It's always fun when you can tweak a recipe to boost its nutritional value, without losing any flavor. This banana bread tastes just as rich and moist and sweet as any other, but it has a secret - a shot of extra protein from both quinoa flour and soy protein powder (and even some Greek yogurt). Granted, it's not low fat and there's certainly some sugar in there, but it will keep you fueled a lot longer than a cupcake!
You could make this banana bread as muffins too. Add some chopped nuts for even more protein - walnuts and pecans are both very good in banana bread. Use very ripe bananas - they should be almost black.Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: One loaf.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons soy protein powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut(optional)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (if desired)
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling on top of loaf
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a bread loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Peel the bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the regular and brown sugars, and mash the bananas well. Stir in the eggs, vegetable oil, Greek yogurt, and vanilla.- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the quinoa flour, regular flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and protein powder. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring until just mixed. Stir in optional coconut flakes, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips if desired.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle batter generously with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, lowering the temperature to 350 after 15 minutes. Bake until banana bread has risen, browned, and just springs back to the touch. Remove from the oven and let banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift bread out of the pan, and let bread cool on a rack until cool enough to slice.
- Banana bread will keep, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, for up to one week. Toast slices of bread to reheat.
