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
This banana bread looks like perfection with those fresh summer berries. I really hate overly sweet banana breads, they just seem too sickly however, with this one sweetened with the honey and banana, it definitely appeals to me more! Perfect for the 4th July as well!
Thanks Eve! That’s how I like my banana bread too — like a breakfast food! 😉
So pretty and patriotic!! 🙂
Thanks Andrea!
Love your patriotic take on banana bread!
Thanks Shashi!
I just love the way it looks and the fact that the ingredients are so light. And the fact that you wrote also the grams…this really helps the old fashioned type people who measure ingredients like this. Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Thanks for your kind words Anca! Because I was a chemist before a baking blogger, I actually prefer measuring in grams. It brings back fond memories of running experiments at work, and it also means fewer measuring cups to wash! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the loaf if you try it!
This looks fantastic! Will I get the same results with white whole wheat flour?
Yes, white whole wheat flour will work just fine! I hope you enjoy the loaf Claudine!
I just made 2 of these in the oven right now look delicious
last week I made the blueberry banana loaf and it was delicious love your recipes
Thank you
I’m so glad you enjoyed the blueberry version, and I really hope you enjoy this loaf too!
Just ate some and it’seems great
thanks again
I mean it is great delicious
thanks again
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
Made this yesterday with whole wheat pastry flour and about 2x as many blueberries because…um…does one need a reason for more blueberries?
Very yummy recipe – I was a little worried it wouldn’t be sweet enough but it really is. It’s not so unsweet that one would think it wasn’t a quick bread recipe, it’s just not as traditionally sweet as quick breads that practically seem like dessert breads. I had to bake closer to 55 min and my bread could’ve probably stayed in another few minutes without drying out (makes this a little forgiving for busy bakers). Hubby loved it, and we’re super psyched to add another healthy recipe to the regular rotation! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the banana bread Jamie! And you’re completely right, you can never have too many blueberries — especially right now when they’re in season! 🙂
This bread sounds so good and looks absolutely beautiful. I found your recipe on Pinterest. I’ll be including this in my summer berry round up for sure!
Thanks Brandi; I appreciate it! 🙂
for the milk can almond milk be used?
Yes! Almond milk will work just fine. I hope you enjoy the banana bread Alyssa!
wow!! Thank you so much for this recipe! My little girl and I have made it twice now and we absolutely love it. Last night we accidentally left out the milk but ist was still super moist and delicious. Thank you 🙂
I’m so glad you and your little girl are enjoying the banana bread Erika! That means a lot to me. 🙂