I guess being basic comes with the territory of being a Suzy Homemaker. So it only feels right that I do a post on the most basic quarantine thing you can do- bake banana bread. Woof.
I know, I know… please don’t click out of this post just yet. I was an anti-banana bread baker myself and was scoffing at everyone who was jumping on this bandwagon trend during Shelter in Place. However, NEWS FLASH, I’m bored.
It feels like we’ve been quarantined for years and I was trashing brown bananas pretty frequently. So I thought… hm if there’s a healthy alternative to banana bread maybe I can try to see what all the rave was about.
Now, my fiancé will tell you himself (in a sad way) that I only bake healthy things. It’s a curse. I’m just at the point in my life where if I’m going to indulge I’ll go to Susie Cakes and get the Red Velvet cupcakes full of sugar and butter and eat my heart out.
I can’t find any healthy alternative sweets out in the world that are truly made with clean ingredients and no preservatives… unless I want to go to the health food store down the street and get their gf/vegan cookies for $50 a pop.
Also- is it just me or is it IMPOSSIBLE to find items that are vegan and sugar-free? Or anything just sugar-free for that matter? Listen I’m not an anti-sugar freak, I just have way too much wine so I’m trying to find a balance here!
Since I now have the time- I discovered a new love for making healthy alternative desserts at home and experimenting in the kitchen just to see where I can replace some ingredients with others. This helps me feel less guilty snacking on these goods throughout the week.
Looking for the small wins here!
I’m excited to share these kinds of recipes on this blog because they’re fairly healthy AND I got my fiancé’s taste-test stamp of approval! Trust me that’s not easy when you don’t keep butter or refined sugar in the house…
So to start, let’s get back to the banana bread- which we can’t keep in our house longer than a few days because it’s so damn good!
Full transparency- some of the ingredients I buy are on the pricey side, but healthy food tends to come with a higher price tag. This is just the world we live in.
I pulled this recipe from Gimme Delicious and made a few tweaks to make it even better- check it out:
Healthy Moist Banana Bread
This recipe contains NO REFINED SUGAR OR BUTTER!!!! Miracles do happen.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil - This is key. Olive oil is my bff.
A “dash” of honey - The browner the banana the more sweetness it will have, so If you’re dealing with some brown-ass bananas go light on the honey. I started this recipe with the recommended amount of honey (a whopping 1/3 cup) and it was way too sweet.
1/4 cup Greek yogurt - If you wanted to go the extra mile to cut down on dairy I think you can substitute with coconut or cashew yogurt or even almond milk, but I haven’t tried this myself so do it at your own risk. The yogurt is what gives the bread the moist texture.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas about 2-3 bananas - I usually do 3, but I always seem to have brown bananas. Why is that?!
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour - I use King Arthur whole wheat flour, it’s great for baking and gives a nice ‘density’ to the bread.
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips - My favorite chocolate chips are sugar-free Lakanto chips which are made with monk fruit, but I swear you can’t tell the difference! I probably just eyeball the number of chips I add, but I prefer the bread to be chocolatey. These bad boys are like $10-$12 a bag, but again worth it. I love putting these on ice cream and I always bake with them.
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 325F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and set aside. I grease my pan with olive oil spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, honey, yogurt, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Stir in the bananas, flour mixture and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into greased pan, sprinkle with some more chocolate chips or banana slices (optional). Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy!
To make this bread gluten-free: Use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour.
For dairy-free/vegan: substitute with almond milk and flax eggs and maple syrup.
Try this recipe out and let me know what you think in the comments! Maybe you hate it and want your inexpensive, full-sugar chocolate chips back in your life. Fair!
I can’t wait to try this!!
This banana "bread" is absolutely phenomenal! You can have it for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner!