Throughout my childhood, my family celebrated the 4th of July like most people in our town: with backyard BBQs, big scoops of ice cream, and watching fireworks exploding in the night sky from neighborhood parks. But a few years, my mom scheduled a business trip to Phoenix the week before, so we spent those patriotic holidays with my grandparents in southern Arizona instead.
With sweltering temperatures close to 110°, we changed a few of our 4th of July traditions. We skipped the BBQ, opting instead for cold deli sandwiches with plenty of juicy watermelon, plus lots of time spent indoors during the afternoon playing board games or piecing together puzzles while enjoying the modern miracle of air conditioning.
But we still kept fireworks and ice cream on our agenda, just with a slightly different twist, and that little modification quickly became my favorite part of the entire month. Because my grandpa is diabetic yet has a huge sweet tooth (which he probably passed on to us!), Grandma rarely kept ice cream in the freezer. Instead…
We drove across town to Dairy Queen! Way back then, DQ hadn’t made its way up to where my family lived, so we could only indulge on those summertime trips to my grandparents’. Even simply walking into the store was a real treat!
Although the blizzards and chocolate-dipped cones always sounded tempting, Mom usually picked up dilly bars for all of us, with the reasoning that they’d probably melt slower and therefore make it back to the house before turning into a big, sticky mess. Then we’d rush into the backyard, rearrange the patio furniture, and face the direction of the local high school where the city set off a long show of dazzling fireworks.
Such a fun holiday!
But this year, I realized that we’ve never had any tradition involving breakfast. Sure, we’ve had our fair share of apple pie and homemade ice cream and red-white-and-blue desserts, but… Never anything healthy to start the day. But now I’m changing that with this Whole Wheat Strawberry Blueberry Banana Bread!
This gorgeous loaf is made healthier and clean eating friendly with a few simple swaps. It uses 100% whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!), and it’s naturally sweetened with mashed banana and a hint of honey. But only a tiny bit—we want this banana bread to taste like breakfast food, not a sugary sweet dessert!
Unlike traditional recipes that require lots of oil, this loaf merely uses 1 tablespoon. Yes, that’s it! The rest of the tender texture comes from the mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives the banana bread a little protein boost too.
I opted for fresh berries since they’re currently in season and relatively cheap, but it was nearly impossible to keep myself from eating both baskets while washing and slicing them… Summer berries are so juicy and sweet! However, frozen would work too, although you may need to bake the loaf slightly longer. Just remember—frozen blueberries bleed, unlike fresh, and will turn the bread gray in color.
Then bake, slice, and enjoy your healthy start to the 4th of July!
| Whole Wheat Strawberry Blueberry Banana Bread | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (200g) mashed banana (about 2 medium)
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) honey
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- ½ cup (80g) diced fresh strawberries (about 4 medium-large)
- ½ cup (70g) fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a 9”x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, Greek yogurt, and honey, mixing until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the strawberries and blueberries.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Any milk will work in place of the nonfat milk.
Frozen berries may be substituted instead. Thaw the strawberries slightly, just enough to dice, but add both them and the blueberries while still frozen. The loaf may need to be baked longer; use the toothpick test to determine when it’s done. (Remember, frozen blueberries bleed and will turn the loaf slightly gray in color.)
To make the banana bread easier to remove from the pan, line the pan with foil first before coating it with cooking spray!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
More healthy 4th of July recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Skinny Ice Cream Sandwiches by Crazy for Crust
♥ 4th of July Fruit Salad Cones by Bakers Royale
♥ Red White and Blueberry Popsicles by The View from Great Island
♥ 4th of July Fruit Kabobs by Spicy Southern Kitchen
Hi Amy,
Would you know why my strawberry-blueberry banana bread turn out tasting kind of like cardboard. My bananas were really ripped as should be. The taste was kind of ok when the bread was hot but when cooled, tasted like cardboard, had to throw it away.
Thank You in advance for your response.
I’m honored that you tried my recipe, Monique! That sounds disappointing and not at all like how this banana bread should be. I’m happy to help figure out why that was. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Would you mind elaborating a bit more about what you mean by “cardboard?” (For example, not sweet enough, no banana flavor, etc!)
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure the ingredients, especially the flour, bananas, honey, and milk?
How ripe were your bananas? Were they almost entirely brown or black?
Did you use fresh or frozen berries?
Can you describe the texture of your fully cooled banana bread?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea once I know your answers to all of them!
Thank You for taking the time. The taste was not too bad when it was hot but fad after it cooled and like almost eating a piece of paper, don’t quite know how to explain . I used very ripped brown bananas and the only substitute I made is the flour, used all purpose white flour, measured with a measuring cup without packing it. Also lined my pan with foil. Would like to mention that your recipes usually turns out great!
It’s my pleasure, Monique! I’m happy to help, and it really means a lot that you’ve tried so many of my recipes. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
In order to solve this banana bread mystery, I do need to know your answers to all of the questions I previously asked. Would you mind sharing your answers to the rest of the questions? That additional information will be SO helpful for me, so thank you in advance!
Tried this one and turned out true magic. Instead strawberries i used blueberries and a little less milk.
Doubled the quantity and baked for 1:05 hour in ceramic dish.
Incredible. Keep up the great work girl 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed this banana bread, Stan! Thanks for taking the time to let me know — it means a lot! 🙂
Dear Amy:
I was just about to make your Ultimate Banana Bread, when I found this recipe. I had been looking for something to do with some frozen blueberries in my freezer, and this came out great! Me and my family loved it, specially my dad, who claimed a half all to himself! I used the tip you gave me for the ultimate banana bread (with liquid Stevia), and I liked it a lot, although I might add a bit more next time (for my sweet tooth!) I also replaced the strawberries with more blueberries, because I didn’t have strawberries. Thank you so much for this recipe, it was delicious!
What a HUGE compliment, if your dad claimed half all for himself! I’m so glad everyone loved this banana bread. Thank you for taking the time to let me know, Clara! 🙂
PS You’re right — you can easily increase the sweetness level with a bit more liquid stevia, if you’d like. If you try making it again, I hope you like that sweeter version even better!
Thanks so much for responding Amy! I will definitely make this recipe again sometime (or all the time!)
You’re welcome, Clara! Thank YOU for your incredibly sweet comments — they always put the biggest smile on my face! 🙂
Hi Amy, if I used a muffin pan would the calories be the same. I have made your banana blueberry whole wheat and bran muffins so many times. I love them and so does my family.
You’re so sweet, Karen! It means so much that you love those muffins and have many them many times. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
If you’d like to divide this batter between 12 muffin cups, then yes! The calories per muffin should remain the same as the calories per slice. The muffins will finish baking much sooner than the loaf though, so just keep an eye on them! I’d recommend starting to check around 18 minutes. They’ll probably take longer, but it’s always easier to pop them back in the oven to keep baking than it is to salvage burned muffins. 😉 They’ll be done when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with some crumbs attached.
I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe if you end up making it!
Thank you for getting back to me. I will let you know how they came out
It’s my pleasure, Karen! I’m really looking forward to it! 🙂