Whole-Wheat Banana-Flaxseed Donuts

Donut lovers go ahead and enjoy this healthier version of your favorite breakfast food.

 Photo and story by: Madeline Butler-Sanchez, Nutrition and Dietetic Student at Dominican University

Do you have a love-hate relationship with donuts? You love how they taste, but hate all the excess calories. For me, a future registered dietitian nutritionist, who craves sweets and baked goods, I find it difficult to buy healthy-ish donuts that taste like the real but not so healthy deal. So I tweaked a recipe from kitchenbelleicious.com and made it lighter and a lot more nutritious.

These donuts are not only made with less sugar and whole-wheat flour; they actually contain one of the healthiest seeds, flaxseed. Flaxseeds are an ancient grain packed with omega-3 fatty acids, lignans, fiber and vitamins that offer incredible health benefits. Various scientific research studies are finding that eating ground flaxseed may help regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, stabilize blood sugar, and may even help fight certain cancers.

Interested in learning more about flaxseed?  Download the FREE app, Eat Healthy: Homemade Meals, from iTunes and Google Play. You’ll find healthy and delicious recipes featuring flaxseed such as Gingerbread Hemp Seed Muffins and Peanut Butter, Grape & Chocolate Snack Bites.

Whole-Wheat Banana-Flaxseed Donuts

12 servings

Prep Time = 15 minutes

Cooking Time =15 minutes

Ingredients for donuts:

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 ¾ cup whole-wheat flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup banana (mashed)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons agave nectar

½ cup 2% milk

2 large eggs

Ingredients for glazes:Quantities for each glaze recipe are for half of the donuts, so double the quantities for your preferred glaze. Nuts are optional.

Chocolate:

¼ cup Dark chocolatechips

1 tablespoon butter

Vanilla:

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon 2% milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

 Directions for donuts:

1. Preheat oven to 350° Coat two 6-cavity donut pans with vegetable oil spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: flour, ground flaxseeds, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients: mashed banana, vanilla, oil, brown sugar, agave nectar, milk and eggs.
4. Pour the wet ingredient-mixture into the dry ingredient-mixture and stir with a spatula until combined. Be careful not to over-mix or your donuts will be flat.
5. Spoon the batter into each of the donut pan cavities, filling each about ¾ full.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them sit for 3 minutes in the pan before removing to frost.

 Directions for chocolate glaze:

1. Heat the chocolate and butter together in a small microwave-safe bowl until melted.
2. Cook in 30-second intervals, stirring in-between, so that the chocolate stays liquid.
3. Dip each donut into the glaze and let them cool and solidify.

Directions for vanilla glaze:

1. Combine all of the ingredients together.
2. Dip each donut into the glaze and let it solidify.

Nutrition Information per serving (1 donut without glaze):150 calories, 4 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 165 milligrams sodium, 32 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams fiber, 8 grams sugars