Whole-Wheat Banana Blueberry Bread

Bananas are one of our favorite snack-time foods but every week there are a couple that don’t get eaten quickly enough. Usually I freeze them or make them into banana pops, but lately I’ve also been making whole-wheat banana blueberry bread. I like this bread for many reasons, some of them being:

• It uses almost 100% whole wheat flour
• Has less sugar than most banana bread recipes
• Uses yogurt instead of sour cream
• Uses olive oil instead of butter
• Has blueberries!

This bread is about as healthy as you can get without “tasting healthy,” if you know what I mean. My son likes it so much I have to slice an extra bit of bread if I want to enjoy some with my morning coffee – he always mooches at least half of what’s on my plate.

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Bread (My Recipe)

Ingredients: Makes 1 loaf

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour*
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 large banana)
• 1 cup whole yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

* I only use King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour with this recipe. It has a lighter texture, which means I can use more whole wheat flour without sacrificing anything in the finished product. If not using King Arthur flour, flip the ratio and use 1/2 cup whole wheat to 1 cup all-purpose flour.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with PAM.

In a large bowl combine the olive oil, sugars, eggs, bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Make sure you break apart any clumps of brown sugar.

In a medium bowl combine the flours, baking soda and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix until just combined, then fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into your pan. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool.

Notes:  I’ve experimented a lot with this bread and, just so you know, you can use 1 cup mashed bananas with 1/2 cup whole (or lowfat) yogurt instead. You can also use 1/2 a vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract.

Edit 7.23.11 – I just discovered that this recipe can also be used to make a fantastic batch of muffins. Divide the batter amongst 12 regular-sized muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.