Hi friends! Hope you’re having a great weekend so far!
I just wanted to pop in quickly today to share a recipe with you guys… so, can I interest you in a slice of banana bread?
A slice of soft, light, flavorful banana bread? A slice of banana bread that requires only 7 simple ingredients – none of which are sugar or oil?
I know what you’re thinking… healthy banana bread?!? Believe me, I’d be skeptical too. After going through a prolonged period of my life where I was too afraid to bake with sugar or oil, I tend to give the stank eye to anything that doesn’t include those things in the ingredients list – and if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to make some modifications for someone else (my mom… it’s a long story), I’d probably just be directing you to my recipe for chocolate chip banana bread and be well on my way.
Truth be told, I was actually hesitant to post this recipe because I didn’t want to give people the wrong idea… No matter how secure I feel in my recovery, I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’m constantly being watched for signs of potentially falling back into old habits. Blah. But that is a topic for another day (maybe tomorrow), and this recipe is just too tasty not to share, so how about I just stop babbling for now and give you the recipe…
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. simple low-fat banana bread .
Ingredients (makes one 9×5 loaf)
- 1½ cups all purpose flour (can also use 1 cup AP and ½ cup whole wheat)
- 1½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 2 large, ripe bananas (~ 1 cup mashed)
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and lightly grease a 9 x 5 bread pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the mashed banana, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and eggs. Stir until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends! Any exciting plans for the day?
I found this because I was looking for a recipe that used maple syrup and came close to something my roommate used to “just throw together.” She had a habit of taking whatever was in the cupboard and making whatever struck her fancy. Sometimes, it struck mine too! She is extremely “healthified” and normally our tastes didn’t agree, but her banana bread was always a pleasure. She used honey & maple syrup in place of sugar and flax seed in place of eggs, and then rice and oatmeal flours. She also used a touch of coconut oil which just kind of made it melt in your mouth. Now, if only I could replicate it!
I’m not going to lie; I did raise an eyebrow, but then kept reading because I know you feel the same about that overhealthified stuff. All your ingredients are natural, whole ingredients and I really like using maple syrup as a sweetener in recipes. I will definitely try this. I might even have some brown bananas at home right now waiting to be made into something.
First off, I love your blog and you are a big inspiration. I am currently in recovery from ED. I struggle too with the fact that anytime I want to make or eat something “healthy” I’m afraid people are going to assume that I’m taking a step backward. But that’s not the case. We can want to eat healthy things too..and NOT be going backward, but just eating something healthy. Just like 1 “bad” meal won’t make us fat, one healthy meal/food isn’t going to make us have an ED.
There’s definitely nothing wrong with enjoying healthy food! It only becomes a problem when you’re eating it because you’re afraid to eat what you’re really craving and trying to trick yourself into being happy with something less satisfying.
I LOVE banana bread! I made banana muffins a few days ago. The one’s I made have a base of oat flour (just ground oats in my magic bullet), so they’ll keep me going on my long nights of teaching dance! So yummy when topped with butter or coconut oil and honey 🙂 Even my sister liked them, and she usually isn’t a fan of my ‘healthy’ recipes 😉
I have 2 bananas that are sitting in my freezer that I think would be perfect for me to make this!!
why do all the best recipes seem to have yogurt and eggs, which are on my no-no list…grr going to have a chat with my stomach later as I want to eat this!
I love that you’ve stressed the *simplicity* of this recipe. Yes, it’s slightly healthified, but hey – if it tastes delicious, who really cares? I know there are people out there that would be quick to judge, but I see nothing wrong in making a healthy recipe once in a while. With the right mindset, the balance is there – you trust yourself to get your nutrients, and that’s what matters.
Now I just have to find a decent dairy-free sub for the greek yogurt so I can make this recipe…. hah!
I wish I could offer you some advice on that one, but I have yet to come across a dairy free yogurt that I like, and I’m not really good enough with the whole chemistry-behind-baking thing to know if the dairy plays a special role in how the final product comes out 😕
YUM! I’m making this tomorrow… thank you!
Why low fat ? Fat is SUPER important. Whole eggs, real butter, etc …good stuff!!!
I couldn’t agree more, and I get plenty of that on a daily basis. Like I said, I was doing some experimenting and the recipe just came out really well so I wanted to share.
i am a fan of banana bread full of oil or not, sooo good! i can relate to this once i started my smoothie detox last week in the past something like that would be because i wanted to lose weight quickly, now it was only for a detox of my gallons of alcohol consumed. But know I am still getting judged as for what I am really doing it for. I know where I stand in recovery and I was able to handle doing that, baby steps!