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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Low-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Bread...No Need for Sandwiches


If I could only have one sandwich the rest of my life, it would be a peanut butter and banana sandwich. This sandwich would provide instant comfort like it’s a dessert, but be nutritious enough for a quick and healthy meal. If I could, I’d make it crunchy peanut butter because, well, I love the added crunch!

Hmmmm, maybe some cinnamon too…..yes, cinnamon would be awesome!

This works for me!

But what if we had bread with peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon baked into it? Then, instead of making a mess by having to arduously smear your own peanut butter and add your own banana on bread, you can easily just grab and eat a slice……or two or three…..ok, the loaf.

No dealing with peanut butter jars or any banana that’s leftover, just the bread with all of its parts baked in. Sure, I sound lazy, but this would certainly save time since I usually peel, slice, chop, and dice multiple foods while cooking. Plus, I’d spend more time with Kelley, the number one person in my life and reason I work to make healthy food for us.

I’d like to thank Katie for posting a similar recipe on her blog, Chocolate-Covered Katie, for the inspiration to make this fabulous peanut butter banana bread. There are so many amazing recipes I want to make from her blog; it’s hard to keep up!

Make this bread to grab and go or sit down at home without having to add anything else that could result in a mess. I made the recipe low fat by using peanut flour (I use 12% Light Peanut Flour from Byrd Mill) which supplies an awesome peanut butter taste with less fat. Avoid the jars of low fat peanut butter, those usually have more ingredients than just peanuts and always have added sugar……bleh. Have a few slices of this easy bread and know its all good in taste and in health.

No-Mess Low-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Bread

1 cup whole grain spelt, whole-wheat, or brown rice flour (I used whole grain spelt)
1 cup unflavored or vanilla protein powder (I used whey, but other types would work)
1/2 cup peanut flour (or another nut flour of choice)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter (or other nut butter of choice); make sure it’s creamy enough to mix
1/4 cup mashed banana (applesauce or pumpkin puree would be good, but you’ll have to change the name)
1/4 tsp liquid stevia extract (or use 1/4 cup sugar/honey/agave if you don’t have or like stevia, but beware of extra calories)
2 - 4 packets of stevia powder (I used NuNaturals White Stevia; use more for a sweeter bread and less for not as sweet...duh)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 ½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk of choice (reduce by 1/4 cup if using honey or agave)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients to combine well, and then mix in the wet. Pour into a lightly oiled or non-stick loaf pan (a muffin pan would be great too!) and bake 40-45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 20 minutes. If you made a loaf, slice as thin or thick as you want; for muffins, just remove from pan.

I haven’t made them yet, but muffins would be perfect as a portable breakfast or snack when travelling.
Of course, you can always add more peanut butter if desired…..I just couldn’t resist!

Q: What would be your sandwich of choice if you could only have one the rest of your life?

Something savory like this...


.....or maybe a delicious PB & Banana Chocolate Protein Pancake Sandwich?
Yes, this is my choice!

2 comments:

  1. hi whats the nutritional value on this?

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    Replies
    1. Hi there, thank you for reading! I have never had anyone ask this before and do not have nutrition information for my recipes. I'm going to start looking into this now, though!

      Since this recipe has a lot of possible combos, it would be hard to get anything accurate. I just did a quick entry and for one slice in a 12 slice serving the nutrition would be about 111 cals. Sorry so vague, I'll have to do more work and repost with info later. If you need to, Google a calculator that will allow you to enter the specific ingredients you use for a better answer.

      Thank you for reading!

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