I sometimes call my kids monkeys…not because they jump around,although they do plenty of that, but because of the amount of bananas they consume. They will eat them anytime of day! And I don’t mind because bananas are filling and full of good things like potassium,fiber,and vitamin C. There are times when all the bananas don’t get eaten and the nice,yellow peel begins to turn brown. And the kids know what happens next…Mom makes banana bread!
Why use the brown bananas instead of the pretty yellow ones for banana bread?
Bananas turn brown because an enzyme in the banana is exposed to oxygen and the sugars of the banana begin to break down, and that’s they key to great banana bread, taking a ripened banana at its sweetest point. Sometimes they get hard to eat at this point because the become mushy making it the perfect reason to use them for banana bread instead!
Because bananas are naturally sweet I do not use much sugar in this recipe, instead I look to add sweetness by adding chocolate chips! When I feel the need for some extra protein I add pecans or walnuts. Sometimes, I get a little crazy and add both making this dense,moist sweet bread a thing to be enjoyed anytime of day! I also try to make this recipe figure friendly by doing half butter/half applesauce. You do not even realize the difference!
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup of no sugar added applesauce
- ¼ cup butter, softened (for the full fat experience do ½ cup butter)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 banana mashed
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 cup of each~Nuts and Chocolate Chips(Optional)
- Preheat Oven to 325 F
- Cream together butter,applesauce and sugar
- Add bananas,egg,and vanilla
- Add in flour,salt,baking soda
- Stir in milk
- Blend well.
- Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
- Put batter into greased loaf pans.
- Bake at 325 F for 60 min. or until toothpick inserted through center comes out clean.
- I use mini loaf pans and they take about 30-40 min. Enjoy 🙂
