Rainy Days and Banana Nut Bread (healthy version included)

I'm not sure if I've shared this with you before but I often fall victim to the S.F.C otherwise known as Spontaneous Food Cravings. These cravings aren't just a spur of the moment thing, they can last for months and months before my taste buds are ready to move on. A couple months ago I was obsessed with crab cakes, after that it was guacamole, and now... it's banana bread.

Let's talk about banana bread for a minute...it's delicious for one, easy to make, and it's moist texture and slightly sweet flavor pair perfectly well with a cup of coffee and anything that compliments coffee goes down as a win in my book. I decided to tweak this recipe a bit to make it more healthy, I'll provide two versions for you to choose. By using 1/2 a cup of whole grain flour you are adding 8 grams of fiber to the loaf without altering the taste (the texture will be slightly more dense however). Whenever I see butter in a bread or cake recipe I usually try to sub it out with either applesauce, yogurt, pumpkin (for the fall times), and in this case light sour cream. I promise you cannot tell the difference!

Banana Nut Bread (the healthy version)

makes one loaf

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup low fat sour cream (or greek yogurt)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten (or a 1/4 cup eggbeaters if you have them)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole grain flour
1/2 chopped walnuts

Banana Nut Bread (regular version)

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten (or a 1/4 cup eggbeaters if you have them)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 chopped walnuts

Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 4x8 loaf pan by spraying with non stick spray.

2.No need for a mixer for this recipe. With a wooden spoon, sour cream (OR butter) into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour(s) and nuts last, mix. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for about 45min to an hour.

3.Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve