A Delicious Life

I had three ripe bananas sitting on the counter, starting to get just a little too soft for my taste. I haven’t baked banana bread in ages, and I wanted to make a healthier version of the old favorite. So I substituted whole wheat flour for white, and replaced the 3/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon of stevia - a naturally occurring herb that sweetens without the calories or effects of white sugar. It turned out pretty good - a little more dense than I thought. I’ve adjusted this recipe to include more water than I used to lighten it up a little more.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium)
1 teaspoon stevia
1/4 cup cooking oil (I used walnut)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8×4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside.

In another bowl, combine the egg, bananas, stevia, cooking oil and water. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan. cool on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes one loaf.