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! I am excited to try this recipe, but my bread pan is an 8×4, so Im thinking of just making muffins with the mix instead? Do you think that would work?
Thanks!
Yes, muffins would definitely work Lindsey! You could also use your loaf pan and bake it for longer. If the top starts to turn too brown before the center is all the way baked through, then cover the top with foil. That trick will prevent the top from getting any darker while helping the center cook a little faster. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try either option!
I made this and love it. But can you tell me how yours came out so light in color? Mine is definitely a brown bread.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the banana bread Susan! Did you watch the recipe video? I followed the recipe exactly there, so you can see the color of my batter and bread at each stage. Perhaps your whole wheat flour was darker in color or you baked it for longer? Or did your berries bleed into the batter? That could also have made it darker… But my first guess would be the flour that you used! I use Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour in my recipes that call for regular whole wheat flour. 🙂
Do you happen to know the calories/ slice or serving?
The full nutrition information is underneath the recipe! It can be easy to miss. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the banana bread Joelle!
Hi Amy!
I’ve book marked this and can’t wait to make it with my 7 year old, who loves to bake! I have 3 questions.
I’ve never made bread before and just bought the loaf pan, the size of the pan is
8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 – it’s a medium loaf pan. Is that enough or do I need a bigger one?
Also can I use regular yogurt instead of Greek? I have lots of 3% yogurt that I need to use up…
Last question – can I do half whole wheat & half white flour?
Thank you, for such an amazing fruity bread recipe, can’t wait to get started!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Shay! (1) Yes, that loaf pan is perfect! Many standard 9×5″ loaf pans are actually just a tad bit smaller and are exactly the same size as yours. (2) Yes, regular or 3% yogurt will be fine! (3) Yes to this too! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you and your 7-year-old think of this banana bread! 🙂
Hi Amy! I made this bread over the weekend and love it! Thanks for sharing! The only thing is it came out slightly dry for me. Any ideas or suggestions for when I make it again?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the banana bread Katie! If it turned out dry, there was probably too much flour in the batter. Did you use measuring cups to scoop it directly from the container? When measured like that, you can end up with 1.5 times as much flour as when you lightly spoon and level, and that extra flour will definitely cause the issues that you experienced! If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with moist and tender banana bread. Does that make sense? 🙂
Yes, thank you!!
My pleasure Katie! 🙂
Why do you use just egg whites?
To lower the fat, cholesterol, and calorie count! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this banana bread Shalie!
This looks great! Question, can I use just oats flour? Would it work?
I don’t recommend oat flour because it’ll make this banana bread overly dense. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think if you try it Lizzie!
Question! Every time I make this it is super uncooked in the middle. What can I do to make it cook evenly? Should I use less bananas?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Katelyn! Let’s get this sorted out. 🙂 Are you measuring the mashed banana with a measuring cup, or just using 2 medium bananas? Also, do you use the toothpick test to determine when it’s done, or do you remove it after 50 minutes without checking? I have a few things in mind, but your answers will help me give you the best solution!
Measuring the bananas worked perfect!!! I was usually just mashing up 2 whole bananas. I love this recipe, so glad its all cooked through! Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad that worked Katelyn! 🙂 It’s my pleasure!
Can I use coconut flour for this recipe? It’s what I currently have on hand. Thanks!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kathi! Coconut flour won’t work in this recipe. I’d love to hear what you think if you’re able to try it with one of the flour options I’ve listed! 🙂