Day 11 of our 30-day nutrition challenge is all about introducing you to some new recipes switching sugar for fruit to make baking just that little bit healthier – remember it’s all about moderation so why shouldn’t we enjoy baking?
Adding fruit to baking means you also get the added benefit of fibre, vitamins and minerals. A good tip if you’re using bananas is to make sure they’re as ripe as possible.
Sugar-Free Oat Cookies (from Real Lunchtime Food by Jenny Tschiesche)
- Coconut oil, for greasing
- 90g rolled oats
- 50g ground sunflower seeds or /pumpkin seeds (use a food processor to grind to a powder/flour)
- 100g desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 75g coconut oil, melted
- A good handful of any of the following: unsulphured dried apricots cut into very small pieces, raisins, or cranberries or alternatively you can add a tsp of blackstrap molasses
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/Fan 180ºC/Gas 6. Grease two baking sheets with some coconut oil. In a bowl combine the oats, ground seeds, desiccated coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder. In a second bowl, mash together the banana, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in the food processor and add the handful of dried fruit or cacao nibs – do not process, just mix. Using your hands, make the dough into about 12 balls then flatten them into cookies and place them on to the baking trays. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Fruit nice-cream (adapted from The Good Stuff, L Miller)
- 3 ripe bananas
- 200g frozen berries
Peel and chop the bananas adding them to a freezer bag before freezing. Blitz the frozen chopped banana with the frozen berries until they make a paste.
Banana bread (adapted from taste.com.au)
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup olive/coconut oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1tsp vanilla
- 1 cup w/meal flour
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1tsp bicarbonate soda
Preheat oven to 160C. Line a 12x22cm loaf tin with baking paper. In a bowl mash bananas until smooth, adding in all wet ingredients then dry ingredients. Mix well. Add to baking tray and bake for 1 hour 10mins.
Simple coconut cookies (adapted from the queenofdelicious.com)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1/3 cup oats
- 2 ripe bananas
Preheat oven to 180C. Mash bananas in a bowl with a fork until smooth, then add coconut and oats. Mix well. Form cookies and add to baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 20mins
We’ve written a great Sugar alternatives blog for further information on sugar swaps, and you can also find out more in our webinars and our Bitesize Nutrition podcasts with Jenny Tschiesche (The Lunchbox Dr). If you’re new to podcasts you can listen free without registration on your phone or PC by clicking on the podcast link in this paragraph or you can also find Bitesize Nutrition on iTunes & Spotify.
Don’t forget to let us know what you think using #nutritionchallenge30
A reminder:
- The information in this article is for educational purposes and should not replace medical advice.
- The information is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition.
- If you have a diagnosed medical condition, you should consult a doctor before making any major changes to your diet, and;
- Some supplements may interact with medications and you should check with your GP before commencing any supplement programme.
