Chocolate Buckwheat Bread Recipe- Vegan, Refined Sugar Free, Xanthan Gum Free, Soaked Grain Option

My kid has thrown me into a loop by deciding he doesn't want to eat cereal for breakfast anymore. While cereal and milk for the kids isn't so nutritious (even though I try to stick to the less processed stuff) I don't always have the energy to be cooking up complex breakfasts in the morning, don't always feel like standing over the waffle iron or skillet making pancakes... and I don't always have the fresh produce needed to be able to make smoothies.
So then the question is- what do I serve for breakfast that my kids will eat, that doesn't cost too much money, is relatively healthy, and doesn't take too much work?

Enter this yummy concoction. (I based it off this recipe.) I call it "Chocolate Buckwheat Bread" simply because I'm not creative enough to think of a cooler name, but it has been a staple in my home as of late. Everyone in my family loves it, there's minimal prep work involved, its pretty healthy considering its a sweet baked good, its refined sugar free, it's low cost and vegan and gluten free, it doesn't have any xanthan gum in it (which some people are sensitive to, and it also is expensive), and if you want to soak your grains first to make it more digestible, it works very nicely with that.

My biggest issue with this is the bananas required, because I don't always have bananas in stock. You don't really taste the bananas so much in it; I want to try this out replacing the bananas with another pureed fruit, like applesauce, or maybe mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash.

I use my green buckwheat flour for this recipe- if you don't have green buckwheat flour, see if you can grind it yourself in a coffee grinder (green buckwheat is soft enough to grind in a coffee grinder, unlike most grains). If the green buckwheat flour isn't an option for you, you can replace it with any gluten free flour mix (though it would probably have xanthan gum in it then), and if your family can eat gluten, feel free to replace the green buckwheat flour with any gluten flour, from whole wheat flour to regular wheat flour to spelt, etc...

Chocolate Buckwheat Bread Recipe- Vegan, Refined Sugar Free, Xanthan Gum Free, Soaked Grain Option

Ingredients:
3 small bananas or 2 large bananas (if you use overripe bananas it is even sweeter than if you use plain ripe bananas- factor that in mind when deciding which other sweetener to use)
1 cup green buckwheat flour, or gluten free all purpose flour mix (or whole wheat or spelt or regular wheat if gluten isn't a concern for your family)
1/4 cup green/raw/untoasted buckwheat groats
1/4 cup ground flax seeds plus
1/4 cup whole chia seeds (or more ground flax seeds- chia seeds make it more expensive, but healthier)
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup more water or milk (dairy milk or non dairy milk) or kombucha or kefir or water with a bit of raw apple cider vinegar if soaking
1/4 cup date syrup, jaggery syrup, maple syrup or honey (honey will make it sweeter, the other sweeteners will make it less sweet but still decent)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar free craisins (mine are apple juice sweetened) (optional, but they do add a lot)

Instructions:
1. If you're soaking your flour. mix the flour, whole buckwheat, flax seeds and chia seeds with the water and kombucha, kefir, or water with apple cider vinegar. Whisk to remove clumps. Let sit 8-12 hours on the counter. If you're not soaking, just mix these (but use more water or milk instead of the kombucha or kefir or water with ACV and move on to the next step immediately.

2. Mash your bananas well, and mix them with your liquid sweetener, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and baking powder, then add them to your other mixture, and mix well.

3. Mix in your craisins.

4. Pour into two loaf pans or muffin tins. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!

What is your go to breakfast lately? Baked goods or something else? Does this look like a recipe you and your family would enjoy?

Linking up to Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday