Whole-Wheat Banana Bread 

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Serves: 10 person(s)

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 50 mins

Yield: 1 x loaf

A delicious, whole-grain bread, great for snack, lunch box or dessert!
Per serving: 229 calories and 3g fat
Saves: 119 calories and 13g fat over traditional banana bread!

Ingredients:

Although nuts can be a healthy food, to further reduce the fat content of this makeover recipe, the buttermilk is substituted for the butter and the nuts are eliminated. Replacing refined flours with oats and whole-wheat flour adds fiber and other healthy nutrients.

To learn more about recipe makeovers see CalorieKing's library article "Smart Substitutes: Your Guide to Low-Calorie Cooking Alternatives".

Recipe Makeover
1/2 banana, chopped (for topping) 1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant) (for topping) 1/4 cup light brown sugar (for topping) 1 cup whole-wheat flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup light brown sugar (for loaf) 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 ripe medium banana 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup low-fat buttermilk 1 Tbsp canola oil

Traditional Recipe
2 cup sifted flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3 bananas, mashed 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Directions:

RECIPE MAKEOVER:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9" x 5" x 2 1/2" loaf pan with cooking spray.

In small bowl, combine topping ingredients (banana, rolled oats & 1/4 cup light brown sugar). Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together flours, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt to combine.

In another small bowl, mash bananas. Mix in eggs, buttermilk and oil.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ones, mixing just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter.

Bake until knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Do not worry if some bits of topping get very dark.

Let loaf rest in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto baking rack and cool completely. Serve, or wrap in foil and use later. This bread keeps 4 to 5 days, and freezes well.

Author:

Healthy recipe courtesy of American Institute for Cancer Research
AICR