Is this really a healthier version of the banana bread recipe I posted earlier? It’s hard to say. The ingredients seem to be healthier….bran, organic whole wheat flour, local honey, nuts. It tastes healthier. It has a crunch and it is quite dense in texture. I was trying to remember when exactly I decided to part my ways from my mom’s recipe that I grew up on and loved so much to become a “health nut.” Well I’m really not, nor ever was, a health nut, but when my children were young, I did like to think that I curtailed their sugar consumption. I tried hard to disguise fiber and limit white flour. But I’m just not one to sacrifice taste in order to accomplish this. Judging from the scribble all over my recipe card, my children were indeed young when I began trying to outsmart them with healthful goodies. I can’t help but wonder if one of them wasn’t trying to wipe out the recipe with their pencil, in the hopes that I would return to their grandmother’s sweeter rendition of banana bread. Honestly, I made both of these breads on a regular basis, and still do today. Whichever one is on the plate, we say is our favorite. So I guess that means we love them both and can’t decide which one is tastier. I’ll let you be the judge. I hope you’ll try them both and let me know what you think.
RECIPE
1/2 cup of butter, room temperature for easier creaming
3/4 cup honey (you can always add more for a sweeter bread)
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bran
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk, with 1 TBSP vinegar and 1/4 tsp. baking soda mixed in
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1. Cream the butter and honey.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Mix the flour, bran and baking powder together in another bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, alternating with the milk mixture.
5. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla and nuts. Mix well.
6. Bake in a 9 x 3 x 5 inch loaf pan, well greased and bottom lined with wax or parchment paper, for 1 hour and 40 minutes in 325 degree oven.
My Kitchen Memories 