Our Easters are set at home this year. You may have children to be creative with and relive drawing your own Easter egg designs or can get messy making chocolate nests with them. Or perhaps you’ll enjoy finding ways to be creative on your own with some mindful colouring or conscious baking, for the light therapy we all need at this present time.
Our Founder, Diane Nettleton shares one of her favourite healthy treat recipes for Matcha Banana Bread, passed onto her by a professional friend and naturopath.
Matcha is a type of green tea made from the whole leaf of the camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are ground to a delicate fine powder and the brighter the colour, the better the quality. Packed with antioxidants, containing as many as ten cups more than regular green tea, it helps to prevent and repair cell damage, boosts metabolism and is an exceptional source of fibre, potassium, vitamin C, beta-carotene, magnesium and calcium.
Here is the recipe to bake this healthy treat:
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 ripe bananas
- 3 tablespoons almond nut butter
- Seeds from 2 vanilla pods
- 100ml unsweetened almond milk
- 50g coconut flour
- 25g ground almonds
- 25g flaked almonds
- 1 heaped tablespoon matcha
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch mineral-rich salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/Gas 4.
- Mix the flax seed with 3 tablespoons of filtered water and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas thoroughly and add the almond butter, soaked flaxseed, vanilla and almond milk and mix well.
- Sift the coconut flour into a separate bowl and add the ground almonds, flaked almonds, matcha, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice and salt and stir well.
- Add this mixture to the banana mix and combine well.
- Line an 18 x 8cm loaf tin with baking parchment so that it hangs over the sides and scoop the mixture into the tin, spreading it evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Lift up the baking parchment to remove the loaf and place it on a wire rack to cool.
- Slice and serve with either a spread of nut butter or raw honey.
From all of us at Gaia, wishing you a healthy and happy Easter.