Banana Bread Recipe

I love banana bread! I like to use bananas that are very ripe with lots of brown splotches; they give a sweeter flavor. However, the bananas in my house are usually eaten before this stage. Not the case this week! I noticed the bananas in the fruit bowl were getting awfully brown, so, hey, it was time to make banana bread!

I knew I had a relatively healthy banana bread recipe; I wrote "yummy!" at the top of it. I decided, however, to experiment with this loaf and try to make it even healthier. Here is my healthier banana bread recipe:

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 4 egg whites, beaten
• 1 ½ cup bananas, mashed
• 2 cups oat flour (you can use regular, white flour if you'd prefer)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Mix sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Add bananas. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture. Pour in bread loaf pan (9×5×3 inches) or muffin tin.

Bake 45 minutes for loaf. 20-25 minutes for muffins.

Notes: I added a mixture of chopped walnuts, dry oats, and cinnamon to the top of the loaf right before putting it in the oven. You may have to adjust your oven's temperature and/or cooking time depending on how powerful the oven is. Insert a knife in the middle of the loaf. If the knife looks pretty clean when you pull it out, the bread is done.

I turned down my oven since it's got some power to it. I didn't want the sides of the bread to burn and the middle to be gooey. I also baked the bread for 50 minutes.

The result: Better than I expected! The bread was moist and had a sweet flavor from the bananas, but not overly so. The walnuts added a toasty, nutty flavor as well. I hardly noticed the oat flour.

I enjoyed a warm slice as a treat instead of cookies or something far more sugary that I tend to eat. The bread was satisfying and calmed my sweet tooth, so I'd say this recipe is a winner.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think. And feel free to experiment with it. I'd love to know what changes you make and your results.

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