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Looking for an easy-to-make, healthy & delicious banana bread recipe? Don’t go any further; you’ve found the perfect page. This is probably the lightest recipe you can find… and it tastes just like the real thing. No fat, no added sugar (bananas are quite sweet fruits already), and only 10min to prepare the dough – you’ll get your snacks sorted for an entire week – unless you have to share.
I tend to make it quite often, it’s a party favourite, and it can be kept in the fridge up to 4 days.
Pro-tip: don’t slice it if you don’t eat it right away, it tends to lose in moisture once it’s cut.

You can’t go wrong with this recipe, as long as your weight your ingredients and make sure to add them in the correct order. You can even get a bit creative, and add flavoured whey protein to the mix (it goes perfectly with toffee, vanilla or coffee powders) or a spoon of dark chocolate powder.

The Healthiest Banana Bread Recipe!

One of my favorite snack recipes, super easy to make and filling. Perfect with a cup of coffee or on the go!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 slices

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g wholemeal flour can substitute 30g of flour with whey protein powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 200 g fat free natural yogurt (Marigold for example)
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 handful Nuts & grains for topping
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla flavoring and/or sweetener see recommendations below

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients (flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, sweetener if powder)
  • Add eggs, mix, then add yoghurt, apple sauce & liquid flavourings if any. Mix well.
  • Mush bananas in a small plate with a fork, and add it to the mixture. Mix gently (but do not overmix) Taste and adjust flavorings if needed.
  • Cover a pan with baking paper. Grease it with a bit of oil and tissue paper. Spread batter into it.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let it cool for a few minutes. It goes very well with peanut butter or yoghurt with fresh fruits.

In my opinion, the best sugarfree flavourings you can get are the FlavDrops from Myprotein. They have a natural & very sweet taste, that will complement nicely any of your cakes, pancakes or oatmeal recipe.

Why using apple sauce in your recipes? Unsweetened apple sauce is a great substitute for oil, butter or any fat – it keeps the cake moist & helps a lot remove it from the mould. You can find unsweetened apple sauce in any Fair Price Finest & Cold Storage outlets.

Everyone should know by now that nutrition is one of the pillars of health, along with physical activity and sleep. What you eat has a huge impact on how you feel, but also on your performance & progress – and it’s especially true for pre and post-workout meals.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand how your body works, and what it needs – Let’s take a look at what you should and shouldn’t eat before working out, so you get the most benefits from your session.

Quick recap: Nutrition 101

The human body needs 3 different macronutrients: proteins, carbs (carbohydrates) & lipids (fats). Each macronutrient plays a different role:

  • proteins are used for muscle mass maintenance and growth, but are also used to maintain and repair cells
  • carbohydrates are used as main energy source
  • lipids are used for hormone balance & cells maintenance (but they can be used as an energy source as well)

Before a workout, your body needs one thing: energy.
Sounds simple, right? One of the most important things to consider though, is how much time do you have before your workout:

If you have 1:30hrs to 2hrs before your session starts

You can get a balanced meal, based on slow-digesting carbs (wholemeal pasta, rice, bread..) & lean protein (eggs, turkey ham, tuna…).
Avoid eating too much fat or spices, as it could disturb your digestion cycle (which wouldn’t be great during your workout).

If your workout starts in 30 – 60min

You might need to consider a lighter option – go for something easy to digest, and that can provide energy quickly – a fruit or a cereal bar, for example. Nothing too fancy or made with too many different ingredients. The simpler, the better!

Keep in mind that if you keep training for an extended time, you’ll run out of energy eventually. Your energy storage usually lasts 75-90min – Would you be willing to keep going longer, you’ll need to refuel, with an energy gel or bar: aim to get at least 30 to 60g of carbs for each hour of training/running. If you’re a runner, it means that you’ll need to bring some snacks with you and if you’re a gym rat, make sure you take breaks to get your energy levels back up.

Should I also eat proteins before/during a workout?

Nope, you don’t have to. During a workout, your body won’t be able to process protein, and therefore, won’t use it to repair your muscles during the session. It isn’t able to store them for later either, so it will merely get rid of them.
However, you’ll NEED them after your workout, in order to recover. Save the protein bars & shakes for your post-workout snack!

Can I do fasted training/running?

