Athletic-Minded Traveler

Banana bread. Moist, flavorful and yummy. Healthy? If you are buying it at a bakery, coffee shop or grocery store, probably not. In fact it's likely a fat and calorie bomb!

Consider that Starbucks' Banana Nut Loaf tops out at 490 calories making it one of the highest calorie items offered. Also packing 490 calories, the cranberry orange scone, double iced cinnamon roll, iced lemon pound cake, and the zucchini walnut muffin. The 120 gram slice is not meager, but it isn't huge either.  It packs 19 grams of fat (30% RDA). 

It's not right that something so easy and potentially wholesome is worse for you than a Kit Kat or Snickers Bar. Other coffee shops are no better. Similarly sized baked goods from Peet's are also calorie bombs.  The worst offender? The bran currant muffin, currant oatmeal scone and the cranberry muffin with orange glaze -- all with 560 calories! Now here is a reason to skip breakfast.

We've been on a quest for a healthy, really delicious AND easy banana bread recipe.  We ended up creating our own pulling from the best of other recipes we liked in the past.  Your over-ripe bananas will never go to waste again (even if you freeze them).  And in the spirit of recipe "tweaking", we note options for this recipe to make it even more baker friendly.   

Athletic-Minded Traveler's Banana Bread Recipe (or muffins -- see note below)

Ingredients:

Dry

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal (Optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Splenda granulated (Optional, if omit then use 1C sugar)

Wet

• 2 eggs (can use egg substitute or whites. See note below)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 T vanilla
• 3T vanilla almond milk (optional can use regular milk or nothing)
• 4 regular sized SUPER RIPE bananas (error on more bananas versus less)

Directions

• Preheat Oven to 375
• Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray
• Pulverize the Fiber One Original Bran cereal. Use a blender or crunch with a mallet. Just ensure it is broken up.
• In a medium size bowl combine all wet ingredients AND Fiber One. Mash bananas. Use a potato masher or fork. Do not blend. Make sure bananas are well mashed and wet ingredients combined
• In a larger mixing bowl combine remaining dry ingredients. Mix well.
• Add wet ingredients to dry and stir. Don't over stir. Just combine.
• Pour batter into greased loaf pan.
• Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Top should be golden brown. Don't worry if it's a little soft if you cut into it straight away. It will firm up.

Notes:

1. Egg substitute or egg whites can be used in place of the 2 eggs. Use 4 to 5 egg whites.
2. The Splenda can be replaced with regular sugar
3. We have used previously frozen bananas. Ensure they are thawed. 
4. Nutrition information is for above recipe as stated and assumes 12 slices. Many recipes assume 14 or even 16 slices for a loaf! 12 is very reasonable and slices will be a good size.
5. Fiber One should be a family staple. Find ways to use it...mix with your other cereal, throw it into a smoothie, sprinkle on yogurt. It's low calorie, high fiber and no sugar. Trader Joe's has a version that is also good.

Nutrition Information - 12 Servings/Slices. 

• Calories: 162
• Sugar: 14 grams
• Fiber 3 grams
• Protein 4 grams
• Fat: less than 1 gram

If you make the bread, please check back and post your comment! Want more recipes from the Athletic-Minded Traveler Team?  Take a look at our "Everything Food" archives.  Or use the search bar and search "recipe". Happy Eating!

NOTE: For muffins, simply heat oven to 350 and bake for approximately 25 minutes. :)