Not to give myself a pat on the back, but over my time spent in quarantine, I was very successful in my baking experiments. However, I was aware that if I wanted to keep up with my baking habits, which always result in excessive food consumption, I should try to make recipes that were a bit healthier. Through trial and error, I discovered the most delicious “healthy” baking recipes that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and provide comfort during these times of uncertainty.
As I’m sure everyone knows, banana bread was all the craze during Quarantine. I don’t know about you, but every time my mom traveled to the grocery store to restock our cabinets, I asked her to get bushels and bushels of bananas for baking. My favorite recipe that I found comes from a food blog called Ambitious Kitchen. Monique, the page’s creator, has a wonderful formula, which she titled “Best Ever Healthy Banana Bread.” This recipe is incredibly tasty and only requires a handful of ingredients. Monique recommends using overripe bananas, eggs to make it dense and fluffy, pure maple syrup (a more natural sweetener), greek yogurt for moisture and protein, vanilla extract, whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda to help the bread rise and give it the perfect texture, cinnamon, and salt for improved flavor, butter, which can be substituted for olive oil, coconut oil, or vegan butter, and the optional addition of walnuts and chocolate chips. I promise you, as a longtime lover of banana bread, this recipe is PERFECT. It tastes just like the banana bread I grew up eating as a child, which most definitely contained all the additives that deem this wonderful bread as a decadent dessert. It serves as the perfect breakfast or midday sweet and is guaranteed to make every member of your house a happy eater. Please try this out the next time you can!
Here is the link to this recipe if you are interested!: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/my-favorite-healthy-banana-bread-recipe/
Healthful Radiance is yet another healthy food blogger who I anxiously wait on my Instagram feed to post recipes. I have tried out a bunch of her recipes, but her Lemon Olive Oil Loaf is my all-time favorite. If you are a lover of lemon poppyseed bread, this is the one for you. The ingredients are super simple and can be made into a bread loaf, muffins, cupcakes, etc. (I have tried them all so I can prove this theory). The recipes calls for 1 cup of flour, 1 egg or flax egg if you’re vegan, ¼ cup of lemon juice. ½ cup of maple syrup, ⅓ cup of olive oil, a dash of sea salt, a splash of vanilla, a pinch of baking powder, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and poppy seeds (optional). You then place your mixture into the given pan of your choice and bake at 350 for around forty minutes. Something I really love about recipes like this is that they are so simple and do not require a lot of precision. The recipe can be easily catered to your own tasting and allows a lot of room for modifications. For example, I left my loaf in the oven for around ten minutes longer than what the recipe recommended because I prefer a more firm bread. Either way, this Lemon Olive Oil Loaf turns out absolutely delectable and is another great breakfast option or midday treat. I know I am going to continue to make this for years ahead!
Angie’s website can be found at this link: https://healthfulradiance.com/
I am someone who loves to start my day off with something sweet. I am also obsessed with any food that involves coconut and chocolate. When I saw a recipe for Almond Joy Breakfast Cookies, I knew I had to make them myself. More often than not, my family is resistant to trying my healthier versions of traditional baked goods; however, this one was a hit in my house! I found this fantastic recipe on a YouTube channel called Clean & Delicious (https://www.youtube.com/user/danispies), which offers countless other delightful recipes. These breakfast cookies are incredibly simple to make and take little to no time to prepare. All you need is 1 banana, ½ cup of coconut oil, 1 egg, 2 and ½ cups of oats, ¼ cup of unsweetened coconut shreds, ¼ cup of chopped almonds, a teaspoon of baking powder, stevia (measured to your liking), almond extract, and most importantly – chocolate chips! Once everything is combined and formed into balls, you bake at 350 for twenty minutes. I recommend cooling them in the fridge for at least an hour before eating. These are perfect if you’re on the go or just as a sweet treat in the morning to start your day on a high note. If you are new to baking, these breakfast cookies are a perfect place to start and are sure to please everyone’s taste buds!
A link to a more helpful tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH21B6H-haM&t=8s&ab_channel=Clean%26Delicious
These three recipes are just a few of the many delicious creations I made during my time in quarantine, but I can claim that these have been my favorite (further proven by the multiple times I have chosen to remake them as opposed to trying something new!) These recipes are also very straightforward and require no novice in the kitchen. Similarly, the creators of these recipes post very frequently and offer wonderful cooking and baking recipes alike. Let me know if you discover any yummy food concoctions that I have yet to try!
Disclaimer: Her Campus St. Law U is neither sponsored by nor affiliated with any brands or companies mentioned in this article.
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