Banana bread is an easy bread you can make for brunch.
And this one is a mixed batter (and not a proofing bread dough) before it’s in the oven, so you’ll save hours! Think of it like a quick pancake batter.
…And you can make this simple, where all you need is a pancake mix and a banana.
It has added matcha too.
…Oh, and then add a little milk and/or yogurt for moistness. You can also make your own easy banana bread mix with flour (gluten and gluten-free), baking powder, and choice of sweetness (such as maple syrup or honey that are good for breakfast and lower sugar than sugar).
You can also get your healthy ingredient adds in like matcha tea in banana bread.
Matcha is a healthy anti-inflammatory green tea, good for calming that also supports weight loss. 🍵
…Where less sugar is also going to support those efforts.
I also added in healthy gluten-freebuckwheatflour to the mix, that’s high in protein and fiber… and good in healthier pancakes and a recipe like this.
You can hide the healthy ingredients after you combine the ingredients.
But I left a small trail of spring green matcha on the top of the batter, so you can see it’s there. The color will also blend in more after baked. 🌱
Only the banana bread will stand out in the end.
And that’s a good way to hide healthy ingredients for those who are picky eaters!
…But that you’ll feel better about it in there and anyone you’re sharing with!
The best part is: you can make healthier breakfast sweets like this matcha banana bread without compromising any tastes.
Virgin berry tea is a mocktail drink that can be made delicious for a special Mother’s Day drink.
Shaken, not stirred, you can easily make a mocktail drink like this with your Magic Bullet blender recipes and brunch waffles. You can shake the ingredients over your shoulder and this will create a smooth frothy tea beverage like this virgin berry tea drink that all ages can enjoy.
Btw, when my mom was with us on earth, she spent most of her working career as a dressmaker, so this light pink and purple color berry tea celebrates her life well and fits into the 2026 Met Gala’s Costume Art theme she would’ve liked. She never ate desserts with sugar, but had plenty of fruit.
…Oh, and if your mom is more a Mint Julep Kentucky Derby type, then you can try this Virgin Mint Julep tea drink anytime of day.
This is a virgin pink and lavender celebratory and festive mocktail drink with healthy notes that any mom would love! The drink checks the boxes for the service and quality time love language mom as she kicks up her feet to sip on this special mocktail that can be made into a cocktail.
Course beverage
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Equipment
martini strainer or other strainer
Ingredients
blueberry tea
hibiscus tea
can of coconut cream (or heavy cream)
blueberries and strawberries
lavender tea bag
Instructions
Reserve the thickest part of the coconut cream. Then mix the thinner part of the cream to make a milk consistency that will be used for blending.
Combine brewed blueberry tea and hibiscus tea and milk consistency cream. Shake up and strain to create the lavender purple color layer. Optional: add berries to this layer if you wish.
Freeze the first layer.
Repeat the second step but omit the blueberry tea to make the pink color layer as red and white make pink. Optional: add berries to this layer if you wish.
Freeze the second layer.
Add the thick coconut cream to the top. Add a little of the milk consistency cream to make the thickness of choice.
Decorate with dried hibiscus and lavender tea leaves, and/or fresh fruit.
Protein smoothie bowl is dreamy color-enhanced with healthy anti-inflammatory powder supplements like spirulina, that’s also high in protein… and that you can learn more about below. Plus, how to blend in the superfood powder to make a tasty bowl (and not just a healthy one!).
Spirulina if you don’t know, is algae. It sounds like what you and I may have studied in school under a microscope or saw floating in a pond. I saw both in my journey.
Today, it’s no longer controversial in food and as a food ingredient. It’s also no longer a hold-your-nose-to-swallow healthy food that tastes like medicine when you find the right mild one that’s much easier to come across and source online today.
…Because I remember when I tried to source blue spirulina before 2020, and it was not online ready yet. But back then, I did buy green algae spirulina that quickly brought me back to the smells of living next to a pond and walking into a pet store, getting closer toward the fish aquarium sections.
But I blended some of the powder into my green smoothies with a bunch of pineapple to try and sweetly mask the taste.
And then one day I noticed the blue spirulina powder on the market. I had seen the powder in a bowl coming out of a smoothie place years earlier.
I was excited for getting the powder because I knew what aqua bright colors it could make.
…And so I did! And you too can make a breakfast protein smoothie bowl into a mermaid blue…
With the concentrated spirulina powder I had, I added a few drops of healthy plant-based Pandan gel that I discovered had been available for a while. It’s the vanilla extract of the east. And has an earthy taste and dark green color if you’re not familiar.
