basic (healthy) banana bread

This recipe came as a last minute (delicious) detour.

I had 3 VERY speckled bananas all gearing up to become banana ice cream. However, I must have missed their prime ice cream stage by a day or so, as these were overly ripe. Almost to the point of pure mush. So, I do the next best thing and jump online to find a healthy banana bread.

It wasn’t as easy as it may sound because most had a ton of ingredients or too many eggs to my liking, too much butter (a whole stick!), and things I found unnecessary. I know basic bread measurements and have decent knowledge of ingredient swapping. Therefore, I put those two skills to work and came up with a banana bread that’s simple and doesn’t lack the comforting banana bread flavor everyone is fond of. Good news? There’s no butter, oil, or added sugar. Bad news? I want to make this ALL the time. Since this is a great base recipe for banana bread, we can move on to more complex flavors: chocolate chip, blueberry, toffee & butterscotch, etc. But for now, basic is beautiful.

basic healthy banana bread:
Yeilds: One loaf/10 slices
Serving Size: 1 slice
Points Per Serving: 3pp (or 2/5pp)

3 large bananas, very ripe*, mashed
1/4C liquide egg whites
2t vanilla extract
1T fat free greek yogurt
1C whole wheat pastry flour
1/2C spelt flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/4t cinnamon

*using very ripe bananas allows this recipe to have no added sweeteners due to their naturally sweet content. If the batter isn’t sweet enough to your liking, feel free to add stevia 🙂

Preheat oven to 355°F

⋅In a medium sized bowl, combine mashed banana, egg whites, vanilla extract, and greek yogurt.
⋅In another bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon.
⋅Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined.
⋅In a sprayed loaf pan, pour in mixture and bake for 40min or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and serve.
(You could leave it out for a day, but store in the fridge afterwards for freshness)

This banana bread makes a great french toast base (Who am I kidding? Any banana bread would work great as french toast 😉 ) Top with peanut butter syrup, sliced bananas and chopped walnuts. Perfection!