Brown Sugar Banana Bread - Three Questions For Heather
#43995 - 02/09/04 09:07 PM
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belinda
Reged: 10/09/03
Posts: 474
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Heather:
I would like to make your brown sugar banana bread, but I can't have any sugar. Unfortunately, diabetes is rampent in my family and I have been unable to tolerate sugar for 25 years now. Even though I am not yet officially diabetic, I get dizzy if I try to eat something with sugar.
Could I make your banana bread without sugar? I'm not a great cook so I have no idea whether eliminating the sugar would ruin the chemistry of the recipe. Would I need to add something else in place of the sugar, or could I just drop that ingredient from the recipe? I don't mind if the recipe isn't too sweet. I'm used to that. I also don't want to use an artificial sweetener because it irritates my IBS.
Also, if I made the banana bread, would it freeze well?
One last question -- if I just wanted to make one loaf instead of two loaves of the banana bread, could I just cut the recipe's quantities in half?
Thank you in advance for your reply! (I am trying to gain a few pounds because I've dropped to 80 pounds on the low-fat IBS diet and I'm hoping the banana bread might help me put on some weight!)
Regards,
Belinda
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2 answers!
#44034 - 02/10/04 07:31 AM
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Kree
Reged: 10/08/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Northern NY
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I'm not Heather, but I can answer 2 of your questions! I have no clue about the sugar, but I know the bread freezes well because I've tried that and it tastes just as scrumptious afterwards. I also halved the recipe once and baked one loaf and that worked great. 
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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Belinda have you tried Stevia? I just purchased some powdered Stevia (usually use the liquid drops) just for baking. They have a conversion rate on the back of the container for regular sugar subbing. One other thing, I usually make one mini-loaf and then 5 pans of mini bite size muffins. Then I pop them in the freezer for use when I need them.
Edited by Karin (02/10/04 08:33 AM)
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Karin:
No, I've never tried Stevia, but I've heard of it and I've seen it in the health food store. I wonder how much I would need to put into the banana bread to sweeten it just a shade. My one concern is that I will change the chemistry of the recipe if I don't put in the required amount of sugar. I'm uncertain about what the effect would be if I omit the sugar. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a baker!
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Hi - Kree answered two of the questions, and I'm not sure about the third one myself. Omitting the sugar completely will definitely change the chemistry, and the end result won't be the same. The question is will the end result be good? It will be less brown and less moist, and sugar helps both those things.
I hate to say this, but I think you're just going to have make a loaf (halve the recipe and it will be fine) and see. You might end up with a slightly shorter or longer baking time, so check frequently.
I do think that this will come out - there's a lot of natural sugar in the recipe from the ripe bananas already, and they're giving a lot of moisture too. If you try it let us know what happens. 
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Heather:
Thank you for your response. I will definitely try this recipe -- hopefully this weekend -- and I will let you know how it works out.
Thank you to the others, including Kree, who replied too.
Belinda
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Belinda: I just found this on Stevia.
A Few Tips When Using Stevia
Do not use in place of honey, or in carmelization, as it may alter the consistency of a recipe.
When removing all of the sugar from a recipe and replacing it with stevia, increase the liquid amount in the recipe ie: milk, water or eggs. Not too many eggs though as it may make your recipe tough. Applesauce is a great bulk substitution.
If you do not require diabetic safe recipes, but would like low calories, you may remove most of the sugar from your recipe and only add a small amount of sugar and some stevia.
Baked goods do not brown when using stevia as they do with sugar, so insert a toothpick into the centre to test for doneness.
Some yeast breads will not rise without sugar to activate the yeast. Although there have been some reports of successful bread making with stevia.
Whisk stevia into egg whites before adding to a batter.
Stevia blends well with the flavours of lemon, vanilla and carob.
If the recipe calls for the use of a blender, add stevia at the beginning of the blending.
from: www.steviacanada.com
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Karin:
Thank you for this great information on sugar-free/stevia baking!
Do you have any suggestions on how much I should increase the canola oil in the banana bread recipe by, in order to compensate for omitting the sugar? I would prefer not to add more egg whites. I think the recipe already calls for quite a few egg whites and, unfortunately, I have a mild allergy to eggs so I will have to keep them to a minimum.
Also, do you have any idea whether I will have to increase or decrease the baking time to compensate for the lack of sugar, and by how much time?
I'm afraid I can't tolerate any sugar at all so I will have to remove all of it from the recipe. I get dizzy spells after eating anything with sugar -- sometimes I get those spells the next day. It's very scary! I've had this problem for about 25 years now. My mother says she had the same thing before she was diagnosed in her early 40s as having onset diabetes.
I probably won't add the stevia on my first attempt at making this recipe. I am so used to not eating anything sweet that I actually prefer a dessert that isn't too sweet.
I'm a very, very inexperienced baker so this will be a very challenging project for me! I just reviewed Heather's banana bread recipe again and I may have to invest in an electric mixer and a sifter. I used to have this equipment, but it has been literally years since I baked anything and I'm not quite sure where my baking equipment has got to! I fear my first loaf of banana bread will be quite costly!!!
