The roasted banana, walnut, and chocolate bread is a winner with the natural sweetness from the roasted bananas, honey, and chocolate. Eating food that is sugar-loaded may be comforting during the times we are in, however, we all agree that sugar-loaded, high-fat food is the least likely to benefit us in any way. Having said that because you trying to eat healthier doesn’t mean your sweet tooth goes away.
This recipe is everything you’ll ever want in banana bread, moist with walnuts and chocolate, and great in flavor. A loaf of great banana bread for breakfast, a snack, or lunch. I usually serve it with summer fruits, nonfat Greek Yogurt, or homemade Quark.
Say No to Food Waste:
I hate to throw food away and there are so many ways bananas can be used before they are disposed of. Overripe bananas are great for smoothies, overnight oatmeal, banana bread, etc. Reasons, why people discard food, can vary from lack of planning to poor food storage practices. As it stands, the U.S. is the worldwide leader in food waste generation; with the majority of wasted food being sent to landfills. The reality of food waste in America is that we live in a country in which more than 54 million people are food insecure (18 million of which are children) according to 2020 data collected by Feeding America.
Why is this banana bread different?
Experts find that getting control of your sugar habit is the most important thing they can do for your health.
Most loaves of banana bread are loaded with sugar and while you might think you not eating much sugar, chances are that you are eating a lot more than you realize. My recipe has no oil, only nonfat yogurt, and a little honey, and to reduce fat I added my no-sugar-added plum marmalade.
Did you know that most banana bread loaves are loaded with oil to keep the bread moist?
Fat Replacer with Baking:
It is pretty unlikely that you have homemade no-added-sugar plum marmalade in your pantry, so unsweetened apple sauce will work perfectly fine.
Both, no sugar added plum marmalade or unsweetened apple sauce are great fat replacers and another way to reduce calories. Besides being nutritious, their water content will keep your baked goods moist Most of the sweetness and awesome banana flavor in the bread comes from roasted bananas and honey. Overripe bananas are roasted in the skin at 325 F for 40 minutes. Adding roasted bananas that have been slowly caramelized in their skin adds the amazing sweetness you want, without adding sugar.
I have cooked or baked all recipes on my blog several times, and sharing them with you is something very personal. I hope that you find the time to bake and enjoy the roasted banana, walnut, and chocolate bread. There are not that many ingredients in this recipe, and very likely you have all you need for your banana bread already in your pantry.
Whole Wheat Flour:
“You can take your recipes and start substituting whole-wheat flour for a portion of the white flour,” the team at King Arthur Flour writes in Whole Grain Baking. With my banana bread, I use 50% all-purpose, and 50% whole wheat, it gives me that nutty flavor and balances the natural sweetness. creates a dark brown, soft, and really moist bread. You can use only whole wheat bread to bake the banana bread, it will be a little denser, with the same great flavor.
Yogurt:
Yogurt seems like a healthy snack, but it can actually have a ton of added sugar. Yogurt contains the natural sugar lactose, but most yogurts also contain added sugar in a variety of forms. They appear as straight-up cane sugar, cane syrup, and corn syrup. This can equate to upwards of 3 teaspoons of added sugar in one 4-ounce serving of even the plain flavored yogurt. So always read the label.
A healthy yogurt should have no added sugar and contain two ingredients: milk (or a milk substitute, like coconut cream) and a bacterial culture.
Look for brands with the simplest ingredient list to get the most nutrition per serving. My go-to yogurt is my homemade yogurt, easy to make with no preservatives, stabilizers, flavorings, thickeners, dyes, or sugars. If you feel like purchasing a good plain yogurt that is made only with milk and yogurt cultures I recommend the Fage Nonfat Greek strained yogurt.
How much sugar is too much:
The sugar-laden, high-fat foods we often crave when we are stressed or depressed, as comforting as they are, may be the least likely to benefit our mental health. Experts agree that some added sugar in your diet is fine, but we all know that eating too much sugar can have many negative health effects and that you should limit your sugar intake. There is a difference between added sugars and sugars that occur naturally in foods.
When experts say you should limit your sugar intake, they’re talking about added sugars. The sugar is sprinkled into baked goods, candy, cereal, fruit drinks, tomato sauce, soda, and the like.
The American Heart Association recommends:
- Men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day.
- For women, the number is lower: 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day. Consider that one 12-ounce can of soda contains 8 teaspoons (32 grams) of added sugar! There goes your whole day’s allotment in one slurp.
Walnuts :
To say that walnuts are a nutritious food is a bit of an understatement.
Adding chopped walnuts to the banana bread adds healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals — and that’s just the beginning of how they may support your health. There are plenty of reasons to include walnuts in your diet. Walnuts are easy to add to your diet since they’re widely available in stores and a great addition to countless dishes.
Dark Chocolate:
There is considerable evidence that cocoa can provide powerful health benefits, especially protection against heart disease. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should go all out and consume lots of chocolate every day. Chocolate is still loaded with calories and easy to overeat. In my recipe, to reduce the sugar intake I use Lilys No Sugar Added Chocolate Chips.
Bananas:
One medium banana has about 14 grams of sugar. If that seems like more than you bargained for, keep in mind we are not talking about added sugar.
The magic with this recipe comes from bananas. As bananas ripen, the starch turns into sugars making the banana sweeter, in addition, you also get vitamins, minerals, and other healthy nutrients.
In addition, by roasting the bananas, the inner moisture of the banana evaporates and the natural sugars caramelize and intensify the flavor. You want to use overripe bananas for the roasting. Unripe bananas will be hard and starchy and will not release their natural sugars and flavors.
Try it, it’s totally mind-blowing how much natural sweetness and intense flavor roasting bananas can generate.
The Taste
Great flavor, very moist, not too sweet,
just right with the natural sweetness from the roasted bananas, honey, and chocolate.
The Process
Easy to make, quick recipe that bakes nicely.
You can make it with fresh quark, or with a good quality nonfat Greek yogurt.
The Verdict:
A healthier banana bread recipe
that uses a no sugar added plum marmalade, a little honey, and roasted bananas.
If don’t have homemade no sugar added plum marmalade use unsweetened apple sauce
The almond flour adds protein and fiber and creates a more tender texture.
Roasted Banana, Walnut, Chocolate Bread
Ingredients
- 4 medium banana
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, fine ground
- 2 each egg white
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup apple sauce unsweetened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt nonfat
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips dark, no sugar added, Lilys
- 1 each banana medium peeled
Instructions
Roast bananas
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, Place the bananas (with skin) on a parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan in the oven, and roast for 40 minutes. The bananas should blacken and be very soft to the touch. Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes, peel and mash. Set aside.4 medium banana
Make banana bread
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and set aside.1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground, 3/4 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp sea salt, fine ground, 1/4 cup almond flour
- In a bowl beat egg whites, honey, non-fat greek yogurt, and vanilla extract for 2 minutes. Add the mashed roasted bananas, apple sauce, and the liquid mix to the flour mixture, fold in chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts, and blend.2 each egg white, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup apple sauce
Bake banana bread
- Spray loaf pan (9x5 inch) with Canola oil, Pour mixture into loaf pan, garnish with lengthwise sliced bananas, and bake at 350 F for approximately 50 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.1 each banana
Cool the bread, slice and enjoy
- Remove bread from the oven, and cool on a wire rack. Once the bread is cool, remove it from the pan, slice it, and enjoy it with quark or yogurt, seasonal fruit, and honey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate