This Banana Bundt Cake is a healthier, homemade option for dessert! Made with whole grains, dairy-free, and lower in sugar than traditional cakes.
Headlines and TV news shows are filled with hype announcing new hot food trends and superfoods. But here’s more relevant news: Did you know there is a nutrient that the majority of us don’t seem to be getting enough of, yet it barely grabs media mentions?
Potassium: A Nutrient of Concern
If you haven’t guessed by now…it’s potassium. Potassium, an essential mineral and electrolyte, helps regulate fluid levels in your body, supports communication between your nerves and muscles, and maintains your blood vessel function. Potassium was called out by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as being a “nutrient of concern” since it’s so essential to life, yet often overlooked. In fact, fewer than two percent of Americans get the recommended 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day!
Why do we need potassium?
You may have heard about potassium in relation to the electrolyte replacement needed following extreme exercise or after a bout of diarrhea or vomiting, but you don’t need to be an athlete or have an ailment to pay attention to your needs. We all require potassium on a daily basis. A deficiency of this essential nutrient can cause symptoms including constipation, muscle weakness or spasms, fatigue, tingling or numbness, slightly elevated blood pressure, or feelings of skipped heart beats or abnormal heart rhythms. Though it’s rare, a significant drop in potassium levels can even slow your heart rate enough to make you feel like you’re going to faint.
Low potassium levels can also impact your ability to exercise in several ways. First, an inadequate fluid intake can leave you feeling fatigued and unable to work out as hard as you may like. Second, since potassium plays a role in muscle contractions, you may be plagued by aches, spasms, and cramps when you get your sweat on.
Where do we find potassium?
The good news is that potassium is one of those neglected nutrients that actually appears in more foods than you probably realize. Unlike trendy tropical fruits or specialty items, it can be found in any store, any time of year.
Whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried, the best sources of potassium come from fruits and veggies. Perhaps one of its most well-known sources is the infamous banana. One of my favorite ways to get a favorable dose of potassium is by stocking up on the new Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® Almondmilk Blended with Real Bananas. Its natural sweetness and taste comes solely from perfectly ripe bananas—there is even half a banana in every serving. It has no added sugar and it’s free of dairy, soy, lactose, cholesterol, peanuts, casein, gluten, and eggs — perfect for those who are lactose or gluten intolerant or for those who follow a vegetarian or plant-based lifestyle. Besides being a good source of potassium, supplying 470 mg per cup, it’s also an excellent source of calcium, and vitamins D & E. Best of all…it’s delicious and so versatile.
Almond Breeze® Almondmilk Blended with Real Bananas makes a satisfying beverage by the glass, you can add it to your morning cereal, swirl it into your afternoon smoothie. I enjoy baking with it…especially in banana bundt cake! Here’s one of my family’s favorite recipes:
Banana Bundt Cake
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® Almondmilk (Unsweetened Vanilla)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-1/6 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1 large eggs
1/4 cup avocado oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® Almondmilk Blended with Real Bananas
2 ripe bananas, mashed well
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips – melted
Cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350◦F
Pour lemon juice into ¼ cup measuring cup and add almond milk until cup is filled. Set aside to let it thicken.
Spoon flours into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.
Whisk flours together with baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, egg whites, egg, oil, vanilla extract, almond milk/lemon juice mixture and beat with a hand mixer until blended together.
Add the Almond milk blended with real bananas and mashed bananas, beating at a low speed until blended together.
Add flour mixture to above mixture and beat at a low speed just until combined (don’t over mix.)
Coat a bundt pan with cooking spray.
Sprinkle sliced almonds evenly along the bottom of the pan.
Spoon batter into pans and fill half-way.
Bake for approximately 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pan, flip cake over and cool on wire rack.
Melt chocolate and drizzle over cake.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk and the opinions are my own.