Low Sugar Protein Banana Bread

Hi! Long time no recipe, right? But I've come back with a new series to make up for it and it's called Lunchbox Bakes! Every Sunday I'll whip up something sweet or savoury that can be taken to work as a morning snack or little afternoon pick me up. I usually hit the dreaded 2:30pm slump in the office but having something delicious to look forward to can change that, especially if it's healthy and nutritious. I hope LunchBox Bakes will be able to save you money, time and help you stay on track with your diets. Now let's begin!

I wanted to start off this series with something that's easy and affordable and all the ingredients in this recipe are staples that you'd usually have in your pantry. I purposely didn't add any refined sugar as I wanted the sweetness to come from natural ingredients with the exception of chocolate chips. If you'd like to add sugar, you can add this to the dry ingredients before mixing in your wet ingredients. 

As you can also see I didn't have ripe bananas to begin with but you can put them in the microwave for a minute to soften as this makes it easier to mash. You can add more or less bananas but two was the perfect amount for me. I also opted for honey and dates for extra sweetness but it's best to go with natural honey which is less refined. 

If you don't have a loaf pan lying around, you can also use muffins trays and make banana muffins but the baking time will vary and will usually be quicker. If you want to be extra naughty, you can spread some butter onto the freshly baked banana bread slices and trust me, there's no better way to serve it. 

Serves: 6-8 

Ready in: 60 minutes  

Difficulty: ★☆☆

Ingredients

1 and 3/4 cup self raising flour

1/4 cup plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 scoops natural protein powder

2 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed 

1 and 1/2 cup whole milk

2 eggs

2 tbsp natural honey

50g melted un-salted butter

2 medjool dates, sliced 

chocolate chips (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 170 C and grease and line loaf pan with baking paper. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, sift self raising flour, plain flour, cinnamon powder and add protein powder. 

In another bowl add milk, eggs, honey, melted butter and mix well. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in small batches until it's well combined. Add mashed bananas, sliced dates and chocolate chips. Mix well. 

Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan and top with more chocolate chips if using. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and cut into slices. Once cooled completely, keep in air tight container until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

When lining loaf pan, make sure sides of the baking paper overhang slightly as it will be easier to remove the banana bread once baked.

Refined sugar can be added to dry ingredients if preferred. 

Medjool dates and chocolate chips are optional and try using 75% or more cocoa dark chocolate chips if conscious of sugar. 

You can use a 12 hole muffin pan to make banana muffins with this recipe but baking time will vary.