Our office is full of sweet tooths… But we’re also health conscious, and the battle between wanting to look and feel great whilst also stuffing our faces with delicious cake at 3pm- well, it’s a never ending one!
So we’ve embarked on a quest to find healthy office treats that don’t come loaded with the calories…
Last night, one of our baking-gurus made what we could quite easily argue is the best guilt-free banana bread we’ve tried! So we had to share…Straight from the Healthy Chef herself, Teresa Cutter, this recipe is healthy, easy and oh so delicious!
What’s good about it- Bananas are a terrific energy food and a great source of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.They add moisture and sweetness to baked goods, which means you can reduce the amount of sweetener and oil considerably. Coconut flour is packed with soluble fibre that is great for healthy digestion and helping to lower cholesterol.The chia seed pumps up the omega 3 in the bread. Health benefits of omega 3 are helping to lower cholesterol levels, reduce high blood pressure, improves symptoms of arthritis, improves mental health as the brain is 60% fat and needs omega 3 to function properly. I love using macadamia nut oil when baking, it’s a delicious source of monounsaturated fats that can help support good health and wellbeing”
Recipe-
Makes 1 loaf Serves 12 400 g (14 oz) ripe banana 6 free range / organic eggs 4 fresh pitted dates (see notes) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 60 ml (2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup) macadamia nut oil, coconut oil or cold pressed olive oil half teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder 70 g ( 1/2 cup/ 2 1/2 oz) ) coconut flour 20 g (1/4 cup / 1 oz) chia seed (see notes)
Preheat your oven to 150 C. (fan forced) 170 C ( no fan)
Combine banana, dates, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and baking powder into a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and combined – alternatively you can do this by hand in a large bowl.
Add the coconut flour and chia seeds and mix through.
Rest for 10 minutes to allow the chia and coconut flour to expand.
Lightly oil one loaf tin and then line with baking paper – The size I used was: 10 1/2 cm wide and 26 cm long.
Spoon batter into the tin – at this stage you can decorate the bread with flaked coconut of sliced banana before baking.
Bake for 50 – 55 minutes ( a skewer inserted into the centre should come out dry).
Cover the top with foil if over-browning.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out the loaf.
Makes 1 loaf serves 12.
** Keep in the fridge covered for up to 1 week. (freezes well too)
Serves 12
Serving Suggestions: Ricotta + Honey Almond / Macadamia Nut Butter Plain + Simple Sliced banana + manuka honey
Nutritional info per serve:
Protein: 5.6 g
Carbs: 11 g
Total Fat: 9.4 g
Saturated: 1.6 g
Fibre: 2.2 g
Kilojoules: 637
Calories: 145
For more of Teresa’s recipe’s head to
peardrealestate 