Cooking Baking Eating

Normally, I’m not that big fan of banana bread. Don’t get me wrong, it’s best when warm, with a little butter and the outside has a little bit of crunch.

The husband loves pretty much anything sweet or covered in chocolate, so in the mode of trying to help our waist lines while still enjoying what we’re eating, I found a great recipe for one of his favorites. Banana bread.

One of the things that really stick out to me in this recipe is that it uses apple sauce to keep it moist and not a whole lot of butter. I changed the recipe around a bit from the original, mainly using half whole wheat flour. One of the reasons this is a great trick is it keeps you fuller for longer. Eat two muffins and you feel full and satisfied for hours.

One of the things to note about this recipe is that it definitely does need to rest before going into the oven. Usually the time it takes for the oven to preheat is enough time for the batter to relax a bit before baking. If it doesn’t rest, then it sometimes can have a rubbery outside to it, and not the soft yet crunchy that we all love.

Low Fat Banana Bread
Makes 2 loaves or 24 muffins.

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 whole eggs (or 2 egg whites)
• 2 cup banana, mashed (about 4 bananas)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together apple sauce, bananas, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and egg until combined. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda. Stir just until combined. Let batter sit while lightly greasing pan using butter and flour. Pour batter evenly into pans.
2. Preheat oven to 350F, letting the batter rest while the oven preheats.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes for an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan, or 20 to 25 minutes for muffins, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let sit in pan for 10 minutes or until cool enough to touch. Turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.