Healthy Banana Bread

I have recently started a new job that just happens to have a lovely café downstairs. The down side is I am trying to make healthier choices when it comes to food so I found myself jealous of Co-workers who take up the $5 coffee and muffin deal. This was the inspiration to try my hand at healthy baking.

When it comes to baking often flour, sugar and butter are the staple ingredients. Well after scouring the internet I have found a healthy banana bread recipe which I baked for the second time in a week yesterday. So here is my recipe.

Ingredients

2 ½ mashed ripe bananas (approx. 300g)

3 eggs

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda +1 tablespoon of lemon juice (to activate it)

2 cups of almond meal

¼ cup chia seeds

Handful of walnuts for decoration

Method:

1.      Preheat your oven to 160°C. Lightly oil a loaf tin and coat the inside with extra almond meal to stop the bread from sticking.

2.      Mix together banana, eggs, honey, vanilla, olive oil, cinnamon and baking soda-lemon juice concoction until it is completely combined.

3.      Add in the almond meal and chia seeds and keep mixing until it is incorporated.

4.      Pour the batter into your tin and place walnuts on top for decoration.

5.      Cook in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

6.      Cover with aluminium foil if the top is starting to brown too much.

7.      The bread is ready when a skewer is poked in the middle and comes out clean.

8.      Cool in the tin before turning out.

Once the loaf is cooled I like to cut slices and wrap them individually so when I am rushing to get ready for work in the morning all I have to do is pick up a piece and put it in my bag.

Why is the recipe healthy?

-It doesn’t have any refined flour in it. Instead it has almond meal which is full of unsaturated fats that are good for your body. Almond meal is also packed full of protein.

-Olive oil is another ingredient which is made up of healthy fats!

-Only a small amount of sugar (honey). The bananas provide natural sugars so that it isn’t necessary to add a whole lot of white sugar. Bananas also have vitamins and minerals that assist in keeping you well. As if the bananas weren’t doing enough already they also help to make the banana bread moist.

-All the wonderful benefits of chia seeds. For more information have a look at this post here.

I like to toast my bread and eat it warm.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and that you have been inspired to try healthy baking yourself.

How to Shop Healthy and Cheaply | Bites

Since arriving in Minneapolis it has occurred me that I can’t rely on my parents to make me dinner and buy groceries (I knew it was going to happen obviously but I didn’t think of the logistics). So after an unorganised shopping trip where we managed to squish the loaf of bread, I have decided to set myself the challenge to 1. Becoming better at grocery shopping and 2. Making healthy meals without spending a fortune (leaving more money for exciting adventures). As a newbie to fending for myself I have done a bit of research and together with everything I have learn about nutrition come up with a few tips I am going to try and stick to.

1.   Buy whole unprocessed foods. Most of the time it is less expensive. For example it is cheaper to buy a bag of oats and jazz them up yourself (with fruit, nuts, or cinnamon) than it is to buy a flavoured sachet of oats.
2.   Buy frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables where possible. For obvious reasons these last longer meaning you can buy them in bulk without the worry of spoilage (providing you have room in the freezer). A common misconception with frozen fruit and veg is that they have less nutrients compared to their fresh counter parts. This is not true they can actually have more nutrients because they have been frozen close to harvesting and haven’t been sitting on a shelf where nutrients can seep out. When choosing tinned products make sure there is no added salt in the vegetables and that fruit is canned in natural fruit juice or water to avoid excess sugar.
3.   Buy generic brands. A lot of the time the food product is the same without a fancy label. This doesn’t mean you have to buy everything generic even just getting the basics like rice and flour from these brands can make a difference.
4.  Drink tap water rather than buying beverages (I'm pretty good at this already but it is still a good tip).
5. Buy vegetables in season. They are less expensive and a lot of the time better quality because they are fresher.
6.  Look to buy cheaper proteins (meats, eggs, legumes) and make them more exciting by adding flavours yourself. Less expensive meats such as beef mince or tinned tuna. You can make mince go further by adding lentils or beans to bulk it out a bit.
7.  Making a shopping list and sticking to it. It is easy to impulse buy when shopping (I have found it especially tempting shopping in the US because of all the different products. I want to try everything). By doing this the shopping trip will be quick and more focused.

Something else to consider for us is that it can be cheaper to eat at a restaurant than it is to buy food at the grocery store. The aim is to find a healthy balance in life and just enjoy meal times.

There you have it the 7 little things to try and stick by over the next few months. I might do another post in the future about how practical these tips were and anything else I have learnt.

Hopefully this post is helpful for anyone who has recently started doing their own grocery shopping.

Enjoy!