Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Healthy and Delish: Oatmeal-Banana Bread

It's been one of those weeks. I caught Michael's flu bug and started feeling bad on Sunday afternoon...I've been home recovering since then. No work, no cooking, and no blogging. Only taking meds, drinking orange juice, and sleeping. Now that I'm feeling nearly human again? Texas has been plunged into a deep freeze, and there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow night. 

This is actually pretty exciting news...I'm a native Houstonian, so I can literally count on one hand the number of times I've seen snow in my life. We're pretty geeked that we might get a true taste of winter around here tomorrow!! Before I started feeling bad this weekend, I went into my kitchen and whipped up a loaf of yummy Banana-Oatmeal Bread. The bread was really moist, and the oatmeal gave it a nice texture and a boost of healthy fiber.

Banana-Oatmeal Bread
adapted from Cooking Light

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350. Add 1 stick melted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar, and two large eggs in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to completely combine these ingredients. 


Step 2:  Add two large mashed bananas, 1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal, and 1/2 cup skim milk. Whisk well to combine.


Step 3:  Add 1.5 cups flour, 1 tbs. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1.5 tsp. cinnamon. Whisk until just combined. 


Step 4:  Spoon batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool the loaf of bread in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling. 


I served warm slices of this bread with butter and honey. This made a comforting dessert on Sunday night, and it was fantastic warmed in the microwave with cocoa for our breakfast on Monday. When I was feeling really bad, this bread brought a smile to my face. I hope you'll give this version of banana bread a try the next time you have a batch of ripe bananas in your kitchen.

7 comments:

  1. Yum, this looks really good! I'm always on the lookout for healthy banana bread recipes.

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  2. Glad that you're feeling better. We have 24" of snow, so need all the comfort food that I can get. As soon as my bananas are ripe, I'm making this yummy bread.

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  3. @Vanessa - I have several banana bread variations that I like to rotate...this one will be in the regular rotation. The oatmeal makes it feel just a wee bit healthier ;)!

    @Becky - We expecting 1-2 inches of snow here, which is a pretty big deal. I've lived in SA for 10 years and this is the first real snow. In Houston, we had snow three or four times over about 30 years.

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  4. Good thing you are taking care of yourself, it's been going around here bad too. My cousin lives in Texas and school has been closed for 4 days already. Hope you all are staying warm. This bread sounds really good.
    -Gina-

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  5. We have been trapped inside all week due to ICE.... and as I type this, my hubby tried to come home early for a surprise and now his car is STUCK in our drive on the ice.... Won't go forward, won't go backward. Thanks so much for linking this recipe to Saturday Swap. BUT, I REALLY want this for breakfast tomorrow and don't have all the ingredients on hand! :( Have a great weekend!!!

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  6. That bread looks sooo good, my mama would love it! The combination of oats and banana in the bread sounds amazing.

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  7. i just bought bananas! I hope they are ripe asap!

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