Healthy Banana Bread

I wanted to make it a priority to take on a banana bread recipe and make it health{ier} than most recipes I've seen.  A lot are filled with sugar, butter, white flour, etc.  Although I LOVE those ingredients, they don't always love ME!

So, I did some Pinterest browsing and came across a recipe I decided to give a GO with.  The recipe I used came from The Cooking Doctor.  I followed the directions just as they were laid out, except I substituted 2 cups of whole wheat flour in place of the regular white flour.  I also added chopped pecans AND a little extra spice (a sprinkle of cinnamon).  YUM.

The reason why this recipe caught my attention was because of the limited amounts of sugar (only called for 1/2 cup) and only 1/4 cup of butter (which is half a stick).  It also used plain Greek yogurt, which is one of my favs and something I keep stocked in my fridge.

Here's the recipe (adapted to my substitutions)

Healthy Banana Bread

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 45-60 mins
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 ripe large bananas
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
splash of cinnamon
chopped pecans (about a handful--add more if you like em'!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until blended and fluffy.

Add vanilla extract and then the eggs one by one.  Beat for another few minutes.

Add in the mashed bananas and then add in the yogurt.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon) together in a separate bowl.  Once mixed, slowly add to the wet mixture.  Beat until combined.

Stir in the pecans and mix until well incorporated.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear.


Notes: You can use regular flour instead of whole wheat, as was in the original recipe.  You can omit the nuts and go plain or you can add in chocolate chips.  Possibilities are endless.


The bread is a sweet treat, but not overly sweet like a cake.  To me, it's the perfect thing.  It's even better warmed with a lather of butter.  Try it, it's worth the extra calories.

Food is my weakness

Have you ever been KILLING it at the gym or doing your own workout program and you wonder WHY you haven't been getting SUPER AWESOME results like you feel you should?  Like, every workout is a full out sweat sesh where you feel like you can take on the world.

welllllll... I'm here to tell you that if you haven't changed your nutrition, then that's probably your problem.

At least, for me, it is.  The first step to fixing a problem you have is admitting to the problem.  I eat junk foods.

You know, I actually do pretty well for the most part.  I eat my fruits and veggies (most of my veggies everyday) but those damn carbs and sweets are what gets me EVERY.TIME.  I don't need sodas.  I can do without fried foods.  I love whole wheat and whole grain anything, so that's not my problem.  It's just I like the carbs too much and instead of getting my suggested 2 servings a day, I can easily eat 5-6 servings.

I'm human, so before you say OH MA GAH, I can't believe you do that.  It's so easy.  If you aren't sure how easy it is, take a food journal of everything you eat daily for a week and you will probably be in for a rude awakening.

So, HOW do we FIX this?  How do we get the AB definition we want, the tummy and arm fat to FINALLY be gone from our bodies?

We HAVE to change our nutrition.

SO, the thing that's helped ME is having an accountability partner.  This can be a friend or family member you've known all along that is RIGHT there with you and needs to change their habits just as bad as you.  OR, it could be through an accountability group, either in person OR online.  You know online is all of the rage now, because it helps connect people from all over the globe who WANT the SAME EXACT THINGS... so in return you get super awesome accountability and supports and then in return, you get the results you wanted.

So, go GRAB an accountability partner!  They help.  I know it, because I've been there.  I NEED accountability partners again.  My family and friends aren't really supporting me to the point they are doing it with me, so I rely on my accountability partners via FaceBook!

I'm about to go back to the basics with my clean eating and nutrition.  Results are 80% nutrition, 20% exercise.  That's CRAZAY!