Recipe of the Week: Better For You Banana Bread

Confession: until I was married I actually thought banana bread was healthy.

So, imagine how happy I was when I found this "Better for you" banana bread recipe. Then imagine my pure joy when Ben and I both agreed this was the best banana bread either of us had ever eaten. It is a MUST try.

FLOUR MIXTURE
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tea baking powder
3/4 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt
1/4 tea ground cinamon
14/ tea ground nutmeg


BANANA MIXTURE
1 1/2 cups large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed well (this will be about 3 medium or 2 1/2 large bananas, do not exceed the 1 1/2 mark or your loaf will be gummy and dense.  Also, make sure they are ripe.  Partially blackened bananas are necessary for optimal taste)
4 TB unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt or low-fat sour cream (do not substitute nonfat, needs to be low-fat)
1 tea vanilla

optional
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse

DIRECTIONS
1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly coat an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.
2.  Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk the wet ingredients.
3.  Gently fold the banana mixture and walnuts (if using) into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix).  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
4.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 55-65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking.
5.  Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 min, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.

Make ahead tip:

You can pour the batter into muffin tins (about 16 to 18 muffins) and then freeze them. Once they are frozen, remove from freezer for about two minutes. Then, pound the muffin batter out (like you would an ice cube in an ice cube tray).  You can then put all the muffins in a zip-loc bag and keep frozen until ready to eat. This way you can make only a few muffins on mornings you need a warm breakfast.

The final result truly is divine, whether in bread or muffin form. Try it, you'll thank me.