I have a confession.
I have a horrible Diet Coke addiction. Seriously, they need support groups for this sort of thing. But this is a good thing for you. Let me explain...
I read an article the other day about the terrifying things that diet sodas do to your body. I knew they did bad things...but not quite how bad. So I'm swearing off the stuff (for real this time). I'm trying to get off the fizzy stuff by weaning onto seltzer and then to plain old water full-time.
This is good for you, my buddies, because I needed to hit up the supermarket to buy some seltzer. But who goes to the store to buy just a few 50 cent bottles of store-brand seltzer. No one normal. So I decided, what the hell, let's bake something. I wanted to tweak a banana bread recipe I'd already found, and as it turned out the only thing I needed to purchase to do so was bananas. It was then acceptable to go to the grocery store.
So, because I have a Diet Coke habit, you get to enjoy some banana bread action. How awesome is that?
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| Holy bowls, Batman! |
I'm adapting this recipe from a Weight Watchers recipe I found a while ago. I am going to share the recipe with you (minus my SUPER SECRET INGREDIENT).
What you need:
1 1/4 C. APF
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
3 T canola oil
1 egg
2 egg whites
3 large bananas, ripe
1 C. old-fashioned oats
SECRET AMOUNT OF SECRET INGREDIENT
What is it about this recipe that keeps the fat down? Oil. Sure oil is still heavy in fat, but the good-for-you unsaturated kinds. Its butter-soaked cousin? Well, let's not talk about it. So not only is this recipe lower in fat, it's also dairy free for my lactose intolerant peeps.
The inclusion of two egg whites rather than three whole eggs keeps the fat down as well, since the yolks are the part of the egg jam-packed with cholesterol. Oats help lower cholesterol, and the natural sweetness of bananas means you need to add less sugar. Yahoo!
Assisting me with today's project were my two baking buddies: Big Grey Baking Birdie and Baby Green Baking Birdie. Mainly they keep me company and sing along to my music. Whatever makes them happy as long as they behave. Preheat your oven to 350F. As always, adjust that oven temperature if necessary.
Put all of the dry ingredients into one large bowl (I used my stand mixer bowl) and stir them up by hand. In a small bowl, combine the whole egg, the whites, and the oil together and beat them gently with a fork. In a medium sized bowl, mash your bananas. The riper those bananas are, the better.
As bananas brown, they get sweeter and softer--optimal for making banana bread. This makes banana bread a great choice for using up aging bananas.
It's at this point I added my special ingredient. Which, sorry, is remaining secret. But the recipe I'm showing will result in equally delicious banana bread, just without the little extra flavor I added.
Blend the egg/oil mixture into the dry ingredients at low speed until incorporated. Toss the bananas in and continuing mixing until they are mixed in too. Pull the bowl off the stand mixer and stir by hand several times so you blend any missed dry ingredients into the batter.
Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan (9" x 5") and pop it into the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
My bread took about 42 minutes to bake through and develop a lovely brown crust. Huzzah! I think it looks very rustic, and I like that.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with a honey drizzle, if desired.
Since the recipe contained only birdie-safe ingredients, I decided to have Baby Green Baking Birdie be my first taste-tester. I offered some to Big Grey too, but he turned his beak up at it. He's a very picky eater. Baby Green's response?
Why do I bother putting it in a bowl?
Here it is made pretty for human consumption:
That's all for now, folks.
Parting sucks and stuff,
BB
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