Thank you again!
Belinda
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Hi - I wouldn't increase the canola oil at all. There is a lot of moisture from the bananas already. Just make sure when you're done baking and the bread cools, you keep it wrapped tightly in plastic so it doesn't dry out.
You might not have adjust the baking time either, because there's a lot of natural sugar in the bananas. Keep an eye on the bread and just test with a toothpick every 5-10 minutes or so once you think it's close to being done.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hello All!
Well, I made Heather's brown sugar banana bread recipe tonight -- without the sugar -- and it seems to have worked out just fine.
I had a tiny taste of the banana bread and it tastes incredibly sweet. I used very sweet organic bananas. If I had made the recipe with sugar, it would have been too sweet for me.
The only problem in making the two loaves of banana bread was my inept baking skills. I made a HUGE mess -- I used zillions of dishes and got flour all over the floor and on myself. I muddled some of the egg yolks with the egg whites (how the heck do you separate them?!), and I got mushed banana on the countertop and walls! It took me an incredible amount of time (about an hour) to prepare this recipe and then almost as long afterwards to wash all the dishes, the floor and walls!
I think I need some baking lessons. I've only baked about four times in my life and the last time was about 10 years ago. Perhaps it's just that I don't have any aptitude for baking (or cooking). I seem to have come from a long line of unmaternal women. In fact, the only person who bakes (and likes to cook) in my immediate family is my father, but, alas, I don't appear to have inherited his genes.
Well, anyway, by some miracle this recipe worked. Hopefully I'll get better at making it as I get more practice. My one concern is the large number of eggs in the recipe. I'm allergic to eggs and my throat tickled a little after eating a small piece of the banana bread. I had hoped I was just allergic to the egg yolk, but I guess the egg white is problematic too.
By the way, I found both my cake mixer and my flour sifter so the only investment I had to make were the ingredients. I also found two five-by-nine-inch loaf pans in my cupboard. It's amazing what I've got stashed away there!
I must sign off now. I have to wash the flour out of my hair.
Belinda
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Hi Belinda! I'm so glad the bread worked out for you! Don't worry about making a mess, I'm notorious for that too. My dad actually made fun of me a few weeks ago b/c of the way the kitchen looks when I'm done baking, lol.
As for the eggs, have you ever tried a vegan egg replacer like Ener-G (it's spelled something like that). I've never tried them, but I heard they work fine. I wouldn't want to mess around with an egg allergy if I were you!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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Quote:
The only problem in making the two loaves of banana bread was my inept baking skills. I made a HUGE mess -- I used zillions of dishes and got flour all over the floor and on myself. I muddled some of the egg yolks with the egg whites (how the heck do you separate them?!), and I got mushed banana on the countertop and walls! It took me an incredible amount of time (about an hour) to prepare this recipe and then almost as long afterwards to wash all the dishes, the floor and walls!
I think I need some baking lessons. I've only baked about four times in my life and the last time was about 10 years ago. Perhaps it's just that I don't have any aptitude for baking (or cooking). I seem to have come from a long line of unmaternal women. In fact, the only person who bakes (and likes to cook) in my immediate family is my father, but, alas, I don't appear to have inherited his genes.
Hee hee - me too! I made the gingerbread muffins on Friday, and ended up with a horrible mess and a really bad attitude. If my husband didn't enjoy cooking, I would revert to my grad school diet of lots of sandwiches and cereal.
But the muffins were good - now to see how to bribe the other human in the house to bake a batch for me.... 
p.s. See if you can find powdered or packaged egg whites. It's way easier than trying to juggle the yolk from shell half to shell half or using your fingers as a cup for the yolk to let the whites drain into a bowl.
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Hi Belinda,
I have posted this info once before with another board member. My mother n law has diabetes and so did my grandfather. There is a new line of product called Diabetisweet. It's a sugar substitute with no asparatame,sacchrine,sucrose,frutose,sorbitol,maltodextrin,or dextrose. It's also available in brown sugar. It' totally IBS safe and you use it in recipes for baking too.
Check it out here at www.diabeticproducts.com
Hope you can try this. Good luck baking. 
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Sherr1:
I actually don't need to add a sweetener because I am so used to not eating anything sweet. It has been years now since I had anything with sugar in it so the sugar-free banana bread was an incredible treat for me.
If anyone has any other easy IBS-safe, sugar-free baking recipes to pass on, please don't hesitate! The banana bread is gone and I'm raring to bake again! Someone told me apple sauce can be used in place of sugar in some recipes.
By the way, I am very nervous about artificial sugar and egg substitutes. I always prefer to use natural organic ingedients, where possible.
Thank you all!
Belinda
P.S. I've managed to gain two pounds in the past 10 days! I am up to 82 pounds now and would like to gain just two or three pounds more. Hopefully I won't lose those two precious pounds when I go to the gym tonight!
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it's still an artificial sweetener, and it looks like there is some controversy over it's use. Check here http://www.wholefoods.com/healthinfo/acesulfamek.html
I would probably choose to go sugar-free instead of using any artificial sweetener. I just don't trust a food that doesn't occur in nature.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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