Scrummy, Good For You Banana Bread

Another BBC Good Food hit; this recipe is definitely staying in my favourites.

As you can probably tell, I love bananas, I love sweet treats; but I also love knowing that the sweet treat isn’t going to prove too detrimental to my waistline. This healthy banana bread loaf is a heavenly recipe that ticks all the boxes. It really is such an indulgent treat that it’s hard to believe that you can enjoy it, without that horrible guilty feeling you get having treated yourself to the naughtiest dessert on the menu. Don’t get me wrong; I do love a treat every so often, it’s important to make time for indulgence now and then, life is too short.

This recipe uses absolutely no refined sugar; the sugariness comes purely from the agave syrup and bananas, ripe and over ripe bananas are best for delivering sweetness.

Ingredients

• 140g wholemeal flour

• 100g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 300g mashed over ripe banana – the riper, the easier to mash!

• 4 tbsp agave syrup

• 3 large eggs; beaten with a fork

• 150ml low-fat natural yoghurt

• Chopped pecan nuts/walnuts for topping - optional; I didn't use nuts

Method

Heat oven to 140C (fan). Line a loaf tin using parchment paper.

Combine the flours, along with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.

Next, mix the mashed bananas, agave syrup, yoghurt and eggs using an electrical hand mixer. Stir both the dry flour ingredients with the banana mixture.

Carefully pour into the paper lined loaf tin.

If you wish to, scatter the nuts on top of the wet mixture before placing in the oven. Leave to bake for 1 hour 10 – 15 minutes (I left mine in the oven for 1 hr 15 mins).​

How I like to eat it - with a thin layer of crunchy peanut butter. Peanut butter and bananas is such a perfect marriage don’t you think? The saltiness of the peanuts gives the bread a lovely, rich depth, which means I feel fuller, quicker.

#Food