25 March 2012

Thing I made: Ridiculously healthy banana bread

Ok, so, this is among many recipies I have encountered on Pinterest (my guilty internet pleasure). My roommate buys bananas way too often and when they ripen too fast, as they always do, they end up in my freezer for baking experiments. My all time favourite recipe using bananas is my Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip cookies (Pinterest - seriously where would I be without you??), which I promise to share in time! But since I've still got half a jar of those cookies left from the last time I made them, I needed to try something new with all these bananas. This bread was super easy to make and is RIDICULOUSLY healthy - oil free, sweetened with bananas and dates, using flax as an egg replacer (this bread is vegan!), using whole wheat flour and topped with sesame seeds.

This recipe was taken and modified slightly from http://www.lovefoodeat.com/healthy-banana-bread-whole-wheat-vegan-oil-free-and-sugar-free/

Directions:

1. Set oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix 2 tablespoons ground flax with 6 tablespoons of water and set aside - the mixture will thicken and become gooey.
3. Mash 3-4 overripe (or thawed from frozen) bananas (I used 3 for this bread and it could stand more banana)
4. Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt in a mixing bowl
5. Add 3 chopped dates (I used fresh but you could also use dried dates) to the flour mixture
6. Mix mashed banana and flax mixture in with the flour mixture and stir until combined into dough
7. Place dough into loaf pan and sprinkle top with sesame seeds (optional)
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes until it has risen and outside is browned. My bread stayed quite flat as the pan I used was a bit large for this recipe.

Voila! Easy, healthy, and delicious. The only real time it takes is waiting for it to bake (during which time I started to make some new jewelry - stay posted!)