Neat Protein Banana Bread

Bread. It’s delicious but oh so sinful when it comes to the carbs and the bloating. We thought we’d whip up a healthier alternative to your average bloomer loaf which is packed full of protein and goodness.

 

 

We had a little think about what kind of bread we should create and there was one clear winner for our exploration into alternative breads, and that was the good old banana. Bananas are a bit like marmite, you either love them or hate them. We happen to think they’re a cracking ingredient that works in pretty much anything; even the haters will enjoy this one.

 

We all know that bananas are packed with potassium but did you know that they help to maintain blood sugar levels? They also help to reduce swelling, strengthen the nervous system and aide in the production of white blood cells. They are, quite frankly, amazing and do loads for our bodies. So lets make some bread out of them! 

 

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 175C and if you’re using a fan oven, adjust to around 160C. Then line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper. We used a 9x5” tin.

First up, pop your oats into a blender and whizz until they become flour. We used gluten free oats. Pop your flour into a bowl and set aside as you’ll need the blender again.

Chop up the bananas into chunks and add them to the blender with the coconut oil, protein powder, yoghurt, egg whites, nut butter and almond milk. Blend until you get a smooth consistency. Pour into a large bowl and get ready to mix in your flour and other dry ingredients. We used a stand mixer with the beater attachment but you can easily do this by hand.

Add the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, flax meal, chia meal and salt to the wet mix and fold it in. Your final consistency should be like a really thick smoothie. Pour into your lined loaf tin and then sprinkle some oats on the top for that rustic feel.

 

 

Pop it into the oven for around 40 minutes but keep an eye on it as cooking times will vary with ovens. The Neat kitchen has a fan oven so our loaf cooked in under 30 minutes.

Allow the loaf to cool and cut slices. It’s smashing with some nut butter spread on top and a great pre or post gym snack. Our version of the bread is more savoury than sweet so if you want something a little more cake-like, add some maple syrup or honey to your recipe. Let us know how you get on if you attempt this one yourself!

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 bananas - mashed
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
• 1 ½ scoops Neat Nutrition Plant Protein Powder (Vanilla)
• 100g 0% Greek Yoghurt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 25g flax meal
• 20g chia meal
• 80g of oats made into flour
• 2 tablespoons of nut butter (we used Pip & Nut almond butter)
• 2 tablespoons of almond milk
• Pinch of salt

 

(Nutritional's per serving: Calories = 175; P = 13.8g, C = 28.8g, F = 20.6)*

*All calorie and macro calculations are estimates and will vary depending on portion size and ingredients used