With the blue powder and green gel combined together, you get a cool blue-green aqua shade. Is it blue or is it green? That’s between your color mix and cones’ perceptions in your eyes.
And whatever the soothing end color, for me this has become a loved yogurt smoothie breakfast morning bowl. It’s also one of my site colors for daily inspiration.
Spirulina Protein Powder
But more than color, spirulina is also more than half protein! Between 57-70 grams in 100 grams that you can add to your grocery healthy protein list.
it’s an alternative for a protein powder if you don’t like whey (that comes from dairy).
Or collagen powders (that come from animals).
Spirulina is plant-based, and has other benefits like it’s a high antioxidant potency for anti-inflammatory health. The blue-green algae colors are filled with chlorophyll, that are especially good for body immunity and detox.
Blue spirulina is great for smoothies or a protein smoothie bowl. It makes for a fun healthy drink or bowl with natural colors.
Blended up with yogurt or milk white as the base medium, you get a lighter shade. It’s really an eat-from-the rainbow drink because white contains all the colors.🌈
But you can also go deep green or deep blue marine blue by blending in blueberries to blue spirulina.
And if you want to go wild purple, you can even make a deep purple color by also blending in strawberries or raspberries. Now that’s one royal bowl. 👑
And if you’re deciding which powder to add based on protein amount, here’s the healthy skinny…
Spirulina vs. Collagen (vs. Whey) Protein
Collagen is animal protein and has about 90 grams of protein per 100 grams, so it’s more than plant-based spirulina. Hydrolyzed collagen is the finer version of collagen.
In case you’re wondering, bone broth has less than 10 grams per 100 grams, since it’s diluted (vs. powder supplement). Collagen is a type of protein found in bone broth.
Fun fact: Even though you hear fitness people talking about and taking whey powder commonly for weight lifting and muscle building, you’d think it came from an animal source. But it’s actually 70-90 grams of protein that comes from dairy (as in separating curds and whey in the cheesemaking process)… and milk is not just for babies.
So the choice is yours… you can add whey, spirulina, or collagen into a protein smoothie bowl if you’re trying to rack up more protein points.
You’d never know in a pretty Tiffany blue bowl that you can dunk a spoon in… maybe even today?
And if you like this dreamy color and healthy idea, you’ll probably like this idea too, to make a healthy blue frosting you can have for breakfast (and feel good about feeding your body)… and/or a berry yogurt smoothie you can make in seconds with a Magic Bullet.
You can also turn a protein smoothie bowl into a drinking smoothie by simply blending in the liquid portion of the yogurt, milk, or other liquids.
Healthy brownie with fiber (and protein) can be made with wheat bran and wheat germ. You can 2XX (and fibermaxx). And have a delicious dessert good for breakfast or anytime.
Oh, and healthy especially with buckwheat flour added that’s in this fudge-like brownie recipe.
Also, learn how each kind of flour impacts your healthy brownie’s texture, and which flour has the most fiber. So you can decide which fiber to add in this healthy brownie. I’ll help you below…
Fiber is plant-based indigestible food that helps digestion. Think of whole wheat and other insoluble fiber sources, like tumbleweed passing through and picking up particles that would otherwise stay longer in your body.
Soluble fiber is good for helping cholesterol and blood sugar. And supporting optimized weight below the belt.
And daily fiber helps you feel leaner and look your best in your jeans… and who doesn’t love that?
So a healthy brownie is a simple way to lace in healthy ingredients that help our health… and satiate a sweet tooth. And in the duo benefits, you have your choice of healthy ingredients.
Here’s the healthy skinny, so you can make your ingredient choice as to which ones you want to include for your brownie this time.
First up is is the wheat germ ingredient, that’s the seed. It’s where it all begins for a wheat kernel…
Wheat germ has more protein and Vitamin E that also is an antioxidant. And wheat bran has more fiber than the good germ which is good for weight management.
Wheat bran is also part of the wheat kernel, like the skin or outer layer that’s super high in fiber. When you buy wheat germ, you’re getting more vitamins and minerals that embryos carry. And wheat bran has more fiber.
Whole wheat flour is more common and balanced with germ and bran in it, but it’s more processed. It includes the endosperm, that’s the middle layer and starchy section that helps make more flour.
Think of whole wheat flour as the more healthy alternative with more protein and fiber compared to or vs. (white) all-purpose flour.
Then there’s buckwheat… that’s a gluten-free flour choice.
Buckwheat is a super food and is actually not a wheat. That’s why it’s gluten-free. It has an even higher amount of fiber for fibermaxxing if that’s one of your heatlthy missions. It’s a good add for most sweet and breakfas-y dessert recipes like a blueberry scone or buckwheat ginger cookie snap.
