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.

Originally posted 2008-04-10 10:00:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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banana bread, healthy banana bread recipe, low fat banana bread