Healthy Carrot Banana Bread (or Muffins) from Halfmysize.com & more...

These were moist and delicious! 

I did tweak the recipe some, and made it even healthier than the recipe calls for....and also made muffins instead of a loaf.

Seriously, I don't have to look far - only a page or two - in this cookbook to find something I have to make...and then, it's a toss up which one to make first! 

For us, muffins are like dessert, so this recipe really hit the 'sweet tooth' spot. And the flavors seemed to blend very nicely - I wasn't sure about this combination, but was very pleased with the result.

I always have bananas in the freezer and I had some open unsweetened applesauce in the fridge, so I was tickled to be able to use up some of those ingredients as I made these tasty treats.

I'll share how I lightened them in the body of the recipe, but first I want to remind you of something I recently shared at another one of my posts.

Remember when I mentioned substituting ground flax seed meal for an egg when you're baking?  It adds fiber and also Omega-3  fatty acids - which are good for you - and I needed to make my walk match my talk. *-*

So this was one of the changes I made....I mixed 1 Tb. ground flax seed meal with 3 Tb. water for one of the eggs. 

(This works well if you substitute it for no more than half the eggs called for you in your baked recipe).

HEALTHY  CARROT BANANA MUFFINS

(by The Better Baker from

halfmysize.com)

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 c. sugar

(I used 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/2 c. Splenda)

1/2 c. egg substitute

(I used 2 large egg whites and the flax seed meal mixture)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

(I used 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 lg. ripe bananas, mashed

1 c. grated carrots

In a mixing bowl, combine applesauce and sugar; add egg whites and flax seed meal mixture and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas.  Stir in carrots.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Put mixture into muffin pan. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes.  Yield: 12 muffins

Nutritional info per serving: (according to the recipe in the book)

Calories: 176; Fat: 1 gr.; Fiber 2 gr.

Here's the original recipe that makes it into a loaf.  And figured 12 servings.

Tip: When using Splenda to bake, because it bakes faster you should always cut baking time.

THEN....I found a sugar free recipe for cream cheese frosting in this book, and
made that too.  Instead of slathering a muffin with butter, we slathered them with sugar free frosting and it was super duper. 


I made half the recipe and it was plenty for our dozen (minus 2 already eaten!) muffins -

CREAM CHEESE ICING

8 ozs. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar substitute (I use xylitol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-8 oz. tub fat free whipped topping

Cream together cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla. Fold in whipped topping.  Spread onto cooled cake or cupcakes (or muffins). Yields enough icing for one 2-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

My tip: Do not beat fat free cream cheese with a mixer.  I used my whisk.  I remember all too well the first time I used ff cream cheese...the pie I made was runnier than all get out because I was unaware and had used my mixer.  FF products have more water in them.

So....I suggest you use a whisk to mix the first three ingredients, then fold in the whipped topping with a spoonula...as Rachel Ray says.   A curved-on-both-sides spatula scraper...it sorta looks like a big spoon. 

(Just a suggestion of course...but not a necessary one).

It may not be as smooth as you think it should be, but atleast it won't be runny.

Linked to Totally Tasty Tuesdays