Run towards riches
Living life on the run in the western suburbs, dietitian, personal trainer and aspiring paralympian David Bryant devised a low-fat banana bread as a breakfast option for friends and clients.
"I always need something quick and healthy at the same time to get me going throughout the rest of the day, so over the years I tweaked the banana bread recipe and that's how it turned out," Bryant said.
Bryant, WA's only contestant in this season of Recipe to Riches, took a whirlwind trip to audition in Melbourne the same week he competed in the Mandurah Half Ironman.
"The week I got chosen to go to audition it was in Melbourne and that weekend was one of the biggest races of the year for me . . . so obviously that was a big focus as well.
"Recipes to Riches was pretty good looking after me, I jumped on a red-eye, flight flew straight to Melbourne, got off the plane with nothing but banana bread as my luggage.
"I went straight to the audition at 6am with my banana bread and a nice shirt and jacket, auditioned, got the golden ticket, got back on a plane."
Bryant's competitors in the breakfast category made a breakfast ice-cream and spicy baked beans. All contestants were daunted when they had to reproduce their recipes on a commercial scale, with Bryant unaware until the day he had to cook 80 loaves.
"It literally was a reality program; when you do see the episode, the first time I stepped into the kitchen was the first time I was on air. They really throw you in the deep end so you are under a bit of pressure.
"It was a tough task; it was a good experience but very challenging."
Whether or not his banana bread makes it onto the shelves at Woolworths tomorrow, Bryant believes it has commercial potential.
"The breakfast market is pretty big these days and there are quite a few banana breads popping up on a commercial scale.
"But when I look at them from a nutritional point of view and apply my dietetics knowledge, these products certainly aren't an everyday food - they should be called banana cake, all of them, rather than a banana bread. My banana bread can be part of an everyday healthy diet because it has next to no fat, is high in fibre and low in added sugar."
Bryant, who bakes three or four loaves a week, has another challenge ahead; qualifying for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
"I am a competitive runner; I have done four marathons under three hours, I came 19th in the City to Surf in the 12km, so I have never let my club foot hold me back.
"Between personal training and the dietetics work I am trying to squeeze in as much swimming, riding and running as I can for the big qualification race in January."