You can, especially if you’re used to it. However, it means your body won’t use glucose and rely on fat consumption instead. If it sounds like a great thing when you’re trying to lose weight, you have to keep in mind that it means lower energy levels – To go on a light jog, it’s perfectly fine, but if the plan is to do weight lifting or HIIT, then you should definitely consider getting at least a high-carb snack before you go.

Hope this clarifies pre-workout nutrition – please let me know in the comments if there’s anything else you want to know about it!

Whether you just moved to Singapore, are a student/intern or are just willing so save up some bucks, finding healthy food that fits a tight budget can be a challenge. Of course, there are plenty of cheap food options around – one of the best things about the Lion City! – but we have to admit that, nutrition-wise, the cheaper might not always be the better.

However, if you know the tricks,  you can still get excellent & nutritious food that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Here are a few ways to eat clean on a budget:

Use your best judgement (and some tips) at the Hawker Centre

Let’s be clear: hawker food is NOT the best place to find healthy food. However, if you have solid bases of nutrition – or if you’ve read this article about the healthiest options you can pick in hawker centres (coming soon!) – you can find relatively clean food at a very low price.

The rules are quite simple: go for as much protein & vegetables as you can, ask for half the portion of carbs (and make it “wholemeal” if possible), and always go for stir-fried or boiled instead of deep-fried. Ask the sauce on the side whenever it’s possible, or ask for “less sauce”. Of course, no sugary drink to go with it, it’d be a shame to save up on the food calories to get liquid calories in instead.
Be mindful with fruit smoothies too: they are delicious, but contain up to 300kcal each, most of which is pure sugar. Still better than a soda because of the vitamins, but if you are trying to cut off some calories, you might need to watch out!)

hawker center healthy options singapore

Visit healthy food chains for better macro tracking

If they are, in most cases, slightly more pricy than food courts, some food chains worked hard to provide healthy options.
Salad Stop! for example, made available all of the nutritional info of their website. Pro-tip: Always get the sauce on the side, you’ll end up putting way less of it in your bowl than what they’d pour.
Stuff’d also has quite healthy options and a calorie calculator available – make sure you don’t go crazy on the add-ons, though. Simply Wrapps has quite similar offers – the nutrition facts they indicate seems to be a bit underestimated, but you can’t really go wrong with a salad with the sauce on the side.

Photo credit: SaladStop!

What about cooking it yourself?

There are a lot of places in Singapore where you can buy cheap ingredients and cook delicious and healthy food. It takes, of course, more time than buying it, but it has TONS of advantages:

you can control what goes into your food – the amount of fat, added sugar, the quantity of protein. If you want to keep an eye on your weight, your shape or are willing to improve your performance, then that’s the best option for you.

It comes often cheaper in the long run – you can batch buy and cook, and drastically lower the budget you’re spending on food each week.

Having already ready food is the best way to avoid binging on junk food when cravings appear.

Where to buy cheap ingredients:

  • Wet markets: they are not always the cheapest option, but you can definitely get good deals and the freshest products there. You can go there late in the evening – most of the stalls discount items.
  • Fruit stores & street vendors: check out the MRT stations for cheap fruits, especially in the evening, as they often get discounted. (off the top of my head, Bugis MRT, Boon Keng MRT… please comment if the MRT station next to your office/home has one too!)
  • Giant: you can find an extensive selection of vegetables there (check the “reduce to clear” shelves for really good deals), along with cheap roasted chickens that can last you for a few days. I wouldn’t recommend buying uncooked red meat there – but tofu, chicken & eggs from Singapore are quite cheap and of good quality. 
    Another very good point: Giant doesn’t pack their vegetables individually in plastic – shopping there is definitely more eco-friendly than visiting other big supermarkets, which tend to abuse it.
  • Fair Price: for everything you can’t find at Giant, including wholemeal carbs (wholemeal pasta, rice, flour…) as well as a few organic products (that are much cheaper than in dedicated organic stores). You can trust their red meat selection, and they discount their sushi range after 6 or 7 pm (just like Cold Storage & DonDonDonki do)
  • I-tec: for dry ingredients (beans, rice..), sauces and spices, you might want to visit one of the numerous outlets of the 24/24 supermart chain. You might have to dig in a little to find what you are looking for, but you can find really interesting stuff and get creative when you’re back in the kitchen.
Photo Credit: Giant

Eating healthy and cheap in Singapore is possible, but it takes a bit of time and effort to figure it out. Just list down what you need and spend some time going around your place and finding the best places to get ingredients – then buy then in bulk whenever possible, so you don’t run out!

