Q & A Thursday: is banana bread healthy?
Posted by kathryn in Q & A Thursday and Food & Health Myths
A friend asked me this question during the week – is banana bread healthy?
Don’t let the use of the word “banana” fool you. Banana bread is not a health food, it’s cake.
A slice of banana bread from a cafe or grocery store contains:
- 1,400 kilojoules
- 6g of fat
- 30g of sugar(source:Choice).
In contrast one small banana is about 350kJ.
If you make your own, you can control the fat and kilojoule content to some extent. For example this recipe, made with skim milk and cut into 20 slices would yield 570kJ – a significant improvement.
It’s an occasional food, the every day choice is to eat the fruit itself.
12 July, 2007
Comments
Banana bread can be healthy. It depends on how it is made.
Here are some simple point.
Use brown flour instead of white.
Use 2 eggs, keeping one of the yoke and the other out.
Replace sugar with dates.
Light or skim milk instead of full fat milk.
So why is this not healthy?
Dragan, thanks for your comment. I agree banana bread can be improved on. As you’ll note from the post, I do link to a healthier version – which can be included in a balanced diet. Thanks for your ideas, they’re also really useful in making banana bread better.
My point in the post though, is that cake with fruit in it, is still cake – and not a health food. And most of the banana bread you buy from shops and cafes is in this category.
Making your own, means you have control over the ingredients and you can make a better version.
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