Banana Bread!

Growing up, one of my favorite treats my mom would make for us was this ooey gooey delicious banana bread. Seriously, it was SO good… the loaf was always gone by the next day.

I used to make banana bread in college with my roommate, Jen. Whenever we had ripe bananas laying around we’d make a loaf or two and give them to friends (keeping a little for ourselves, of course).

So naturally, when I saw that we had 6 ripe bananas sitting in the kitchen… I immediately jumped at the opportunity to make some banana bread for Spenc and I. Instead of making just one kind of banana bread, I made two. One gluten-free version for me, and one with my moms old recipe for Spencer. The result: some pretty delicious banana bread, and a very happy boyfriend.

I found a recipe on shape.com for a GF bread and tweaked it a little to make it even more yummy and a tad bit healthier.

Gluten-Free Ooey Gooey Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. vegetable oil
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (this stuff is so good, and extra sweet, so you don’t have to use as much)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla (I like adding vanilla to pretty much any baked good… it enhances the flavor)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (just because, cinnamon rocks)
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/4 c. GF King Arthur Flour (or any GF substitute)
• 5 tbsp cornstarch (this is necessary to help the GF flour become bread-like
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease a 2 lb bread pan and set aside
• Mix oil, eggs, bananas, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl
• Place the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir until well mixed
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet
• Pour into pan
• Bake for 45 min – 1 hr

This is some pretty delicious GF banana bread that is low sugar, low fat and delicious. Each slice (about 1/8th of the loaf) comes out to about 100 calories, with 8g of sugar and only 4g of fat. Enjoy :)

Mom’s Favorite Ooey Gooey Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 1/2 c. All-Purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease two 2 lb bread pans and set aside
• Mix oil, eggs, bananas, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl
• Place the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and stir until well mixed
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet
• Pour into pans
• Bake 1 hr

Definitely be careful and watch the bread… I cooked it a little too long this last time, but I think it all depends on your oven. It’s best when it starts to look brown on the outside and still feels a little gooey in the middle (when you stick a knife in a little dough comes with it)

The banana bread was a big hit, and I feel like a pro baker in the making ;)

Keep smiling!