Banana Oat Bread

Those bananas have been sitting on the counter getting darker and darker. Their destiny unknown... smoothie? No, too dark... Waffles, pancakes? No, too lazy... Compost?! Yes, their destiny was to join the deep dark depths of the compost pile. However, in a moment of creativity I decided this was not to be their fate. Instead, they need to be baked and enjoyed!

The Finished Product... YUM!

A brief search on Pinterest (what did I ever do before this wonderful site?!) and I came across a delicious looking recipe for "Whole Wheat Oatmeal Applesauce Banana Bread" that claimed to be healthy and vegan friendly. I opted to not be vegan friendly for this recipe and used honey and eggs. But don't worry my vegan friends... the egg was from a well cared for "free range" chicken from a local small farm. The honey was wildflower honey also purchased from a small local farm. No chickens or bees were seriously hurt in the making of this bread <3

Although I did adjust the recipe to suit my tastes, I will give credit to the blog from which it came. To find the original recipe please visit The Ambitious Kitchen.

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/11/whole-wheat-oatmeal-applesauce-banana-bread-healthy-vegan-friendly/

   Ingredients

• vegetable shortening
• 1 cup mashed banana from very ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup wildflower honey
• 1/3 cup applesauce (I used my aunt's homemade applesauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 free range brown egg
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly coat a standard sized loaf pan with vegetable shortening
3. Grab a large bowl and mix together mashed banana, applesauce, honey, vanilla, egg and almond milk until well combined.
4. Grab another large bowel and whisk together organic whole wheat flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. 
6. Pour into the loaf pan and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and oats.
7. Bake for 50-70 minutes depending on your oven. 
8. Let cool completely before cutting. 
9. Enjoy with butter, honey or plain!

I wish I could include the amazing smell that took over my kitchen while this bread was baking!

The Dough

Pre-Baked