Healthy banana nut bread

I have many food weaknesses. There are things I love to eat, but can resist. There are things that if placed in front of me, I will finish off the plate, like nachos or breadsticks. Then there are things I get sudden, inexplicable cravings for, and I am capable of driving out in the freezing snow to get them. Banana nut bread falls in this category.

This is my very first bread! Imagine my excitement! My most favorite thing! I love banana nut anything, muffins, cupcakes, ice cream, bread, wraps, just banana and nuts, so I am pretty much in love with this bread.

And the best thing about it, it is healthier than the traditional variety! I saw this recipe over at Kitchen Runway and only made a few minor adjustments.

Banana nut bread
Servings: 12 slices
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min

3 ripe bananas
2 cups white flour
1 cup granulated sugar substitute (or real sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup naturally sweetened apple sauce
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup assorted nuts and seeds (I used pecan, walnuts and sunflower seeds)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas until they are a chunky paste. Add the apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and nuts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar substitute and baking soda. Make sure the sugar substitute you use is one that measures cup-for-cup with sugar, otherwise the proportions of this recipe might be off.

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mix and fold them in with a spatula. Just keep mixing until everything is combined, but do not over mix.

Coat a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour the mixture in. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. To check if the bread is done, insert a toothpick deep into the loaf and it should come out easily and dry. When done, let it cool for at least 5 minutes (I could not resist for too long..)

Enjoy with a glass of milk, fruit, juice, whipped cream, as breakfast, for lunch, as a snack, it's so versatile! And with the apple sauce instead of butter and sugar substitute instead of sugar, it comes with less guilt ;)

Bruno doesn't like to rate sweet things, if I convince him to give this a rating later I'll add the Brunometer score to the post!

Trust me though, this bread is fantastic! Moist and crunchy and flavorful.. mmm!