Coconut Banana Bread

Baking is one of my favourite things to do and i love finding ways to incorporate slightly healthier alternatives into my baking portfolio. Banana bread is a great dessert that is slightly healthier due to the high banana content needed to make it.This makes it a great way to indulge without the guilt! Here is a recipe i found for a coconut banana bread which uses coconut as a substitute meaning you don't have to use as much sugar as an ordinary recipe would require. The recipe also uses Greek yoghurt, which works as a binder and makes the bread taste extra creamy and indulgent. This recipe i have tried and tested a number of times and is now my go-to banana bread recipe!



The recipe:
245g of plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3 large ripe bananas to be mashed (the riper the better in my experience!)
85g cup of brown sugar
3 egg whites
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
30g of Greek yoghurt
50g of flaked coconut plus 2 tablespoons to use later for decoration


I edited the recipe a little bit to my own preferences which is something you can do too. As well as these ingredients above i added chia seeds for a crunchy addition and i just guesstimated the amount i added to the batter. If this is something you're interested in adding i'd suggest a cup would do the trick! You could also maybe add blueberries, raisins or if you like extra sweetness some honey would also do the trick.

1. Heat your oven to around 180 degrees celsius.
2. Mix your flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl combine your mashed banana (to do this you can just use a fork) and brown sugar. Now mix in your egg whites and then the oil. Next mix in your yoghurt and then add in the 50g of coconut. This is the point where i also added my chia seeds.
4. Next line a loaf tin with grease proof paper and grease the paper with a little butter. Next pour in your batter and sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of coconut on top.
5. Next pop your loaf in the oven for about 50 - 60 minutes.

To serve i added more greek yoghurt - i love the stuff; along with frozen raspberries and an extra sprinkle of chia seeds.

I'll link the website where i found the recipe, which also included loads of other alternative banana bread recipes:
http://www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/7-Healthy-Breads-Go-Bananas-37903215#photo-37903215