Frugal Foodie Mama: Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread

This moist Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread with it's vanilla yogurt glaze only tastes like a decadent treat...

I am going to let you all in on a little secret right from the get-go- this Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread doesn't taste healthy at all. It actually tastes like a decadent treat. If you can imagine what it would taste like if moist banana bread and homemade carrot cake had a baby, then that is exactly what this banana bread tastes like. ;)

It is chock full of the good stuff- like shredded fresh carrots, ripe bananas, coconut oil, and nonfat vanilla yogurt. This bread is so moist that you would have no idea that there is whole wheat flour in it.

I always like to sneak in a little extra of the whole grains whenever I am baking. About 99% of the time, that little bit of whole wheat flour goes unnoticed by my picky eating guys.

Traditional carrot cake is usually topped with a cream cheese frosting, but that can add up to extra unnecessary calories and fat grams pretty quickly. By making a quick glaze with tangy and sweet nonfat vanilla yogurt, you can sort of trick your taste buds into thinking you are enjoy a slice of homemade cake carrot with a decadent cream cheese icing... ;)

My carrot cake-loving husband couldn't get enough of this banana bread. In fact, he declared that it just very well might be his favorite of my homemade banana bread creations thus far. I'll take that! ;)

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

Author: Carrie Robinson

Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread

This moist Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread with it's vanilla yogurt glaze only tastes like a decadent treat.

prep time: 20 min cook time: 50 min total time: 70 min

ingredients:

For the banana bread

3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup grated carrots
1 egg
1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp coconut oil (in liquid form)
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

For the vanilla yogurt glaze

1/4 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup powdered sugar

instructions:

How to cook Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the white flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon.
In a larger mixing bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, sugar, egg, 1/2 cup yogurt, vanilla, and grated carrots over medium speed until well combined. Add in the coconut oil. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in the shredded coconut and chopped pecans.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a butter knife all along the edges. Flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the bread has cooled, prepare the vanilla yogurt glaze. Whisk together the 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt and powdered sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over top of the banana bread. Slice and enjoy!
Store any leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.