Chocolate Banana Cake (No Sugar added, Gluten Free, Egg Free, Nut Free)

Last week I had a friend send me a recipe for a banana chocolate cake and asked what I thought of it nutritionally. At first glance, it looked pretty good. Then I entered the recipe into myfitness pal to see the nutritional facts and was shocked. 1 serving (1/9th) of the cake had almost 300 calories, 9g fat,  and a whopping 56 carbs and 36g sugar!

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I had most of the ingredients on hand, but decided to make several changes to it in hopes of improving the nutrition content.  This is what I came up with, and it is so flavorful, moist, and light.

**Quick tip** as you can see here, my bananas have a frost over them.  They weren't quite ripe enough. When that is the case, I put them in the freezer overnight, then thaw just before using. Freezing them activates the natural sugars, but it also adds a little moisture to your recipe.

Start by creaming together 3 bananas with 6 Tablespoons Trivia Brown Sugar blend.

Next, add in a small container (5.30z) Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. I used Banana Cream flavor, but vanilla or chocolate would be great as well.  For a Dairy free version, use the same amount of dairy free yogurt such as SoDelicious. Mix until well incorporated.

To make this recipe egg free, I used milled flax seed as a replacer. Add 1 tablespoon milled flax seed to 3 tablespoons warm water; let sit for a couple minutes.  Add to your banana mixture. 

Finally, add in 1/2Cup cocoa powder, 1teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 Cup gluten free flour. Mix just until combined, careful to not overmix. 

How amazing does this look?!?!  Pour batter into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Bake at 350' for 30minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

A little fresh whipped cream on top is the perfect accompaniment.

I hope that you all enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  If you make it, please let me know what you think.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Number of servings: 9

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas

6T Truvia Brown Sugar Blend

1 5.3oz container Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (or use a dairy free alternative)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1T milled flax seed with 3T warm water

1/2C unsweetened cocoa powder

1C gluten free Cup for Cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350'

Start by creaming together bananas and brown sugar blend.  Add in yogurt and vanilla extract; mix well.  Next, add in flax seed mixture. Finally add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until incorporated.

Pour batter into a greased 9x9" baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutrition facts

Calories-125

Fat-1g

Sodium-210mg

Carbs-33g

Sugar-11g

Protein 2.3g

A quick introduction...

Hello all! My name is Trista. I am a busy mom with two kids, both of which have severe food allergies. Little Miss is wheat free and Little Man is tree nut free. Anyone that lives in the world of food allergies knows just how difficult navigating it can be.  From reading labels, finding safe alternatives, family gatherings!

Now as if that wasn't enough, I had gastric bypass surgery in November 2015, which me I need to watch my intake of carbs and calories, no sugar, and need to bump up my protein intake every day. I found myself missing some of my favorite dishes because of the ingredients needed, which made me get creative to make a healthier version my whole family can enjoy.

My goal with this blog is to share these recipes with you to help you whether you are handling allergies, restrictions due to surgery, or just trying to eat healthier in general. Please, if you have a recipe or dish you would like me to re-vamp, don't hesitate to let me know and I will see what I can do.