Go Bananas
HEY thank you everyone for reading my last post. I am overwhelmed with gratitude by the number of views it received – the highest number in a long time, ESPECIALLY for a post that didn’t involve chocolate.
Tons and tons of good energy flowed our way, just by people reading. I totally believe that. Thoughts from the heart are so powerful!
Things with Mom are definitely improving, little by slowly. Her loud silly self is back again, always getting the last word at the dinner table and singing all of the songs she hears, with her own words put in of course. It’s the funniest thing. A good sign indeed :D.
AND believe it or not, I’m back to loving this beautiful California. Woohoo! It took some adjusting time, some baking, some sunlight, some beach time, some pampering, some driving around in Meesh, and some good old retail therapy – Lululemon I missed you and your fancy pants – but I do love you California. You are wonderful. Group hug everyone.
So casa de Dovedy is seeing sunshine peaking out from behind the clouds. Literally, the weather has been SO NICE here. I’m wondering how I will go back to adjusting to India’s heat…
I guess that’s the way life works. The ups and the downs. The thunderstorms. The clouds. The sunlight. A cycle.
Sometimes things are peachy. Sometimes they just go bananas?!
How about, when life gives you rotten bananas, you make banana bread?
Or what about, when Jonathan (our monkey) isn’t here to eat all of the bananas, they go rotten and I feel bad for the poor little bananas so then I make banana bread?
PICK YOUR STORY. It doesn’t change the deliciousness of this bread. Simple, good-for-you and oh so yummy :).
Recipe: Go Bananas! Banana Bread
Summary: Wholesome and delicious. Smells amazing. Tastes even better. It will make you go bananas!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Grade A maple syrup
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 medium size bananas
- 1/2 cup FAGE greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine your whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix well and/or sift.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine vegetable oil, brown sugar, maple syrup. Stir with a spoon until well combined.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas. Use a fork to mash any large chunks of banana that are left in the batter. Stir until well combined.
- Slowly alternate in adding the dry flour spice mixture and the FAGE greek yogurt into the banana mixture, stirring gently.
- Add chopped walnuts and stir until just combined. You don’t want to over-mix the batter.
- Pour into a greased loaf pan – I used a 9×5 inch pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until your bread passes the toothpick test.
- Store in the refrigerator and enjoy warm!
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 45 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Quick notes
-Be sure to use Whole Wheat PASTRY flour. This flour has all the goodness of whole wheat, but bakes with a beautifully light consistency. If you do not have this in your pantry, use 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.
-The sweetness in this bread comes mostly from the bananas – the more rotten they are, the sweeter they will be.
More banana experiments…
More later,
SONIA
Talking about loving California, you probably just experienced reverse culture shock! I felt it after I studied abroad in Barcelona in 5 months.
We are definitely less prepared for it than we are for a normal culture shock 🙂
Totally! I had no idea this would happen, and it really makes me want to travel more. The more I travel, the less stuck I become to this culture or that culture, and the shock is more easily absorbed :). Thanks for reading girl.
Hey Sonia.. Tried this today. Turned out really well!! Used chia seeds as egg replacer. Don’t know if it worked or not, but the bread (I baked it in a cake dish) turned out to be yum. I don’t have a sweet tooth but wanted to use my ripe bananas. Had never imagined they could be consumed in such a palatable way.
Hi Geetika,
So glad to hear this and thanks for trying the recipe!! Chia seeds sound fascinating and I will have to give it a try. You might like the carrot cake recipe I just posted, or the zucchini bread recipe in the “Bread” section of my blog. Hope to see you again soon!