Healthy Banana Bread

If you love your sweet treats but are still wanting to be healthy, then this banana bread is perfect for you. I will leave the ingredients and methods down below, but if you want to know about some of the nutritional value then keep on reading. The bananas, maple syrup and dark chocolate are what makes it sweet, so there's no need to worry adding sugar. Turmeric is also a great ingredient, I add a bit to most of what I cook or bake because it doesn't have a strong taste and it has a lot of health benefits. If you are interested, here is a website that gives you more information on that: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric .Turmeric also adds a yellow tinge to everything as you can see from the image above, so it is perfect for banana bread. I also add a tablespoon of chia seeds and flax seed mix. Chia seeds are high in fibre and omega 3 and the flax seed mix also has fibre, vitamins and minerals and it can offer prevention towards cancer and diabetes. These two ingredients are quite expensive, so it is optional whether you want to put them in or not.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon flax seed mix (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup natural yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate

Method:

Step 1: Set your oven to 180℃ fan and get a tray or glass dish to place your bananas on, make sure you leave the skin on. Once the oven is ready put the bananas in for 8-10 minutes. This method allows the bananas to appear black when they come out, which is great as you will be getting really sweet bananas for your bread. This is an especially great tip yo use if you have green or yellow bananas.

Step 2: Get a medium size bowl and measure the flour, then add the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, chia seeds, flax seed mix, salt and turmeric. Stir all ingredients until well mixed.

Step 3: In a large bowl use your electric whisk to beat the eggs, yogurt, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla essence for a couple of minutes.

 

Step 4: Once the bananas are fairly cool, peel them and place them in a dish to mash using a fork. Then get your chocolate bar and chop up little pieces.

Step 5: Put the oven on at 180℃ fan.

Step 6: Now add the dry ingredients, bananas and chocolate pieces to the wet ingredients and fold it in.

               

Step 7:  Grease a 20cm by 7cm rectangular tin and place some grease proof paper inside.Then pour the mixture in.

Step 8: Put the tin in your pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes. Remember to check it regularly to see that it isn't burning on top, if it is place some tin foil over the top to stop it from happening.

Once baked leave to cool and enjoy!

Top Tip: I usually heat a piece up in the microwave for around 20 seconds to make it a bit warm.
SO YUM!