When you adopt a zero waste cooking lifestyle, you have to have a plan for your bananas. It’s almost inevitable that you will have one or two overripe bananas left from every bunch you buy. You can use them in smoothies, make a frozen treat, or bake muffins or a loaf of banana bread.
Weekends are a perfect time to bake banana bread. If you notice the bananas ripening during the week, pop them in the refrigerator and make a loaf on your day off.
Using up Commonly Wasted Foods
Dairy tops the list for food waste, and fresh produce is a close second. If you buy plain yogurt by the quart, you might occasionally find yourself with a small portion left in the bottom of the container. If it’s a few days past the ‘best by’ date, you can bake with it. In general you can substitute 1/4 cup of yogurt for an egg, or in the case of banana bread, for one banana.
This version also used up some plain yogurt that I had left and some fresh blueberries and raspberries that were ripening as well. Most banana bread recipes call for 3 bananas, I had 2, so I subbed in the yogurt. Using what you have on hand is the key to zero waste cooking!
Want to make these gluten-free? Simply swap in 2 cups of peanut flour for the white and whole wheat flour.
Zero Waste Berry-Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt regular or Greek, or sour cream
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour you can use all white flour if desired
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup mixed berries blueberries, raspberries or chopped strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan or spray with cooking spray.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Whip until mostly smooth.
- Add the oil, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir until well-combined and set aside.
- Measure the dry ingredients (flour through sugar) in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the banana mixture, and mix by hand until just combined.
- Gently fold in the berries. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove to cooling rack.
- This recipe will also make 24 mini-muffins. Spray pan with vegetable spray. Fill each mini muffin cup with about 1/8 cup of batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes.You can also make 12 standard muffins: Pour batter into greased muffin tin, and bake for 20-22 minutes.
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