Trudy, I am anti margarine..Butter is a "natural" food, so I would NEVER sub something for butter. However, if you think you must..I'd go the applesauce route.

Terri is right about the margarine. There is none in my house. Use butter or try applesauce, and eat less of the cake. Besides, margarine has as many calories as butter, and you can't cook or bake with so-called Lite margarines. You might also try skipping the chocolate chips, but I agree, they're delicious in banana cake/bread.

These are routine substitutions I make without much trouble.

1 cups sugar - sub 3/4 - 2/3 cup, I usually go down to 2/3. I also use 1/3 cup sugar instead of 1/2 cup in recipes.

Eggs - I use 2 egg whites in place of one egg. Eggbeaters are just egg whites with artificial coloring and flavor, so I don't use them, but you can. You can sub out one egg or two, depending on how low you want to go.

I almost always go 1/3 - 1/2 whole wheat flour, not for the calories, but for the vitamins and fiber.

Nuts, coconut and chocolate chips are the high fat items in this cake, so cut them down to however low you want to go. I have a bannana snack cake recipe that calls for 2 cups chocolate chips and I think it is overwhelmingly rich at that level and I always halve it when I make the recipe. I'd cut the coconut and nuts to 1/3 cup or 1/4, depending on how it goes. Usually I keep cutting and cutting a recipe until I find that balance between calories and taste.

Adding a bit of applesauce will boost not only the flavor but the moistness of this cake with the lower fat. I wouldn't go too low though. Cake needs butter to be cake!

Very good options here.

I should of said, that no, I would not substitute margarine for butter. We dont use oleo here:)

2 egg white instead of one egg would work for us.

Now how much applesauce to use and how much less butter?
Will try and do some searches online.

If I were changing this recipe to make it more "healthy" in my beliefs.
I'd start with half c butter, 1/2 c applesauce, and maybe add an extra banana..and leave in the walnuts and coconut (good fats!). But truthfully I'd be using 1/2 c butter and 1/2 c Coconut oil.
I'd reduce the sugar to 3/4 c.
I'd leave in the eggs, because they are a whole food, and the white needs the yolk.
I'd use whole oats too.
And replace 1/2 c Whole Wheat for 1/2 c AP flour. (no one will notice that change)
and reduce the chocolate chips by half..only because I don't like them that much with banana stuff.

I don't see why cutting the salt makes this any healthier. If you're prone to hypertension, then reducing sodium in your diet is a good move, but that's a tiny bit of salt per serving.

I'd rather eat a smaller portion of cake with butter than a larger slice of ersatz.

Thanks terr....will try your applesauce and
coconut oil suggestion.

Also will use whole oats next time.

Ideefixie...I forgot to put the salt in. Couldnt tell any difference. So I wont be putting in salt next time.

I make a carrot cake recipe where I sub the same amount of applesauce for the oil. Side by side taste tests show there is no appreciable difference in taste or moistness.

Since I eat baked goods at a very slow rate, I have found that lower sugar/fat baked goods do not keep as well/long as the full fat versions. After sitting around a day or two, I have to pop my lowfat muffins in the oven for a few minutes before eating, to moisten them up enough for them to taste good. Low sugar stuff molds faster too, so I keep in the fridge or freeze half.

You will notice a difference in texture if you use applesauce. Your cake will be more spongy. That may not be an issue for you.

Any fat you use will probably have about the same number of calories. However, if you want to use a 'healthier' fat with less cholesterol, try canola or my favorite oil--safflower. You can go healthier, by using extra virgin olive oil. It works well in baking, and OO actually cleans your arteries, rather than adding deposits.

Butter really isn't that bad, though--our bodies are designed to process animal fats better than the artificial ones like Crisco and margarine.

Keep in mind, though--with that or any recipe--if you cut back on most of the ingredients, you're just making a smaller cake, with about the same calories per serving.

I really think the key is to leave the recipe the way you like it, but take smaller portions, letting it be a true treat. Have you considered making that recipe in the tiny muffin pans? It would take much less time to bake, and people generally eat less when the food is presented in tiny portions. You could even toss half the tiny cupcakes into the freezer, so they aren't an immediate temptation.