(Healthier) Banana Bread

Words words words words words... Sometimes I do really struggle to come up with words for blog posts...I baked something and it was yummy.. here is the recipe. Is that enough?

Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. In comes the cliché healthier eating New Year. If you were anything like me who used the festive season as an excuse to gorge on chocolates/ biscuits/ bacon and egg sandwiches every. single. morning for breakfast then the healthier eating January is much welcomed. I don't actually recall eating anything that was green. I know, it's so bad. But at the time, was so good too. And I don't think I've ever been so happy to see fruit and vegetables by the end of it, either.

So to kickstart the New Year I signed up for a half marathon. Yes I know. Crazy. And for someone who can only run 10k max at the moment (and feel like I'm about to die during the process) right now I'm beginning to question why I did it… out of sheer desperation. But at least I've got a focus- I have 5 months to train. I'm optimistic. Sort of. And most important thing is this really kicks my arse into gear to eat healthily. Cutting out a lot of refined foods and eating wholesome, nutrient rich foods and learning how to portion control better. Portion control? What's that? 

Having said that... I'm a firm believer of not denying myself completely of sweets and yummy treats because trust me- from past experience that only ever results in backfiring and I end up bingeing on anything and everything, eating chocolate and other sugary food like there's no tomorrow. 

So as well as portion control I suppose my next "resolution" would be to eat healthier versions of something unhealthy. For example...swapping regular brownies for these chocolate fudge sweet potato brownies and regular banana bread for this one. 

This recipe is higher in fibre (using wholewheat instead of white flour), significantly lower fat and sugar compared to the original recipe and is approximately 186 calories per (generous) slice compared to the original at a whopping 399! Yet this version is still soft and fluffy, full of banana flavour and hints of spices. And it's vegan too, if that's something you're interested in.

The only slight downside to this banana bread is, due to using wholewheat flour the texture is a little more coarse compared to when made with plain white flour. Surely that's a tiiiny sacrifice we're willing to make in order to eat a little bit better? :) Feel free to add a handful of chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans for a bit of texture.

(HEALTHIER) BANANA BREAD

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker's Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Bread

Yields 1 x 2lb loaf

280g very ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 3 medium-large bananas)

45ml vegetable oil (or any other neutral tasting oil)

40ml maple Syrup

40ml water

1 tsp vanilla extract

25g dark brown sugar

25g Truvia sweetener (or you may wish to use another brand of stevia sweetener)

210g wholewheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line and lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients and the mashed bananas together in a bowl.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just incorporated. Careful not to over mix or the banana bread will be quite tough.
4. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35-40 minutes  or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you find it is browning too quickly, cover with aluminium foil and continue to bake until it is done.