It’s Tuesday again, I teach class and I have another recipe. A Tasty Tuesday recipe!
I promise I will blog about other wellness topics as time goes on. But until then, a tasty banana bread muffin is coming your way! YUM!
Last week during my class, I was asked if I had a healthy banana bread recipe. I answered with a “hmmm, I don’t know that I would say healthy but my recipe is the Moistest Banana Bread and it tastes really good. We can make it next class if you all want.” They, of course, answered with a resounding YES! So, what am I to do as a good Registered Dietitian? I get my recipe out and look at ways I could make it healthier. And much to my surprise there are a couple of ways, I saw right away to make it a bit healthier without sacrificing taste. Remember, taste is key when messing around with recipe ingredients.
The main way to make this recipe healthier was to cut the sugar. I always say that you can cut the amount of sugar in cookies, cakes, muffins – you get the idea, by a third and even by half depending on the recipe. So, I decided I would cut the sugar by half. My original recipe had one full cup of sugar. While I could tell there was less sugar then the original recipe (remember, I have been enjoying this recipe for many years), I don’t feel that the taste was sacrificed. It was still very tasty and moist.
The other thing I changed was the eggs. My recipe has 2 whole eggs. I replaced one egg with a chia seed egg replacement (1 tbsp chia mixed with 2 tbsp water – let set until a gel is formed). This adds a few less calories (60 vs 72) and a bit more fiber. After tasting the finished product in the test kitchen, while it worked fine, I think it gave the muffin a slight rubbery texture. Another option for making it healthier – a bit less fat – is to replace 1 whole egg with 2 egg whites. This is a common replacement. I did not try this option but depending on the recipe, can also change the texture of the finished product. For this Banana Bread, I would suggest keeping the 2 eggs. The recipe below has 2 eggs. I’ll let you decide how to make the changes when you make it.
A third option for a healthier muffin or bread would be to change out the all-purpose flour. You can easily replace the flour with a whole white wheat flour. It is a whole grain flour that has a milder flavor then 100% whole wheat flour and doesn’t change the texture of the finished product like 100% whole wheat. I works more like all-purpose flour. If you decide to give 100% whole wheat a try, you may need to experiment a little-adding some liquid, changing cooking time or even adding back some sugar. (I have not tried 100% WW in this recipe before so I can’t offer any advice here but it’s an option for healthier and more fiber.) For those that have gluten sensitivity, a gluten free flour could be used. I am a fan of Bob’s Red Mill products and they have a nice gluten free baking flour.
Enough talk now! Here is the recipe!
Ingredients
3 bananas (over ripe)
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp butter – melted
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (unbleached)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mash banana to a thin batter.
3. Add sugar, eggs and melted butter. Mix until blended.
4. Add flour, salt and baking soda. Mix thoroughly but do not over mix.
5. Scoop a slight ¼ cup of batter into a non-stick or slightly greased muffin tin.
6. Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until muffins are lightly brown around the edges.
Other baking options:
Bake in one large greased loaf pan for 50-55 minutes.
Bake in two small greased loaf pans for 45-50 minutes.
Recipe makes 12 muffins
For 1 muffin
Calories 151.5, Carbs 25.8 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Sugar 11.6 g, Protein 2.8 g, Fat 2.2 g
I hope you like it! Enjoy!