Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Yesterday we established that I love food. Don't worry, nothing has changed. As anyone who loves food can understand, I hate to waste food. Last week, my roommate threw out perfectly good bananas and it took everything in me not to fish them out of the trash. I mean, they were still in their peels... I should clarify. By perfectly good, I mean perfectly ripe for making banana bread! I can understand that they were too ripe to eat, but making bread is half the reason I buy bananas! So this week when I noticed her current batch of bananas quickly ripening, I asked her for them! Luckily for me, she didn't think twice before handing them over. Now, since I'm trying to be healthy, I knew a typical banana bread recipe wouldn't work for me. I set to searching and found the basis for my recipe here. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this recipe, I wanted to make it my own, and customize it to my dietary wants. 

For instance, I substituted the oil for applesauce and the whole eggs for egg whites to cut out fats. In my recipe, each mini loaf has a total of 2 grams of fat. Not too shabby if you ask me! I also substituted half of the honey for sugar-free imitation honey. I really like this recipe because it doesn't call for any extra sugar, but bananas are at the top of the list for sugar in fruits, so I didn't mind the honey swap. I'm a little sad to say that I got so into what I was doing that I forgot to swap a 1/4 cup of the flour for flax. Flax is full of Omega-3's (a heart-healthy fat) and great to sneak into your baked goods! I guess there is always next time. Another great thing about banana bread is that it is easily customize-able! You could definitely add in some chopped pecans or walnuts or maybe throw in some blueberries (although I would cut out more of the honey due to the sugar in the berries)! I think next time I may go with some walnuts. 

The following is my version of Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

What you'll need:

1/3 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce but you could also use oil)

1/2 cup honey (I used 1/4 cup regular honey and 1/4 cup imitation honey, which is sugar-free)

4 egg whites (or you could use 2 whole eggs)

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed (or just another 1/4 cup whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup hot water

Optional: Chopped nuts, other fruits...

Step 1

Pre-heat your oven to 325F and grease your baking dish of choice. I used a 4 loaf, mini loaf pan.

Step 2

In a large bowl, beat applesauce and honey together. Add eggs and beat well.

Step 3 

Stir in bananas and vanilla, then stir in the salt and half the cinnamon. Lastly, stir in the flour, until just combined.

Step 4 

Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then mix briefly into batter. Spread batter into the greased baking vessel.

Step 5

Sprinkle top with remaining cinnamon and swirl with a knife or toothpick to create and marbled effect.

Step 6

Bake for 50-65 minutes depending on your baking dish. Check bread for doneness and let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow the bread to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

I would love to know if anyone tried my recipe! Please share with me if you do :)

Until next time,

Lauren