Super Healthified Banana Bread

I told you I'd make a loaf of banana bread, didn't I? Well I didn't go back on my word...and here is the mouthwatering photographic evidence.



I've always been a sucker for my Mum's notorious banana cake. Needless to say, as with many other banana cake/bread recipes, it was misleadingly unhealthy (misleading because really, you'd expect a cake based around the humble banana to be somewhat healthy, wouldn't you?) -- packed with sugar, refined white flour, aaand... I don't remember what else. Probably a generous amount of butter/marg. But we don't want none of that!

So I guess you could say that this recipe acts as a kind of antidote or counterbalance to my Mum's banana cake recipe. Based upon this original recipe, I've adapted it very slightly to enhance its healthiness even more. You'd probably be pushed to find a healthier banana cake recipe, especially one that caters to both vegans (err...minus the honey) and those with gluten sensitivity. It sits just the right side of moist, has a gorgeous flavour and hits the sweet-tooth spot naturally (just bananas and 2 tablespoons of manuka honey to thank for that one). So yeah...delve in!



Ingredients:

200g spelt flour
2x 27g packets of quick-cook Quakers Oats
1t baking powder
1t baking soda
1t ground cinnamon
(Up to) 1t vanilla paste
4 medium sized bananas, ripe
50ml almond milk (unsweetened)
6T coconut oil
2T manuka honey
90g walnuts, 30g pumpkin seeds (add whatever nut/seed/dried fruit you prefer)

Pre-heat your oven to 350C or gas mark 4. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper (grease with a smidgen of coconut oil). That's the boring stuff out of the way. Now onto the mashing. Ahh yeah.



Get your ripened bananas and place (without skins!) in a (sizeable) bowl. Mash until they're nice n' squelchy. Meanwhile, melt your coconut oil in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. This shouldn't take too long. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When it has cooled, add it to your banana mix and combine well; add all other wet ingredients (hello vanilla, almond milk and honey), and stir vigorously. Might as well get an arm workout in there, eh?

Now that your wet stuff is all sorted, sieve the spelt flour into a separate bowl. This took me a bloody long time because spelt flour seems to have quite a lot of large grainy pieces that just got in the way whilst sieving. I orginally wanted to use all 260g of the spelt flour (as the original recipe had suggested); however, by the 200g mark my arm was aching somewhat from holding the sieve for so long - alas, I reached out for my trusty oats to save the day. Quakers did the job juuust fine.

Add the baking powder and soda into the flour mixture, plus the teaspoon of cinnamon (vital! Cinnamon can do no wrong), and stir well before gradually adding the dry mix to the wet. Keep on top of the blending and 'folding' sitch (yep, I do know some baking lingo) until you've got yourself a lovely looking batter.

All that's left to do is to measure your nuts and add them to the final mixture. Spoon into your tin, and place into the oven for up to 50 minutes. When time's finally up, remove from the oven and leave to cool. In my case, I was knife-in-hand after about 5 minutes of removing mine from the oven (naughty, I know). But hey, who am I kidding - warm/hot banana cake is simply too good to pass up on, especially when it's lathered with a dollop of peanut butter (a new discovery, and a match made in heaven).

Does anyone have any banana bread recipes to rival mine? This one seems to be calling my name... protein banana bread? Don't mind if I do!

Flourless Banana Pancakes

As proposed yesterday, I made these banana pancakes (recipe courtesy of Detoxinista) for a (very) late lunch prior to my shift at work.




Let me say this from the beginning: these are a melt-in-the-mouth delight. And, from the perspective of a cooking phobe, they are so easy to make - just one mashed banana, an egg, a pinch of baking powder, plus a dollop of peanut butter (optional, but obv the best kind of option you could make at this point in time) and any other kind of sweetener/thickener you're craving. For me, that came in the form of my new obsession - ground cinnamon. I added about a teaspoon (most likely heaped - my measuring sensors are somewhat warped when it comes to my common kitchen faves).

As instructed by Megan, I went for the baking option over frying, as I've tried the one banana + one egg pancake in a pan before to not much avail... (cue severely broken/shredded 'pancake'). My baking tray only allowed room for two medium-sized pancakes - so in they jolly well went - 15 minutes at 400c/gas mark 6, cooked until sumptuously golden brown upon parchment paper lightly greased with coconut oil.

