One of my friends recently set off to bake banana bread. By her own admission, she’s a bit uncomfortable in a kitchen. I’m pretty sure this is how she manages to stay skinny! I was so proud of her when she texted me saying that she had just baked banana bread, though I couldn’t resist a tease, saying that if I didn’t hear a confirmation she was still alive in 15 minutes after trying it, I was sending an ambulance her way.
Well, not only did she survive the experiment, clearly it was delicious! So delicious she didn’t save any for me. That made me sad, so I made her give me the recipe.
Coconut Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from Healthy Coconut Banana Bread by Monique of Ambitious Kitchen
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 Large ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup of Madhava Coconut Sugar (or brown sugar)
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ cup low-fat greek yogurt*
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons skim milk or alternative milk (optional)
* To replace the yogurt with a vegan/dairy free alternative, use cultured vanilla coconut milk and reduce added vanilla to 1/2 tsp.
Directions
While you preheat your oven to 350F, sift together the dry goods (flour, baking powder, and baking soda) in a bowl.
Combine the mashed banana, brown sugar, and vanilla in another large mixing bowl. Blend egg whites and oil into the mashed banana mixture until smooth.
Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring by hand until the powder is moistened. Add greek yogurt (or yogurt alternative), orange juice, and milk, if desired. Omitting the milk will produce a denser loaf. As the last step, fold in the ½ cup of flaked coconut.
Grease and flour-prep a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of coconut on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden and inserted toothpick comes out clean.