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Healthy Snacks: Banana Bread

Banana bread is a healthy snack that's sweet, just the way kids like it. But it won't have them swinging from the trees--just the way parents like it.




Need a Snack?

Banana bread packs a healthy potassium punch and is easy to make. Just a few simple items to mix together, and you have a last-minute treat! What other baked good is actually better when the main ingredient has been sitting around for awhile?


Classic Banana



Three Ways to Serve

Bake a loaf fresh for the week, then slice as you go.

Bake several loaves and freeze, pulling them out as needed. (Muffins and quick breads can be frozen for up to three months.)

Slice loaves and freeze servings individually (wrap each in cellophane, then in a resealable plastic bag). Kids can grab one from the freezer in the morning for a snack if they are going straight from school to an after-school activity.

Comments
ayeshah2009 
Nov. 21, 2009 9:31 pm
A wonderful, delicious and easy to prepare recipe..congratulations.. ayeshah2009
 
s e k 
Dec. 25, 2009 4:53 am
"Banana Sour Cream Bread" This is outrageous! I make this every year during the holidays. I am not someone who usually loves sweets but this is soooo good and pleasing to everyone! I always use fat-free sour cream and it turns out perfect! I disagree from another reviewer that says using fat-free sour cream makes the bread not as moist. Impossible! I have also added RUM (about 6-8 tsp) and that produces even better, extra yummy results! Enjoy!!! (You will need to cook longer than an hour -say 20 min more -use toothpick to know when done )
 
bbwof2 
Jul. 24, 2010 1:38 pm
This is a heathy snack to some, but in my home this is a heathy treat for the kids. I sometimes make the all bran recipe for a heathier snack for me.
 
Donaca 
Jul. 24, 2010 2:37 pm
You can substitute flour in almost any recipe. If you don't want whole wheat, use spelt with amaranth flour. If the recipe calls for 1 cup whole wheat, then use 1/2 cup spelt and 1/2 cup amaranth. I use this for all my banana breads. Totally amazing results. Try it. Let me know what you think!
 
Trish 
Oct. 3, 2010 1:23 pm
Yes, I agree with some that banana bread isn't really 'healthy' when you consider how much wheat, sugar, and butter is going into it. But consider this. Would you rather your children go to McDonald's for a 'snack' of Big Macs and fries that are cooked in an oil that I would never feed to ANY living creature...OR...a piece of homemade banana bread, where you know EXACTLY what ingredients are going into, with a smear of some natural peanut butter? Sure, you are lucky if you kids will eat carrot sticks and hummus...my niece and nephew would never touch that with a ten-foot pole. I, myself, enjoy hummus, but not too many kids, especially here in the US where they have already been exposed to so much sugar and processed foods, do. And yes, parents need to do a better job of educating and 'shaping' their kids' taste buds early on, but they can't control everything that goes on at school and with friends or at other homes. So...instead of 'attacking' the article and recipes for not being healthy (and since you're smart enough to figure out that it's NOT exactly healthy), make the changes that WILL make the bread healthier. Cut back on the butter, use apple sauce instead of oil, use some whole wheat flour for fiber...there are other sugar alternatives that are all natural and very good. Xylitol is my favorite and DOES NOT promote tooth decay. It tastes and bakes just like granulated sugar. If you're concerned about wheat and gluten, do the research and figure out the appropriate alternatives, or save your time (and probably a little money purchasing so many separate items to create a 'baking mix') and purchase a gluten-free baking mix for breads and muffins at a health food store. We have some at my grocery store that make wonderful muffins and actually have a nice texture. Use a lower-fat sour cream and don't use so much of it. Use almond milk in place of regular milk. There are so many ways you alter a banana bread recipe to make it healthier. In the end, I will still feed my niece and nephew a slice of homemade banana bread with a smear of peanut butter before I ever take them to McDonald's. :-) ...and I totally agree with avoiding corn syrup and canola oil. Canola oil is something that should attacked as being marketed as being 'healthy', way before banana bread!
 
shortcook 
Nov. 4, 2010 7:45 pm
Thought I knew all about banana breads. Like reading all the versions that I will definately try....love banana's!
 
imhungrey 
Jan. 28, 2011 12:22 pm
my kids like hummus and carrots we also enjoy banana bread as a treat... best treat ever is apple dippers from McDonalds!
 