…So those are the wheat options (both gluten wheat and gluten-free buckwheat flour)… and then there are a couple other good healthy brownie gluten-free options, including coconut flour and oat flour.
Coconut flour vs. whole wheat flour vs. oat flour
For the healthy brownie recipe options, you can decide between whole wheat flour, oat flour, and coconut flour as the main brownie flour. And the others (germ, bran, and buckwheat) are healthy supporting adds.
If you’re trying to do a fully gluten-free healthy brownie, buckwheat, oat, and coconut flours or a combo of them would be good choices.
Coconut flour is super high in fiber with over 20 grams or more per 1/2 cup (about 100 grams). Coconut flour has more insoluble fiber (and more fiber than oats). Oats has more soluble fiber (overall 3-4 grams of fiber per 1/2 cup or about 100 grams). Whole wheat flour has 6-7 grams of fiber per half cup.
If you’re looking to control blood sugar or cholesterol, then oats would be a good brownie ingredient choice. And the best choice for a healthy fudgy brownie. You can simply grind rolled oats to make the flour.
And besides coconut and oats, another gluten-free alternative is black beans that will give a more lumpy brownie with 6-9 grams of fiber.
It’s a good option if you have extra bean cans around (or kicking the cans deciding which ingredients to choose 😀)… and you want to have a more balanced soluble and insoluble fiber eating experience. For a brownie with black beans, to enhance flavor, you can add black coffee as a flavored liquid instead of regular water.
Healthy Brownie Tastes and Textures
Adding or subtracting flours won’t impact the brownie taste negatively (as cacao powder or chocolate-y flavors is the main brownie flavor and another healthy ingredient).
Unsweetened 100% cacao powder (cocoa baking powder) is anti-inflammatory. It helps to make this an overall low-sugar brownie.
And for a healthier sweetener, honey is also used, but you can substitute for a smidge of healthy monk fruit sugar (that’s better for a cake-like brownie, e.g. with whole wheat flour).
For additional flavor pairing or for no-added sugar, you can use peppermint extract for a chocolate mint brownie or coffee to enhance the cacao flavor tastes.
And besides tastes, you can favorably change the texture of the brownie you choose by the flour choices you make.
Whole wheat flour (a fully gluten option) will help make your brownies flour-cake-like, and a smoother batter (less healthy bumpy or rustic). And if you add baking powder (and/or baking powder), that will help the brownie rise in the oven.
But gluten-free flours like coconut flour will stay about the same height before and after the oven bake. Coconut flour brownies will be more dry for texture: the coconut flour batter will be more dry and the brownies out of the oven will be too.
For coconut flour brownies, I leaned into coconut tastes with shredded coconut here…
…And finely ground oat flour brownies will give more of a fudge-y brownie (like a flourless cake). The baked brownie will look more like the batter, than not at all. Brownies are simple that way. You can kinda predict what they will look like on the other side of the oven. 😊
…Where the brownie batter will be more like a slightly sticky cookie dough with some grainy oat bits. And more like a store bought brownie mix than say with coconut flour.
So, weighing fiber types/amounts and brownie texture differences and what’s priority to you, will help tip the scale toward as to which flour(s) you choose this time for your healthy brownie plate.
And as you’re deciding flours if you haven’t already, this brownie recipe also has egg white and applesauce as healthy binders.
…Which btw I love substituting using any butter or egg yolk with unsweetened applesauce in a healthy brownie. And if you like applesauce in general, you’ll also like a fruit roll up or applesauce cobbler.
Longer Lasting Brownie
Applesauce will help your brownie last longer if you want to make a larger batch. And coconut oil will help that mission too.
You can use another oil like light olive oil or canola oil, but it will not last as long at room temperature. Those oils can grow rancid quicker at (warmer) room temperatures.
And the same goes for liquid choices. Milk (and liquids that need to be refrigerated) will not last as long vs. using water (or an enhancing liquid like black coffee).
…So now that you have all the brownie ingredient notes, are you ready to make this delicious, one-bowl batter recipe?
This is a 2X fiber brownie that has no black beans. It's fudge and less cake-like. This will make 6 small brownie bites or 2 regular size square brownies.
In one bowl, hand combine ingredients with a spoon.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for about 15 minutes. Do not overbake.
Notes
If you want to turn this into a cake-like brownie, add 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1 tsp baking powder.Oat flour is better at blood sugar and lower cholesterol and coconut flour is good for supporting regular digestion. Coconut flour will make a more dry brownie, and oat flour will give a more fudgy brownie.Add enough water (or liquid) to get a smoother batter that fully incorporates the flours of choice.
