Banana bread

Banana bread is a delicious recipe ideal for breakfast or snacks. It must be said that, although it is called "bread", it is more of a sponge cake. The ingredients, as you will see, are totally healthy.

We have contributed two different flours, but you can always adapt it to your liking or depending on what you have at home. The same thing happens with milk, you can use a vegetable (almonds, oats, soy, rice...) or a skimmed animal.

In the case of nuts, we have opted for some walnuts to give it a "brownie" touch. In case you are allergic or do not like this dry fruit, change it for another or do not add any. You can even add dark chocolate chips or banana pieces.

The bread will have a different texture than what you are used to because we do not use yeast, but we assure you that it is delicious and melts in your mouth.

Somehow, we always end up with 3-4 overripe bananas sitting on our kitchen counter. Plantains that are too ripe to eat, but perfect for baking. You know the saying: “when life gives you ripe bananas, make banana bread”.
Ripe plantains are a dream on banana bread and they make the best version out there. This banana bread is moist, dense, and full of flavor.

Because it's healthy?

This recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour, unlike traditional banana bread recipes that call for refined flour and lots of processed sugar.

Plus, it's naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup, which offer some nutrients that white sugar doesn't. Also, this recipe calls for a reasonable amount of unrefined oil instead of whole sticks of butter (we can choose between virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil).

As we can see, this recipe has many redeeming qualities, the main one being that it will not send your blood sugar levels out of control.

It is a recipe that uses normal ingredients. There are no artificial sweeteners or anything out of the ordinary here. It is also very healthy as it is made without oil, low in sugar and around 100 calories per slice. And lastly, it tastes amazing. When baked goods are labeled "healthy," they don't taste very good. However, no one would guess that this banana bread.

It is recommended in all types of healthy eating, although keto diets may not find it suitable due to its carbohydrate intake. However, it is ideal for athletes who are going to make a great effort sustained over time, such as a marathon or a triathlon. Of course, it is also a suitable recipe to avoid wasting food and eat fruit in a different way.

Tips

Here are some of my top tips to ensure your banana bread comes out perfect:

• Use very ripe bananas. The riper the plantain, the sweeter it is, the easier it is to mash, and the sweeter it adds to the bread.
  A trick to ripening bananas quickly is to place the bananas (without the skin) on a baking sheet and bake for about 6-8 minutes, until the outer skin is dark.
• For store, banana bread will keep at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. If we want to freeze it, we'll let it cool completely and then store it in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for 3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature before serving.
• Follow the recipe. The best way to ensure the success of this healthy banana bread is to follow the recipe and use the exact ingredients as written.
• Make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. If the eggs are too cold, we risk the butter coagulating. To bring the eggs to room temperature, simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 3-5 minutes before using.
• use whole milk or 2% Greek yogurt. Yogurt with a little more fat helps keep the moisture in this banana bread. If we like a sweeter banana bread, we can use vanilla Greek yogurt. If we don't have yogurt, we can use sour cream!
• Use fresh baking soda. If the baking soda is more than 3 months old, it is recommended to buy a new one for better baking results.
• Do not over mix the batter. Over-mixing the batter will create a hard banana bread. We just need to mix until the ingredients are combined.
• Try the next day. Banana bread is always best the day after you bake it, as the sugars are released and the bread becomes sweeter. However, we may not last until the next day.
• This healthy banana bread freezes well. We will simply wrap it in plastic, then in aluminum foil and finally we will place it in a reusable bag or a freezer-safe bag in a maximum of 3 months. We will defrost at room temperature once we are ready to eat. We can also freeze individual slices for a quick treat on the go.

Can you go vegan?

As long as we use non-dairy yogurt, the recipe is naturally vegan. Some vegans are used to using their own homemade vegan Greek yogurt when making this recipe, but it works well with plain non-Greek yogurt as well.

Even coconut milk yogurt, cashew yogurt, soy yogurt and almond milk yogurt can be used successfully. So we can feel free to use any type. We can even change the flavor if we prefer. We can use strawberry, peach or even blueberry yogurt to give it a subtle and fun touch of flavor.

And if we don't have yogurt or prefer not to use it, we'll just increase the banana to two cups and omit the yogurt altogether. The flavor this way will be more intense and will have less creaminess. It will also be low in protein and fat. However, it will be just as delicious and will be a healthy snack for the whole family.