Are you someone who loves to bake banana bread? So many people say that it’s one of their favorite indulgences, especially around the holidays.
Eating banana bread with your friends and family on the weekends always feels like a treat. Plus, it’s great that baking this quick bread is so simple.
You might be worried about eating it so often, though. Is banana bread healthy or is it something that you need to avoid eating too often?
Keep reading to find out whether or not it’s good for you. Once you have all of the information it’ll be simpler to make good decisions about your banana bread consumption.
Is Banana Bread Bad for You?
If you think that banana bread is healthy because it contains fruit you should brace yourself. Sadly, most types of banana bread that people bake are rather unhealthy.
A typical banana bread recipe includes ingredients that make each slice high in calories. Banana bread contains lots of calories, carbohydrates, and sugar. These are all things that you need to consume in moderation.
So banana bread has healthy ingredients, but it also has ingredients that aren’t so healthy. It’s fine to eat it as a snack, but you need to exercise moderation when doing so.
Otherwise, you’re going to consume more calories in a day than you might realize. Be careful and banana bread can easily be a part of your weekend as a treat, but it shouldn’t be a regular food that you eat.
Is It Fattening?
If you eat a lot of banana bread it’s likely that you will gain weight. Banana bread is considered to be fattening because it contains many calories and carbohydrates.
Those who are trying to diet should likely refrain from eating it. It’s not a good food to consume when your goal is to lose weight.
However, you can enjoy it while on a diet so long as you don’t go overboard. You need to have just one or two slices.
Also, you need to count the calories for the slice of banana bread and add them to your daily total. So long as you don’t consume too many calories in a day it should be easy enough to stay on track with your diet.
It’s also worth noting that many modern diets suggest days when people eat more calories than usual. So banana bread could be useful to you on those days.
How to Make Banana Bread Healthy
Making banana bread healthy involves using a recipe that uses healthier ingredients. You can substitute certain ingredients such as butter to make it less caloric.
One idea is to replace the flour that you’re using with whole wheat flour. Refined flour adds sugar to the recipe, but whole wheat flour will be a healthier option.
You could avoid adding traditional sugar to the mixture as well. Instead of adding white sugar, you could sweeten the bread using either maple syrup or honey.
This will alter the taste of the bread, but it’s a healthier alternative that many will still enjoy. Instead of using butter, you might wish to use a healthier type of oil.
Many people choose to use coconut oil when attempting to bake healthy banana bread. Virgin coconut oil works great, but you can use vegetable oil as well if that’s all you have.
The bread will taste very good, but it’s going to be different than what you’re used to. So some might not like the idea of changing the traditional banana bread recipe.
It all comes down to your personal tastes. You might love this new type of quick bread or you might prefer the classic recipe.
Either way, you should know that you can find healthy recipes online and in popular cookbooks.
How Many Calories Are in Banana Bread?
It’s impossible to say what the exact number of calories will be in your banana bread. This is because it depends on what ingredients you’re using.
Some recipes are going to contain more calories than others. If you use a healthy recipe, you might wind up eating fewer calories per slice compared to standard banana bread.
That being said, there is some average information that can give you an idea of what to expect. When using a traditional banana bread recipe, one slice will contain around 200 calories.
Expect to consume around six grams of fat and thirty-three grams of carbohydrates as well. Take this information with a grain of salt since your banana bread is likely going to be a bit different.
How Many Calories Are in a Slice?
As mentioned above, one slice of banana bread usually contains around 200 calories. However, this number can differ greatly depending on the recipe that you’re using.
Some types will have fewer calories due to using healthier ingredients. So you need specific information about the recipe that you’re following.
Otherwise, there’s no way to truly know how many calories a slice of banana bread will contain. The 200-calorie figure that’s being given is just an estimate based on standard recipes.
It’s also possible that you might eat larger slices than usual. So then you’d be consuming more calories at once.
How Many Carbs Are in Banana Bread?
A slice of banana bread will likely contain at least six grams of carbohydrates. Much like the information above, it’s hard to determine the exact number because it can change.
If you use a different recipe, the banana bread might contain fewer carbs than usual. So find a healthy low-carb recipe if you’re worried about carbohydrate consumption.
Is Banana Bread Low FODMAP?
FODMAP is a type of diet that some people follow. Bananas are considered to be low FODMAP, and banana bread can also be considered as such.
However, you have to follow a specific recipe. Since FODMAP is starting to become more popular, people are making recipes based on it.
So you can find a low FODMAP banana bread recipe and follow that if you’d like. That’s the best way to ensure that your banana bread will adhere to the proper standards.
Is Banana Bread Kosher?
What if you need to follow a kosher diet due to your religious principles? Is banana bread kosher?
Not all banana bread is kosher, but you can easily find kosher banana bread recipes. These recipes make sure to use kosher ingredients such as kosher salt.
If you’re concerned about following a kosher diet, it’s best to look up kosher banana bread recipes. This will help you to enjoy tasty banana bread without having to worry.
Is It High in Fiber?
Generally, banana bread is not considered to be high in fiber. Most types will be low in fiber and protein.
Some recipes might have more fiber than others. There are high-fiber banana bread recipes that make it easier to consume a significant amount of fiber while enjoying your dessert.
Bananas by themselves are a good source of fiber as well, but banana bread doesn’t contain enough bananas to be high in fiber. One slice will likely contain only 0.7 grams of fiber unless you’re using a high-fiber recipe.
Is It Keto Friendly?
Banana bread would be very unfriendly when it comes to the keto diet. Keto diets involve eating very little (close to zero) carbohydrates.
A normal banana bread recipe contains many carbohydrates. So it’s not good to eat while doing a keto diet.
Of course, there are keto banana bread recipes out there. Many people have adapted traditional recipes to make them keto friendly.
If you like the keto diet, it’ll be worth looking into keto banana bread. It won’t taste the same as traditional banana bread, but it will be an alternative that you can potentially enjoy.
Does Banana Bread Have Potassium?
You will get some potassium by eating banana bread. A slice of banana bread is expected to contain eighty milligrams of potassium on average.
It should be noted that raw bananas are a better source of potassium. You lose some of the potassium when you bake them.
So if you need to add potassium to your diet you might want to consume some bananas without putting them in banana bread. Just eat the fruit and you’ll have better luck.
Save It for the Weekends
It’s probably best not to eat banana bread during the week. Since one slice contains nearly 200 calories on average, it’s best to avoid eating it most days.
This food will have some nutritional value, but it’s not a good use of your 2,000 calories per day when on a standard diet. On the weekend, most people allow themselves to eat a little more food.
You might eat some snacks on the weekend or even just one day on the weekend. For example, you might designate Saturday as your cheat day.
This means you can eat some snacks and not worry about counting calories. You’re strict on your diet during the week and relax a bit on your cheat day.
Enjoy banana bread only occasionally and it won’t be a big deal. If you would like to eat it more often than this, be sure to count your calories so you don’t go overboard.
Final Thoughts
You should have a much better idea about how healthy banana bread is now. It’s not a healthy type of food, but it’s a dessert that you can eat occasionally.
It’s not the unhealthiest dessert food that you can choose. Banana bread does contain many beneficial nutrients, but it’s also typically high in calories, sugar, and fat content.
There are healthy banana bread recipes out there that make it a bit better. People have made recipes that replace certain ingredients with healthy alternatives.
So you can look into this if you’d like to make this dessert a bit healthier than normal. Otherwise, you should be sure to only enjoy this food in moderation.
Be careful and make sure not to overeat. It’s easy to indulge in a few too many slices when it turns out very tasty.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.