It's fair to say that I demolished these in a matter of minutes - clearly I couldn't even manage the patience of photographing them in all their glory prior to demolition, leaving the above pictures taken with a couple of bites to spare. Naturally, I glistened mine with honey for that all-important added punch of sweetness. I love the simplicity of these pancakes, so for me these are going straight on to my list of go-to snacks in times of attack from the hungry belly monster.

Next time, I'll probably go double/triple portion size and feed more than just the one hungry belly. Sharing is caring, after all. How would you adapt this simple flourless pancake recipe? Would you sub another natural sweetener/thickener for the banana? Let me know! I'm about to tuck into a delicious meal of honey-glazed gammon ham with plenty of veggies on the side - my Mum's home-cooking is the best - how am I ever supposed to compare?!

Banana Porridge Pops

I've taken my love of porridge to new extremes after stumbling upon Cassey's recipe for these banana oat bites, which require a mere two ingredients - one mashed banana, and enough oats to be rolled into said mushed banana. Roll the mixture into a few balls; Gas mark 5, 20 minutes; sorted! Instant pops of energy for those afternoons where a spike in energy is an absolute necessity.

While I'd not go quite so far as Cassey in comparing the taste to cookies, this pimp-squeak recipe is not one to miss if, like myself, you're a massive porridge grazer (and are likewise a lazy/lousy cook).

Even so, I have to say that it makes a pretty darn good faux-cookie in that, 1) the banana provides that necessary hit of sugar - albeit natural, and 2) there is a desireable balance between squidgy and crunchy (and what would a cookie be if not both squidgy and crunchy to the bite?!).

A sprinkle of honey on top wouldn't go amiss, and would probably add to the overall 'cookie' effect. Cassey suggests dates as another sugar substitute, which I swapped for sultanas (obviously not to deviate too far from my beloved breakfast choice).

Porridge, I'm hopelessly devoted to you.

Sunday Energizer

Having worked 25 hours over the last two days, I have welcomed a stress-free Sunday with open arms (and an empty tum).

Lacking in energy and motivation, I just whizzed up a delish mix of overly-ripe banana (1 and a half - the other half was a tad too far on the brown and gross side) and leftover kefir that needed to be used up. Perhaps it doesn't sound so appealing written in words, but it was the perfect pick-me-up for today! Nutritional values of this smoothie can be found here.

I've steered away from my daily banana fix recently, alongside a momentary lapse in my regular fitness routine. I haven't exercised in about 5 days, which for me is almost unheard of!

Anyway. I tend to choose bananas as my fruit-of-choice when it comes to pre-exercise snacking, given the fact that, compared to other fruits, they naturally have a higher calorie count due to their high sugar and carb content, with a medium sized banana totalling around 105cals.

This, of course, is what makes bananas so appealing prior to exercising, or as a quick morning sugar fix. They are also rich in potassium, a mineral that is necessary for nerve and muscle functioning (massive pro when it comes to exercising!). Potassium is also an essential nutrient to alleviate stress; combined with mood-boosting tryptophan and vitamin B6 (a vitamin for glucose regulation), bananas can also help to ease the pain of PMS, and sub-SAD (as discussed in a previous post).

I have promised to myself that I will make the time to exercise today. I have the day off, and my body is now prepared with a lining of bananany-goodness - thus, no excuses!

Chewy Banana Cupcakes

If your bananas are looking a tad on the black and bruised side, why not turn them into cupcakes? That's exactly what I did on this fine, rainy Monday morning!

Ingredients:
1 mashed banana
2 tbsp non-fat greek yoghurt
1 tsp peanut butter
2 tsp golden caster sugar
3 tbsp flour
Pinch baking powder
Finely chopped dark chocolate
(I also added dessicant coconut for added sweetness and taste/just because I saw it sat in my kitchen cupboard!)

There's no complex method here; just mash the banana, add all wet ingredients and then sift the flour into the mixture. Preheat the oven to 350C/Gas mark 4. Spoon the mixture one-by-one onto your baking tray (I used muffin cases) - the mixture should make around 10 cupcakes. Add a small piece of dark chocolate into the middle of each blob and cover with a little more of the mixture (adds a surprise factor - always a plus!). Cook for 25mins, leave to cool slightly and then... devour.

The entire batch contains approx 335 calories (so 33.5cals per cookie), and the recipe can be shaken up a bit by whatever means you like (sultanas would probs be a nice addition )!