Double-Serve Paleo Chocolate Banana Bread

Freshly baked paleo banana bread has to be one of my all-time favorite things in the WORLD. The smell alone is enough to make me swoon. If I could bake banana bread every single day just to make my house smell like it I 100% would (or maybe I need to find a banana bread scented candle?).

Banana bread was one of those things I knew I couldn’t give up when I went paleo in 2017, so paleo banana bread was one of the first Specific Carbohydrate Diet friendly recipes I created.

I still stick to SCD 90% of the time, but allow myself some cacao every once in awhile because over a year without any form of chocolate made my heart really really sad. And one thing I’ve learned from having to deal with ulcerative colitis, is sometimes allowing yourself little joys like chocolate is so, so worth it (of course, if you’re just starting on SCD for IBD, I would suggest doing it strictly, but it’s just my personal choice to be lenient on this one thing).

This single-serve paleo chocolate banana bread is the perfect way to enjoy my classic favorite with a chocolatey twist.

And although I’ve added cacao back into my diet, I’m hyperaware of the quality of chocolate I am consuming. For example, I always make sure to use 100% raw cacao powder in recipes like this chocolate banana bread, rather than cocoa powder.

Why? Because cOcoa powder is highly processed at high-heat, opposed to cAcao powder which is much closer to the natural state of the original plant. This makes it lose some of the amazing nutritional value that raw cacao powder provides.

So what ARE the benefits of cacao?

Cacao…

• Can support heart health

• Can reduce inflammation

• Is a great source of iron

• Is SUPER high in antioxidants

• Can boost your mood

If that isn’t reason enough to eat chocolate I’m not sure what is. ;)

XO nat