Protein packed Banana Bread for others (but not me)

over ripe bananas + time on my hands + 12g protein per slice

Welcome to my first post of 2024. Now, let’s go BANANAS!

I buy bananas regularly for my husband but I don’t care to eat them much. Once in a while I buy too many and they sit and over ripe on the counter. I absolutely hate throwing them away. Although, I have done that in the past, with a pang of guilt. I have also frozen them before but they lay forgotten in the back of the freezer until one day I overcame that guilt and threw them out anyway.

Lately when I found myself in such a predicament, my guilt won and I could not bring myself to throw them away. There they sat, on the kitchen counter, over ripening each moment, and make me feel uneasy. I opened the trash can to toss them but could not. I put them back. What was I going to do with them??

Three plates containing protein packed, brazil nut decorated banana bread.

Of course most people make banana bread. But I am on a health journey trying to eat less baked goods and my husband is trying to gain muscle. Tasty warm carb-heavy banana bread is an obstacle to both these goals. Especially because self control is lacking when fresh tasty baked goods sit in our kitchen.

Also, I am not a baker. It’s not something I enjoy as much as cooking. I have a salt tooth rather than a sweet tooth. While I have baked plenty of times and savored delicious results, it’s not my go-to activity in the kitchen. I like standing over a stove and stirring things, instead of waiting patiently for the oven to do its thing. Baking sourdough bread is probably the most fun baking for me as I like the process of fermentation and eating bread with clean ingredients (instead of chemicals in shelf-stable store bought breads).

Dry and wet ingredients, batter in greased pan.

Eventually an idea formed and I decided to give a high protein version of banana bread a try. I had time on my hands since I had nothing else planned for the day. I found eggs, protein powder, and greek yogurt at home that would support this endeavor. I have a strong dislike of protein powder but my husband uses it and also loves regular banana bread. So perhaps this idea had legs.

Roasted brazil nuts and hazul nuts used to decorate banana bread batter in pan.

I browsed a few recipes and then settled on my own version based on what I felt like including and what I already had. I was a bit nervous because I have learned the hard way that baking is not as free style friendly as stove top cooking is, it requires precise combinations of ingredients. But I was feeling brave! And maybe a little bit reckless too.

Banana bread mid-bake and final-bake toothpick test.

It wasn’t until mid-bake that I sensed I was actually on a good path and breathed a sigh of relief. Toothpick test to confirm it was completely cooked at the end also helped.

I must say visually this turned out great, even compelling for me. But when I did a teeny tiny taste test, I absolutely hated it! The texture was less dense and more airy than a regular version, which was nice, but the taste of the protein powder was omnipresent. Did I mention I strongly dislike that taste? My husband on the other hand tasted it and found it pleasant, especially since he can consume 12g of protein from one slice. Since I baked this bread for his benefit, I am content with the outcome. While I plan to never put this in my mouth, he plans to indulge in it after gym sessions. I froze half the slices for him.

Overall, what an interesting experiment! It was a good way to kill time that day.

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High Protein Banana Bread Recipe

Wet ingredients:

• 4-5 mashed ripe bananas (~400g give or take)

• ~1 cup greek yogurt (I had Clover low-fat version on hand)

• 2 large eggs

• Optional (which I did not use):

  • 1/3 to 1/4 cup apple sauce (I did not have any, I figured adding an extra banana would do the trick)

  • 1-3 tbsp honey or another sweetener (I figured over ripe bananas and protein powder provide plenty of sweetness)

  • 1-2 tsp vanilla extract (I did not have any and figured I didn’t need any b/c of the vanilla flavored protein powder)

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose wheat flour

• 1 cup protein powder (I had whey vanilla ice cream protein powder at home)

• 2 tsp baking powder (probably best to have a mix of baking soda and baking powder but I did not have any)

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon (per taste)

• ~1/2 cup nuts

  • I had pecans & cashews to chop and fold into batter.

  • I happened to be roasting hazelnuts and brazil nuts so decided to decorate the top of the bread with those.

  • I believe traditionally walnuts are used, I did not have any.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350C

• Grease a pan (I used 8 x 8)

• Combine wet ingredients in a bigger bowl

• Combine dry ingredients in a smaller bowl

• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients to combine well, don’t over mix

• Fold in chopped nuts into the batter

• Pour batter into greased pan, decorate with nuts if desired

• Bake at 350C for 45m - 60m (check after 45m with a toothpick and continue baking until it comes out clean)

• Cool for 5-10 mins before digging in

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Dish Debrief

• Is this my winner or disaster? leaning towards a win (him), disaster (me)

• How would I rate this dish out of 10? 7/10 (him), 2/10 (me)

• What would I change next time? add flax seeds or chia seeds for more fiber

• Would I make this again? maybe in a year for others, never for me

My Substack doesn’t always focus on high protein recipes. I cook as my head and heart desires and happily live with the edible disasters and delicious winners. However, if you are looking for high protein recipes, I recommend subscribing to

Protein Cuizine

by

Marcus Matkins

who shares tasty recipes that are healthy and have lots of protein.