Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread { clean eating }

Ever since my family started eating clean, I have begun baking WAY more than I ever used to. I’ve always loved to cook, but bake? No thanks. I mean, if you’re baking, I’m eating… but it feels like an awful lot of work when I have to do it myself (does that sound lazy?).

But when I realized there were yummy things like muffins, certain breads and even granola bars that are clean eating approved and actually good for you (imagine that), I was all in. Well, first I bought myself a Ninja Kitchen System Pulse and then I was all in. That blender/processor is my new best friend. How in the world did I ever live without one for so long (I haven’t had a blender for at least 5 years)? It not only makes shakes and chops food, it also comes with a dough handle and a bread paddle so I can quickly make dough. Ah.Maze.Ing.

Anyway, back to baking. So I came across this recipe for healthy banana bread that nixed the butter and instead included greek yogurt and I was intrigued. I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised – it tastes just as good as any banana bread I’ve ever made. I made a few adjustments to the recipe to make it clean eating approved – but then I threw in some chocolate chips… you know, to balance things out.

The original recipe called for brown sugar, but I replaced it with Sucanat. Organic Sucanat is something I recently learned about and am loving. It stands for Sugar Cane Natural and is a whole unrefined cane sugar. In case you’re curious (and feel like a quick science lesson), it’s made by extracting the juice from fresh cut sugar cane, heating it until it become a rich, dark syrup, then letting it cool and dry into granules. Nothing is added or taken away in the process (hence the “unrefined”). It’s naturally gluten-free, vegan and kosher and can be substituted for brown sugar in any recipe. Aside from baking with it, I even like to put some on my oatmeal with some cinnamon and applesauce, and I also used it to make some homemade thousand island dressing – which was YUM.

I am learning that the more educated I become about ingredients and those that are unrefined and “clean,” the easier it is to sub things in my favorite recipes so that I can still eat them without using processed ingredients. It’s really so much easier than I thought it would be!

So whip this healthy banana bread recipe up if you’ve got ripe bananas laying around; I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Bread {clean eating approved}

adapted from Crunchy Creamy Sweet
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Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (for less dense bread, you can use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white whole wheat flour)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
• 1/4 coconut oil
• 1/4 cup plain or Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sucanat
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease and flour a 9″ by 5″ loaf pan with some coconut oil. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon).
4. In another mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (mashed bananas, oil, yogurt, vanilla and eggs). Add sucanat and mix well.
5. Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix only until combined. Do not overmix. Add in chocolate chips and mix.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
7. Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
8. Cool the bread in the pan to room temperature. Place on a cutting board, slice and serve.
9. To freeze: wrap tightly in plastic wrap, place in a ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

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