Healthy Banana Recipes to Kick Off the New Year
With the turn of the years, you might be considering your resolutions for 2020. Many individuals resolve to eat healthier and start working out, but how often do people actually stick to these objectives? Sometimes, adjusting towards a healthy diet can be more challenging and more expensive than originally anticipated.
We get it: life gets busy, cravings creep in and suddenly cooking a healthy meal doesn’t seem so appealing. Well, if living a healthy lifestyle is top of your priorities for 2020, this blog post is for you! We’re sharing some fast, simple, and convenient ways to be healthy, compliments of a few of our favorite healthy banana recipes. Easy to make and full of flavor, eating healthier will suddenly feel like a breeze.
Before we get into the recipes, let’s discuss why bananas are such an amazing fruit to add into your diet. For starters, they are chock-full of potassium and fiber. Potassium is a vital nutrient in our bodies and helps keep our hearts healthy and our blood pressure under control. Fiber can help improve digestive health which is vulnerable to a variety of ailments. Bananas are also great sources of vitamin B6 and vitamin C which help your body maintain internal health. In fact, bananas have long been loved by athletes because they are such great sources of energy and can help reduce soreness or muscle cramps. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, they’re also an amazing alternative to a lot of ingredients and add sweetness to any recipe.
Of course, bananas are great on their own, but they can be even tastier and more filling when combined with other healthy ingredients. Since they are readily available all year round, these recipes can be enjoyed in any season (and at any time of the day). If you’re ready to start eating healthier 2020, try incorporating some of these recipes into your daily rotation.
Healthy Banana Bread
Banana bread is one of those classic, go-to baked goods that warms our bellies and can be enjoyed any time of day. This recipe takes it to another level, maintaining all the flavor without the processed sugars that most banana breads have. We love this bread for a rainy day when you need a last-minute crowd-pleaser. It is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and honey and can easily be made vegan or gluten-free. If you’re feeling adventurous, banana bread rewards creativity. Make this recipe your own by adding chopped walnuts or chocolate chips for some added texture.
Vegan Banana Pancakes
Who doesn’t love pancakes?! This recipe is so simple and only takes 20 minutes. It’s a quick and easy breakfast and these pancakes are just as fluffy as the real deal, sans any animal products. They are packed with potassium, which is great for cardiovascular health, and they are loaded with gut-healthy fiber. Try these healthy banana pancakes alone or with some fruit on top to add extra sweetness.
Vegan Banana Muffins with Sweet Apple Chunks
These muffins are as healthy as they are yummy and are a great breakfast for kids or adults. The recipe calls for browned bananas, which are full of their own natural sugar, and are sweet enough to replace granulated sugar. It’s a five-star recipe that proves how delicious vegan recipes can be! You will definitely find yourself eating multiple of these a day. Luckily, they’re so easy to whip up that you won’t have to worry about replenishing your supply 😉
Vegan Coconut Banana Cheesecake
You don’t have to give up sweets in order to stay healthy. This cheesecake is an excellent example of pleasing your sugar craving in a guilt-free, quick way. It’s such a tasty recipe, you’ll forget you are eating bananas. Fresh coconut and sweet banana prove to be a perfect combination in this dish that will fully satisfy your sweet tooth.
Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt
Strawberries and bananas make a great pair and this recipe is perfect for when you’re craving something sweet without a ton of calories. It beats most store-bought frozen treats, which are full of high-fructose corn syrup. This is another great way to use ripe bananas for their sweetness. Did we mention it only takes five ingredients and this frozen yogurt can be served in two minutes? Sold and sold.
Banana Oatmeal Fitness Cookies
These are perfect for on-the-go mornings or right before your workouts. They contain bananas and lots of oats, which are both great energizers. Opting to make these fitness bars at home significantly cuts back on your sugar consumption, especially when compared to normal store-bought granola. The numbers on this one tell the rest of the story: check out the nutritional facts at the bottom of the recipe to see how truly amazing these cookies are.
These recipes are irresistible, easy, and so good for you, not to mention, it’s so much fun to experiment with new recipes. Bananas are wonderful on their own. They are great on their own and can be mixed with so many other ingredients to create something even more wonderful. With their natural sugars, ripe bananas are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth without hopping off your healthy eating agenda.
The bottom line is that bananas offer so many health benefits and can be used in so many different ways. From improving cardiovascular health, to helping maintain a healthy digestive system, the perks of eating bananas go on and on. Because of how dense in nutrients and low in calories bananas are, they are an excellent addition to a healthy diet. Once you really get into eating healthy, you’ll be amazed at how much more energy you’ll have alongside an overall increase in your general well-being. We hope these recipes encourage you to kick off 2020 on a healthy note. Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated; these recipes are proof that adding necessary nutrients to your diet can be simple.
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