Of Hearth and Home - Super Easy and Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

I grew up reading a lot of classic fiction, especially Charles Dickens, so I love the idea of the hearth - coming in from the snow, sitting nice and close while you heat a bowl of soup or roast a chicken...  I thought I might try a regular feature with some homey-type things that I enjoy and would love to share with you.  I couldn't wait to share my first - a super easy, low fat banana bread.

I found this recipe back in 2008 from a www.weightloss.com.au forum.  All I can say is thank you Ing86, you've revolutionised our banana bread consumption.  The things that I like most about this recipe are it's variability (don't worry, of ingredients, not how it turns out), how quickly you can make it with a stick mixer and that it still works when I've made it with gluten-free flower and rice milk (although not being used to consuming these alternatives, I did find the finished product a little troubling...  Not as bad a soy milk Boost Juice I tried once though...).

This will be my stick mixer version - if you don't own one, just lightly beat the eggs and mash the banana first.

Healthy Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarb soda

Pinch of salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup sultanas (or pitted dates for less sugar)

2 eggs

1 cup reduced fat milk

2 large bananas

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line the base and sides of a largeish loaf pan with baking paper, or if you're a little lazy like me, spray oil lightly over a silicone loaf pan.

Sift the flour, bicarb soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar and sultanas.

Whack the eggs, milk and bananas into your stick mixer cup and whizz them all up together.  Using a large metal spoon (not 100% sure that it really has to be metal) stir the egg/milk/banana mixture into the dry ingredients, until well combined.

Pour the batter into your loaf pan.  Bake it for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Slice and serve.  It's nice toasted and if you're not worried about the health aspect, smear it generously with peanut butter or nutella.  Mmm...  It also freezes well.

If you're going through a great banana famine, you can replace the banana with pie apples, a can of dessert pears in chocolate sauce (replacing some of the milk with the chocolate sauce), replace the sultanas with blueberries.  I even tried it with fresh mango instead of banana once, although I'm not too keen on replicating that one again.

Eat and enjoy!

Photo from Flickr by Francesg29

(I'll admit it, I didn't make this particular loaf of banana bread, and I'm no food stylist, but this looks a lot like my bread)

Yes.  I may have just lost all credibility.