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I'm not sure why, but I really love my mini loaf pans. I think it's because it our minds play a huge role in our feelings of satiation and satisfaction with our meals. If we believe that what we're eating as a normal portion (or very large portion), we will likely feel more satisfied.
If I were to have a single slice of Blueberry Banana Bread with my breakfast, or even two, I'd likely feel like I really hadn't consumed much. However, when I get to enjoy the ENTIRE mini loaf, I'm one happy lady!
If you haven't noticed this about yourself, start paying attention to how food presentation impacts your feelings of fullness and/or satisfaction with meals. The same principle applies to using smaller plates. Research shows that filling up a small plate tricks your brain into thinking that you're getting more than the same amount of food on a large plate. Try it out if you don't believe me.
Anyway, onto the bread! You can use any gluten-free all purpose blend, but I prefer to use oat flour (I blend my own). This provides more protein and more fiber than most all purpose blends. It also yields a very moist loaf. I eat breakfast after working out and am generally pretty hungry. I want to make sure that my breakfast satisfies my appetite so that I'm not looking for snacks all morning. I'll have the full loaf with a little peanut butter and I'll pan-fry some turkey slices for added protein. If you aren't typically hungry in the morning, 1/2 of a loaf with a protein on the side (such as 2 eggs) would be a great option!
Makes 3 mini loaves- Serving size: 1 full loaf
Ingredients
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3/4 cup oat flour*
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1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (I used Vega Proteins and Greens)
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1 ½ Tbsp ground flaxseed** (mix with 5 tbsp lukewarm water and let sit for 5 min to make flax “eggs”)
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1 ½ Mashed bananas (ripe yields a sweeter loaf)
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1/2 cup blueberries
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1/2 tsp baking soda
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1/4 tsp baking powder
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2 Tbsp plain yogurt*** (I used So Delicious Plain, Unsweetened Coconut yogurt)
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Optional: 2 tbsp Erythritol or Stevia Baking Blend. I didn’t use it because the protein powder and banana made it sweet enough for me.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together
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In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients
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Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well blended. Spray a non-stick mini loaf pan.
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Pour in batter and bake the mini loaves at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, until firm on top.
Notes
* Use gluten-free oats if necessary. I just blended my own oats in my food processor. Note—1 cup of oats doesn’t equal 1 cup of oat flour. Blend and measure appropriately.
** Feel free to use 1 egg + 1 egg white instead of flax eggs
*** Greek yogurt or any other yogurt will work. Alternatively, you can use unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree.