Wild Blueberry Banana Bread with Lemon Glaze
Does anyone else out there loathe ripe bananas? Yuck. I do. I will not touch a banana unless it still has a nice tinge of green to it. Brown spots? Fahgettaboudit. Those suckers make me gag. Too sweet. Too mushy. Too banana-y. Just thinking about eating one gives me the willies.
Thankfully, I can still handle ripe bananas in baked goods—in fact, that’s where ripe bananas are the best! The high sugar content helps to sweeten the dish and the soft texture of the fruit means it incorporates nicely into the batter. So grab your nearest spotted banana and let’s make some banana bread!
I’ve taken to calling this bread “super bread” because it is packed with an amazing amount of superfoods. Blueberries in general are a great nutritional choice because their dark skin packs in antioxidants that help block free radicals from damaging our cells. But wild blueberries have almost twice the amount of antioxidants over regular, cultivated blueberries.
From a taste perspective, I think wild blueberries are a game-changer. They are small, sweet and firm. I love using them in recipes because they tend to keep their shape and offer an amazing burst of berry flavor in the final dish. Wild blueberries are actually pretty easy to find. Check out the frozen fruit section of your grocery store and look specifically for “wild” written on the package. I’ve seen them at both Kroger and Walmart.
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Beyond the blueberries, I also took the opportunity to get in some super seeds and replaced 3/4 cup of the flour with ground flaxseeds. The flaxseed meal adds a subtly nutty flavor, a small amount of chew, and a ton of omega-3 fatty acid. There are two essential fatty acids that humans need to consume to keep their bodies running smoothly—omega-6s and omega-3s.
The typical American diet provides us with plenty of omega-6s thanks to eggs, nuts, and cooking oils, but we usually lack omega-3s. Any dish that packs in the omega-3s is a good thing (chia seeds are another awesome source of omega-3s).
Most breakfast breads or coffee cakes are so loaded with sugar and refined flour that they aren’t exactly appropriate for a healthy breakfast–this recipe is. The bread is sweetened by the banana and blueberries and accented with a small amount of honey. The flours are 100% whole grain. If you want to go 100% clean you can skip the confectioner’s sugar glaze, but I think it adds a fun, flavorful accent. And 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar never killed anyone. At least that I know of.
Looking for a grain-free or paleo recipe? Try our almond flour banana bread. No blueberries to be found? Our whole wheat banana bread may be what you’re looking for!
Wild Blueberry Banana Bread with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
For the Wild Blueberry Banana Bread:
- Cooking spray
- 1 medium ripe banana without peel, mashed
- ¾ cup golden flaxseed meal
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries plus 1 tablespoon, divided
For the Lemon Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the wild blueberry banana bread, preheat the oven to 350°F and thoroughly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Mix the mashed banana, flaxseed meal, buttermilk, honey, egg, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Mix the whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir until just mixed. Fold in one cup of the blueberries, reserving the remaining tablespoon for sprinkling on top.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the reserved blueberries across the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the bread cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl, add one tablespoon of lemon juice, and stir. Continue to stir in lemon juice a teaspoon at a time until it is a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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