imhungrey 
Jan. 28, 2011 12:26 pm
McDonalds has wraps and oatmeal and yogurt and water and salads and an indoor playground that promots exercize even on a cold wet day..dont turn your nose up to parents a Mcdonalds when they may have kids healthier than yours
 
lescoo 
Feb. 6, 2011 6:36 pm
"McDonalds has wraps and oatmeal and yogurt and water and salads..." Don't let Mcdonald's "healthy" items fool you...especially the monstrosities they call salads. Those can have just as many calories and fat as a burger, if not more depending what you get. And their yogurt parfaits are absolutely loaded with sugar. Also, you'd be hard pressed to find very many items on their menu without saturated fat. That's NOT to say that a kid who goes to eat at McDonalds occasionally isn't healthy. It can not, however, be denied that child obesity has risen right along with the popularity of fast-food. McDonalds is a business, and their number one is them, not the health of their customers...just don't be fooled by their deceiving choices.
 
homemademama 
Mar. 9, 2011 9:28 am
There are so many reasons I choose to feed my children homemade foods over fast food. First, nothing that mcdonald's offers (even their delicious apple slices) is without a tremendous amount of chemicals that I do not want in mine or my children's bodies. Second, I want my children to learn the satisfaction of preparing their own food. If they learn at an early age that it is okay to just pick up whatever that has been prepared by others, they will never have the desire to prepare their own food and never slow down long enough to do so. We really need to rethink this whole fast food generation (healthy or not). My children are learning to grow their own food, process and prepare, then sit down at the dinner table to have good family meals with loved ones. I truely beleive they will be better for it. And as for the banana bread, I have a child with ADHD and I can make this banana bread to suit her needs for the sweet tooth but make it virtually sugar free! And they all love helping to make it!
 
HealthNut, 
Mar. 21, 2011 8:37 pm
Sorry, I wouldn't call these kinds of banana breads healthy just because there is potassium in it. Packed with white, processed flour, loads of sugar and butter... Post a recipe for it made with whole grain flour, olive oil, maple or agave sirup or organic turbinado than maybe you can call it that. otherwise it's much healthier just to eat a plain banana or dipped in very dark chocolate..
 
Rae S. 
May 17, 2011 1:41 pm
the recipes sound awesome and i have been seeing some great prices on bananas at the store lately.. having 1 slice of banana bread with your favorite "healthy beverage" as a snack compared to a 1.75 oz bag of chips and a 20oz soda is definately more healthy and filling. the recipes can be tweaked to work with different diets, so please all the diet crazies relax and just enjoy a slice...
 
LAAKEA 
Jun. 23, 2011 12:41 am
I agree with Rae, tweak the recipe to your liking and offer some recipe variations. This isn't a discussion board for McDonald's foods vs other foods....
 
Jun. 30, 2011 7:01 pm
I'm getting ready to make a banana bread to take to work at "Taco Bell", they always ask for it. Oh, and I went to McDonalds for breakfast.
 
Maryjane 
Aug. 11, 2011 4:09 am
Negativity is unhealthy...Unsolicited negative opinions rarely affect the outcome...feeeel good and smile :-)
 
nobleshirley 
Aug. 11, 2011 9:17 am
Couldn't you come up with Something better and More original than "banana bread" Boring
 
Margo 
Aug. 12, 2011 4:54 pm
finding recipes like breads lower in fat and sugar and have them come out tasting real good is a great find. the banana breads both low fat recipes are real good.
 
LMOEAI 
Aug. 13, 2011 9:54 am
How rude to make suggestions on a recipe site, "that if your not smart enough"... go buy a packaged product. Nice, Mature, and R U D E ! Just sayin. Thanks to those who do share good thought and great suggestions.
 
LMOEAI 
Aug. 13, 2011 9:55 am
Oh.. if in a hurry, and just don't want to walk out the door and have banana's getting too ripe for my taste.. I throw the whole Banana in the freezer, peel and all. I bag them, and then take them out of the freezer and they literally fall out of the peel while defrosting. Saves on the waste!
 
Nicola 
Dec. 23, 2011 6:17 pm
add some raisins, cranberries and pecans. Delicious !!!
 
G'Mom 
Feb. 1, 2012 11:09 am
Do we really have to bring all the worst of our society onto a recipe site? Really?
 
 

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