Lots of people are trying to "hide" fruits and vegetables in everyday foods so that they can up their nutrition intake without feeling like they are eating overly healthy food. Here is a great way to get a little more fruit into your life. Next time you make meatloaf, skip the eggs and milk and use a banana instead. Bananas are a nutrient dense food, loaded with vitamins B6 and C, potassium, manganese and fiber. They are cholesterol free and fat-free, unlike the milk and eggs they replace. Banana meatloaf is exceptionally moist and doesn't fall apart easily.
A few months ago I had an intense craving for meatloaf. I had the ground beef, but no egg. I knew if I just skipped the egg, the meat loaf would likely be dry and crumbly. I looked around my kitchen for a suitable replacement. I spotted a banana on the kitchen table and my mind wandered back to the days when I first learned to make ice cream. Most really good ice creams are actually frozen custards with an egg and cream base. The eggs give the ice cream a smooth texture. Banana ice cream, however, does not need eggs to achieve that very same texture. The bananas take the place of the eggs in ice cream, so could it work in meatloaf? An hour later I had my answer. Yes! The results were better than anything I could have imagined. The banana flavor is present but welcome, and not strange at all. The meatloaf was incredibly moist and held together well without being tough at all. It was a perfect meatloaf, and I have not made meatloaf without a banana since.
You can use a banana in place of the egg and milk in your favorite meatloaf recipe, if you'd like. The ratio is one banana per pound of meat. Here is a recipe for a simple meatloaf that comes together quickly and easily. I usually form it into four mini loaves, because it bakes quicker that way. You could, however, use this same recipe for one large banana meatloaf, just add 15 minutes to the baking time.
Ingredients For Four Mini Banana Meat loaves
1 ripe yet still firm banana
1 piece of whole wheat bread
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 teaspoon of Hungarian hot paprika
1 teaspoon of granulated dried garlic
1 tablespoon of dried onion
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 pound of grass-fed ground beef
1/4 cup of ketchup
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
Directions
Heat your toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
Put the banana, sea salt, dry mustard, Hungarian hot paprika, dried garlic, dried onion and freshly ground black pepper into a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to mash everything till smooth.
Put the slice of whole wheat bread into the work bowl of your food processor and process til it is fine breadcrumbs. Add to the banana mixture and stir well. Add the grass-fed ground beef and gently mix everything; try to avoid overworking the mixture once the beef is added.
Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Mix well. Set aside.
Form the meat mixture into four even mini loaves and place into a greased baking dish that will fit into your toaster oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then evenly distribute the sauce over the top of the mini loaves. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
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