Banana Bread with a Low Fat Twist!

Mmmmm mmmmm, Banana Bread! For some reason I am never able to finish a bunch of bananas. Its the weirdest thing, I love bananas. Everything banana flavored, everything banana colored! But I always have some left over. So on this lovely afternoon, I decided to turn my left over bruised bananas into Banana Bread instead of letting them sit on the counter until they were brown and attracting fruit flies.

After a little research I came across Joy the Baker's Blog. Her recipe for low fat banana oat bread was amazing. I didn't follow her recipe verbatim because without fail, I mess up when I bake. I never remember to read ahead or follow the exact measurements, but even without the egg white folding she suggests on her site, this bread was baked to perfection! Julie Childs would have been proud!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp canola or walnut oil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 medium egg whites, beaten
• 3 large bananas, ripe
• 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.
2. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.
4. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

This banana bread really was delicious! Sometimes when I am feeling a little crazy I put a little whipped cream cheese on it for breakfast, so I get some savory and sweet. I also went out of town for the weekend right after I made it, so I cut it into individual slices and froze them. I enjoyed a defrosted slice this morning!