Banana Bread(s)

I'm a pretty big fan of banana bread. It's easy to make, I almost always have the ingredients on hand, and you can add extra fruits and veggies to it really easily to make it semi-healthy.

I'm really really terrible about measuring out ingredients and doing things exactly the same every time. Every baked good needs a flour, a fat, a sweetener and a binder. I usually just try to keep these things in proportion and roll with it from there.

Here's kind of a basic outline of what I do for banana bread and some variations.

Basic Banana Bread
2-3 mashed bananas
1/3 c. maple syrup or maple/agave blend
1/4-1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. applesauce
1/3 c. oil or butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour (I usually do half wheat and half white, or sometimes use some bread flour for the white)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

I also like to add:
3/4 c. oats
1/4 c. flaxseed

Mix all the wet ingredients then add in the dry, bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes and you have some yummy banana goodness. ;-) 

Now, as I mentioned I am not a stickler for measuring or following a recipe to a tee. I like to mix it up. I usually just eyeball... pretty much all of my measurements these days.

I also rarely make plain banana bread. Adding in other fruits and veggies not only makes it a little "healthier," but also more moist.

My three favorite add-ins are grated zucchini, carrot (usually a whole one of each), and crushed pineapple (I do 1/4-1/2 cup). I've also added in vanilla yogurt before and that's really tasty too!

Other add-ins include cinnamon/nutmeg, walnuts, chocolate chips, cocoa (1/3 c. in the mix makes it good and chocolaty - just add some milk too if it makes it too dry), and peanut butter. The possibilities are endless. ;-)