Banana Bread Battle

 

Bananas are the only food that I buy, and purposely wait for them to go bad; all so I can make banana bread. My dad always made the best banana bread when I was growing up, and I got this recipe from him :-)

BUT: this is the great debate! The classic banana bread recipe, or a healthy makeover? My poor grandpa LOVES banana bread, but he has high blood sugar so he can't eat as much as he'd like to. I had lots of bananas so instead of doubling the original recipe I decided to make a few simple substitutions and make it better for my grandparents :-)

Here is the break down!

Original Recipe

(yields: 1 loaf)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

3-4 overripe banans

3 Tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

1. Mix all ingredients together for 2+ minutes or until well combined into a batter.

2. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

We all know banana bread is delicious! It doesn't have a huge amount of calories, but overall- it's not awesome for you. Check below.

Overall nutrition grade of a D+

(These results are from a recipe analyzer that I found here.
This is based on 16 servings.)

Here is the makeover recipe!

 (yields: 1 loaf)

1/2 cup butter unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cups sugar 

1/3 cup stevia blend

2 eggs

3-4 overripe banans

3 Tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour  

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

 Can you tell a difference yet?!

Here; let me show you!

less than half the calories!

tremendously less fat!

almost 10 less grams of carbs!

1/3 of the sugar!

overall nutrition grade of a B-

No- it's still not the healthiest food on the planet, but what a huge difference a few simple substitutions can make!!

I tasted both of these breads; the make over recipe wasn't quite a sweet as the original, but the texture, moisture and overall banana flavor of the bread was exactly the same! I was so impressed, I didn't want to give away the other loaf! Now I feel crappy sitting at home eating the classic bread. From now on, I will definitely be making the new version!

Give it a try! Which one will you make?!