If you’re in for a treat, check out the list of the best Healthy Lunch Places in the CBD (a bit more pricy but worth every dollar!) – of course, all of them serve dinner too.

Picking the perfect sports gear & equipment can be tricky: it needs to look good, of course, but most importantly, it has to match your needs & practice level. If you can buy whatever you think is best for you right off the shelf, you would probably benefit a lot from advice from someone with more experience – whether you’re a professional athlete or a novice. If you feel a bit lost, fret not! Many physical stores in Singapore have qualified teams to help you pick the right gear. 

Pro-tip for beginners: There’s no need to spend a lot of money on gear & equipment if you’re just getting started with a new sport and going for mid-range quality products instead of costly & technical stuff (that you won’t be able to really take advantage of anyway) is a good way to save some bucks.

For multisports gear & equipment: Decathlon

Decathlon has now several outlets around the island & installed their flagship in Mountbatten. Regardless of your level of practice, and the discipline you’re into, there will be something for you to buy there. They only sell products from their own brand, so don’t expect to find your favourite logos there – But everything is quite cheap and it’s the best shop to get basic equipment when you start a new activity. And if you can’t make up your mind, the staff will be happy to help you choose too.

Decathlon Sports Lab, 230 Stadium Blvd, Singapore 397799
Most products available online (some of them are not listed, so don’t hesitate to visit one of the stores and ask, if you can’t find what you’re looking for on the website)

For & equipment: F1Recreation (online shop)

If you are looking for really good quality weights & professional equipment, give their website a go. They have a large range of brands, including Trigger Point, TRX, LifeFitness & Bosu – if you have spotted some accessories at the gym that you would love to bring back home, they are most likely available in F1 Recreation’s shop. If you are on a budget, you can also find pre-loved equipment there – a must to build your home-gym!

F1 Recreation – Use the promo code “HEALTHY10” for 10% off your orders!

For Crossfit gear & equipment: ArmourUP Asia

armour up asia store orchard

If Crossfit is your thing, you are in the right place. They have items that are pretty hard to find anywhere else in Singapore, including chalk, handcare products, speed ropes and international brands like KingKong, HAW & Rocktape. Can’t lie, I’m a big fan of their extensive range or wrist wraps too – there must be a pair just for you there.
Last, but not least: they are pretty well known because they offer a broad range of vibration therapy massage guns – and if you haven’t tried one already, you should probably drop by.

Visit their store in Orchard 181 Orchard Rd, #06-23 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896 or go online

For Trail running & Ultra Running Shoes & accessories: The Red Dot Running Company

red dot running company singapore
Photo credit: RDRC

Choosing running shoes can be a challenge – especially if you plan to spend long hours wearing them. Red Dot Running Company has a great selection of models across a few selected brands. They also have all sort of accessories, from gels & bars for your next long run to the comfiest socks you can imagine.
The best thing about the shop though is the team: everyone is passionate about running & outdoor adventures – ask for tips, they are always ready to help.

Red Dot Running Company, 152 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427430

For cheap(er) workout attire: Changi City Point & IMM Factory Stores

If you are looking for new shorts or tops to go to the gym, head to Changi City Point (MRT Expo) or IMM (Jurong East) to visit big brands’ factory stores: Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok… You’ll surely find some treasures among the numerous discounted items. If you don’t live in the East or far West, it might be quite a journey, but with branded sports shoes starting at 40$ and clothes as low as 5$, it is definitely worth the trip.

Changi City Point, 5 Changi Business Park Central 1, Singapore 486038 and
IMM, 2 Jurong East Street 21, Singapore 609601

For Sports Nutrition & Protein Powders: Nutrition Depot

Getting on a protein-rich diet might come pretty costly in Singapore – a lot of big brands are selling expensive bags of protein powders – most of them being pretty tasteless & hard to drink. If you’re looking for diversity and excellent recommendations, I’d highly recommend you to go to Nutrition Depot. The team knows their products perfectly and will be happy to provide you with the whey powders or high protein snacks that are most suitable for your needs. They also work with several brands, and there’s always something new to try – You’ll love their protein bar section!

Nutrition Depot, 2 outlets in the CBD