Go Ape with Bananas and Fiber!

Banana Bread loaves make wonderful gifts for the holidays or other special occasions. Our friends Michele & Mike recently welcomed their little girl, Ava, into the world and I made several dinners for them so they could have more time with the family and still have a great dinner. Of course their other kids got chocolate chip cookies and banana bread for a healthy treat! Wrap up a basket of goodies and deliver it to a new mom you know coming home from the hospital. She will appreciate it so much!

Banana Bran Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup bran flakes, crushed *

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line with wax paper or grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  

In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. In a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients of flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and baking soda and set aside.

*Crunch up the bran flakes in your hand as you add them to the wet ingredients. 2 cups of bran flakes equals 1 cup of crushed. Mash the bananas leaving small bits of banana chunks. Stir bananas into the bran butter mixture alternating with the dry ingredients. Finally, fold in the yogurt, vanilla and nuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. It’s important to cool bread completely so that the bread will firm up and not be too soft on the inside. Bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once bread is completely cooled, wrap in saran wrap and then in aluminum foil, date it and place in freezer.