Banana Bread Makeover

I don't know about you but I happen to love banana bread.  But rarely do I ever get to make it because my children are monkeys and almost always gobble up the bananas long before they are banana bread ready.  Even when I buy 'extra' bananas, they are gone before I can use them. 

Well, just yesterday I had the rare opportunity to make some.  I had never made a 'clean' banana bread before.  If you know me, you know that Anthony and I have cleaned up our diets, and those of our kids,  in recent months.  Sure we slip up a time or two (or ten) each week but we're trying.  And our eating habits are largely different from where they started. 

So, I decided to give banana bread a makeover.  Maybe I was a tad bit nervous.  You see, I'm a recipe follower to a T.  I'm not one of those people that is comfortable changing things up and just knowing it will turn out.  If it says 1/2 cup, I'm going to use 1/2 cup.  But recently, I have grown a wild hair of sorts and started to tweak things a little bit.  It's not something I would say I'm good at yet.  I still cringe each time, crossing my fingers that my 'experiment' doesn't completely ruin the recipe.  Luckily, I've had luck on my side... so far.  ;)  Let's keep that streak, shall we?

Well, I made a version of banana bread that my family absolutely loved!  And believe it or not, there is absolutely NO refined sugar or white flour in it. 

Banana Bread... All Cleaned Up!

1 egg

1/2 c. olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 or 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1 1/2 c.whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 c. Sucanat (dehydrated cane juice)

1/4 plus 2 T. agave nectar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

3 T. ground flax seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 325*. 

Mash bananas in small bowl, set aside.  In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix until blended.  Add bananas, mix until blended.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl.  Add to wet indredients a small amount at a time, mixing each time you add more. 

Once it is all incorporated and mixed well, pour into a sprayed loaf pan (4 1/2 x 8 1/2).  Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. 

Make 1 loaf but could easily be doubled or tripled.