Gone bananas…

I have good intentions when I go to the market each weekend. I fantasize about the fantastic meals I will make that week and somehow think that every bit of food I buy will be consumed. Unfortunately, more often than not I have way too much food and can’t get to everything before it goes bad. Case in point with bananas.

I always buy a large bunch of bananas thinking for some reason I will eat one a day that entire week. Despite my predictions about what I will eat for the week the same thing happens every time, I have 1 or 2 and then the next thing i know I go to reach for one and they are brown. 😦 I even try to buy my bananas when they are still green so I can prolong the aging process, but the same fate occurs each time. I really loathe throwing out food so I’ve come up with various recipes utilizing ripe bananas and one of my favorites is my whole wheat banana bread.

I use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour because whole wheat flour contains bran and wheat germ, in addition to being higher in protein than all-purpose flour. I also use only brown sugar in this recipe instead of white granulated sugar because a. the flavor is better and b. brown sugar contains calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium and white sugar does not.  Right before I bake it I throw in some chocolate chips to add some contrasting flavor and if you use dark chocolate it contains flavonoids (relaxes blood pressure) and antioxidants (protects body from aging due to free radicals). Now you can feel good about eating “baked goods.”

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Yields: 1 9×5 inch loaf

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp freshly Grated Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 4 Ripe Bananas, mashed
• ½ Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 2 Brown Cage Free Eggs
• 1/2 Stick of Butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare 9×5 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the brown sugar and butter until creamy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time to the wet mixture, and then add bananas and honey. Mix thoroughly.
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix till combined and smooth.
7. Stir in chocolate chips with a spoon.
8. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes (depending on oven and dish that is used), rotating the pans halfway through. Insert a toothpick in center of loaf to check if it is done, toothpick should come out clean.
9. Loosen sides of loaf from pan with a knife then remove loaf from pan and let rest at least 10 minutes before cutting.