With 3 young children, bananas are a staple in our house. A) Because they all love them, but B) Because my youngest loves to wake up at the CRACK of dawn on the weekends and insist, “I’m hungry!” And it goes from “hungry” to “HANGRY” with a quickness! So bananas are the easiest thing to hand over while mom + dad get a few more minutes of rest! (Complete transparency – sometimes we go to bed with a banana on our nightstand because we know the little pitter patter of feet will be coming in a few hours and neither of us wants to go downstairs to fetch a banana) But sometimes they go on a banana strike and then we’re left with old spotted bananas that are too mushy for eating. When that happens, I do one of two things: 1) Peel, cut them in half and put in a Ziplock baggie to freeze for smoothies or 2) Make banana bread!
The other day, the kids spied the spotted bananas and it was the perfect time to bake some bread! Ever since I started a clean eating program 3 years ago, I have been more health conscious – especially with regards to the amount of SUGAR that goes into our daily diet in things that we don’t even think about. So when I do have an itch to bake, I’m always looking for ways to make things healthier. One of my favorite substitutions is applesauce. It’s a great all natural sweetener and in most cases, particularly in baking, makes your creations more moist! Sounds like a win win to me! I’ve scoured lots of different banana bread recipes and have tweaked certain ingredients based on my preferences and this one is the best one yet!
Healthy No Sugar Banana Bread
Prep Time: 10 min.
- 3 overripe bananas
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup applesauce (no sugar added)
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- Dash of vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan (or in my case, I used 2 3×5 inch mini loaf pans).
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt in a large bowl and combine.
3. In a separate bowl, mash bananas (don’t over mash as I like to have little banana chunks in my bread) and combine with eggs. Stir in applesauce and honey and mix well.
4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture in batches until just mixed and pour into loaf pan(s).
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack or a paper bag.
ENJOY!!!
Check out more of my healthy recipes and snacks here!
