Flaxseed Banana Bread

|Karen Fischer

This eczema-friendly banana bread is a super healthy low-carb bread recipe, rich in fibre and omega-3 from flaxseeds. It's rich in potassium and calcium, and the banana acts as a binder so you don’t need egg in the recipe. It’s also gluten-free, grain-free, and easy to make. Perfect for toast and sandwiches or top it with real maple syrup and (eczema-friendly) fruit for a tasty dessert or easy breakfast.

Recipe type:  Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free, Nut-free

Prep time:  10 mins, cooking time:  20 mins

Makes approximately 12 slices

 

Ingredients
1 cup flaxseeds (see Notes, below)
2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
1 tablespoon carob powder, sifted
1/3 (80mL) cup water
1 small banana or (½ large banana) [not sugar variety]
1 tablespoon rice bran oil (or sunflower oil)
Toppings
Real maple syrup
Banana or papaya, skin removed and sliced

 

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a loaf baking pan/tin with parchment paper draped over the sides and oil it with rice bran oil. Set aside.

Mill the flaxseeds in a seed grinder (coffee grinder or Nutribullet etc). Flaxseeds are best freshly ground as this keeps the oils fresher.

In a bowl, combine the ground flaxseed with the baking powder and carob powder, and set aside.

Using a blender, add water, banana and oil. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until foamy. Pour the liquid mixture to the bowl with the flaxseed mixture. Stir with a spatula until combined (add extra water if necessary).

Immediately transfer the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Smooth with the back of the spatula and allow to sit for 3 minutes until the liquid has soaked into the flaxseeds (the mixture will stiffen slightly). Transfer the pan to the preheated oven.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the oven and lift bread (using the parchment paper) onto a cooling rack. Peel the parchment paper from the bottom of the bread and allow the bread to cool on the cooling rack.

Cut into approximately 12 pieces.

The banana bread can be served toasted or frozen. Keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. If desired, serve with a drizzle of real maple syrup and fresh sliced banana or papaya

NOTES

Freshly grinding the flaxseeds is better than buying pre-ground flaxseeds/linseeds as grinding them yourself is the best way to ensure the omega-3 oils in the flaxseeds are fresh.

Did you know it’s safe to bake flaxseeds as the omega-3 oils does not get damaged according to Wholefoods.

If you have eczema, skin rashes or chemical sensitivities, use regular bananas, not the sugar/lady finger variety as sugar/lady finger varieties are very rich in salicylates and amines. Note regular bananas also contain amines.

 

Author: Karen Fischer 

Karen Fischer is a registered nutritionist who has worked with hundreds of eczema patients over the past 12 years. Karen is the award-winning author of The Healthy Skin DietThe Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox. She has written five books and was inspired to specialise in eczema and skin health because her daughter had severe eczema and Karen previously suffered from dermatitis and psoriasis - both are now free of the conditions thanks to changing their diets.

Karen now runs the Eczema Life Clinic in Sydney, Australia, in order to teach people how to prevent eczema naturally, without using topical steroids or drugs. Read more here >

Products 

At Eczema Life, we recommend nutritionist Karen Fischer's low food chemical program (The Eczema Detox) along with additive-free supplements for skin health and wellbeing. 

The Eczema Toolkit

the holistic way to clear skin

The Eczema Detox is Karen Fischer's latest best-selling eczema manual designed to help you find relief. Through her work she found some patients needed a special program to identify personal triggers, so the FID Program was created. The Eczema Clear Skin Toolkit combines gut health and nutrition with soothing, barrier repair skincare and supplements to calm the itch and support skin repair, the immune system and more. If you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked, this is the skin calming toolkit you've been praying for.

learn more

Eczema Friend

the itch buster  |  rash cream

The low pH eczema cream that helps to relieve itchy skin, red skin rash and mild eczema and dermatitis. Suitable for all types of rashes. It's the cream you'll wish you had tried first.

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Frequently asked questions

Does food allergy trigger eczema?

Food allergy and eczema are closely linked, and allergies can absolutely make eczema worse, but they're often not what starts it in the first place. In fact, research suggests the reverse may be more accurate: eczema itself may come first and increase the risk of developing food allergies, rather than the other way around (Tsakok et al. 2016). One study found that babies with eczema were up to six times more likely to become
sensitised to foods compared to those without eczema. In children with established eczema, up to 66% showed food sensitisation, with confirmed food allergy in up to 81% of cases (Tsakok et al. 2016).

If you or your child has a diagnosed food allergy, those foods should be avoided for now. For additional guidance, the Food Intolerance Diagnosis (FID) Program in The Eczema Detox book can help identify food intolerances that do not show up in allergy tests (see next FAQ).

Do food allergy tests help eczema?

Skin prick tests and other food allergy tests including blood tests and patch tests can be unreliable on their own, so an oral food
challenge (supervised by an allergy specialist if you are prone to anaphylaxis), is the most accurate way to confirm whether you or your child is reacting to a particular food. For additional guidance, the FID Program in The Eczema Detox book can help you to identify your personal triggers.

About the authors

Ren Karen Fischer is a nutritionist, mother of two, and award-winning author of seven books, including the bestsellers The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox. Fischer is also a peer-reviewed published researcher, and is currently undertaking eczema research as part of a Master's by Research at Bond University. Combining clinical research with real-world experience, she is dedicated to advancing evidence-based care for eczema.

Nutritionist Bonnie Taylor holds a Bachelor of Health Science degree and helps people with eczema identify their individual triggers through the FID Program. Taylor has worked alongside Fischer for many years and offers nutrition consultations by appointment.