Homemade Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Many of you have probably seen the picture I posted on Instagram of the homemade whole wheat bread I made. Well, here it is, the recipe so many of you have been asking for. Now to be perfectly candid, I got this recipe from www.100daysofrealfood.com. I was searching for a healthier banana bread recipe in order to use up some bananas in my kitchen that were on its last leg. I was a little creative with this and added some things to it to make it my own. I'll list the recipe then add in my own additions afterward.

Homemade Whole Wheat Banana Bread:

Ingredients - 

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup plain yogurt 

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil 

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions-

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt

3. In a separate bowl combine the bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla 

4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. But do not over mix. 

5. Pour batter into prepared pan.

6. Bake large loaf for 40-50 mins or until it comes out clean with a toothpick. 

Additions-

1. Instead of mashing the bananas to a purée consistency I left some small chunks in there. I've found that those chunks give the bread a more moist feel. Instead of bread flavored like banana there were actually chunks in it that have the bread a specific unique quality to it. You may be able to see the banana in the picture I posted with this entry. 

 2. Why not add walnuts either in or on top of the banana bread? Walnuts help decrease LDL (low density lipoproteins) which is your bad cholesterol and they contain between 375-500mg of potassium per 100 grams of walnuts. Potassium counteracts the effects of sodium and can help lower your blood pressure.

3. Use coconut oil instead of canola or olive oil. Canola and olive oil are the best traditional oils out there but coconut oil gives your bread added health benefits! Classified as a superfood coconut oil had many amazing benefits. Although once criticized and avoided like the plague the saturated fat in coconut is not dangerous. It is different than the saturated fat in steak or cheese since the saturated fat in coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride. This type will not clog your arteries since these medium chain triglycerides are metabolized differently. These MCTs actually increase energy expenditure or calorie burn while keeping you fuller for longer therefore leading to weight loss. Coconut oil also can increase HDLs (high density lipoproteins) which is the good cholesterol in your body. Higher HDL means lower LDL. These are just some of the many health benefits of coconut oil. (Source: Authority Nutrition-An Evidence-Based Approach) I bought mine at bulkapothecary.com but you can find it in almost any grocery store. Sometimes you'll find the container says something like "76 degrees" that means that the coconut oil will solidify below 76 degrees. Just FYI. 

4. Just for something sweet before I baked the bread I added cinnamon on top of the bread. Spices are often forgotten or replaced by creams and sauces in various recipes. But spices have so many health benefits. Cinnamon for example, According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine cinnamon is used to treat muscle spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, the common cold, loss of appetite, and erectile dysfunction. Tel Aviv University researchers discovered cinnamon may help prevent Alzheimer's. And a neurological scientist at Rush University Medical Center believes cinnamon can help stop the destructive process of MS. 

5. I also added along with the cinnamon a little bit of brown sugar for a nice sweet and crunchy top. This was purely for taste! 

I hope you all try and enjoy this recipe as much as my family has! I even took some to work. I left it there at 6am when I clocked out and by 9pm that same day when I went back in it was GONE! Go on, what are you waiting for?