eating cold things. Plus, they will last longer that way; however, if you make these and eat the whole batch (a delightful baker’s dozen) within four days I wouldn’t feel guilty about it.
Oh, and you know what!? These would be perfect little snacks to keep in your purse/pocket/backpack for when you need some healthy sustenance in between green beers, assuming that you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today. I am celebrating it in Chicago and shortly after I press the “submit” button to this post I will be out the door to go awe at the green-dyed river and partake in some festivities!
If you aren’t celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today, you can still make them and keep them in your purse/pocket/backpack for when you need some healthy sustenance.
- ½ cup raw almonds (or roasted almonds, almond butter, or peanut butter)
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup almond meal
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips, optional
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat map.
- Make the flax egg by combining the flax meal and water in a small cup.
- Spread the almonds on a bake sheet and pop them in the oven. The oven doesn’t have to be fully preheated to 350 at this time. Toast them until fragrant, but be careful not to burn them, usually 5-10 minutes. (If you have roasted almonds you can skip this step)
- Place toasted almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until it reaches the consistency of almond butter. This can take anywhere 5-10 minutes depending on the power of your food processor. (If you are using store bought almond or peanut butter you can skip this step too).
- Add the remaining ingredients (including the flax egg) to the bowl of the food processor and process until everything is combined.
- Drop “batter” by the rounded tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Keep almond banana bread bites in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
You can make your own almond meal by processing almonds in a food processor until it reaches a fine crumb.
If you don't have a food processor a high-powered blender should work just fine. If you don't have either of those use store bought almond butter and mix everything together with an electric mixer.
this looks great, tasty and very easy to make.
These are all of those things. I hope you try them out!
These look and sound yummo! I’m a big fan on using almond meal. My daughter has an egg allergy so we use lots of almond, chia, banana in our recipes. https://peafritters.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/egg-free-cinnamon-and-apple-muffins/ Have you heard of friands? If you can have egg they are such a delicious way of using almond meal!! Nom nom nom!
Thanks, Ruth! I’m just beginning my exploration with almond flour, but I’m really liking it so far. I never heard of friands before, so I Googled – they sound amazing, thanks for sharing! I will be trying them out. Also, those apple muffins look delish 🙂