Healthy(ier) Banana Bread - Moist and Rich

I'm not sure what it is about California that seems to ripen my fruit faster than I can eat it, but less just say this... if you eat it, ya better do it soon.

Since my boyfriend and I can't seem to finish a bundle of bananas (is that right... bundle??? ha!) before they go brown and mushy, I started throwing them in the freezer for healthy recipes.

And last night the kitchen went up on Sunday. Things got wild. Banana peels everywhere.

Ok, I'm slightly kidding. But I LOVE baking during the winter months since I don't have heating in my little house (which I really think use to be a barn at one point) because it warms me up.

And to me, baking is like my own little slice of Bill Nye meets Rachel Ray.

So I took all those brown frozen bananas out and ran them under hot water for a few minutes. You can use regular bananas, however I find that when I freeze them and then de-thaw, they're easier to mix into the recipe (because they're mushy).

Ya ready? Ok good, because this is really yummy.

What You Need: 
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees - if making bread, bake for 45 minutes and let cool. If making muffins, bake for 20-25 minutes and let cool.

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of honey or agave 
• 3/4 cup of apple sauce (unsweetened) 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1.5 cups of mashed bananas (this was about 4 medium size de-thawed bananas)
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix the eggs, honey, apple sauce and vanilla extract FIRST... then the bananas. 

Dry Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of oat flour or whole wheat flour -- I used whole wheat this go around, but I've used oat flour and its great
• dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 tsp of baking powder AND baking soda
• 1tsp of sea salt or Himalayan salt 
• Optional: I added in 6 packets of Stevia sweetener -- personally I like my bread to be a little sweeter. 

I also added in chocolate chips, typical Abby fashion. What's life without a little chocolate? 

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray glass loaf dish with olive oil or coconut oil.
2. Combine wet ingredients, combine dry and then combine together. Add in chocolate chips (optional)
3. Pour into loaf dish and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool. I personally like my banana bread cold, and some like it hot. 
4. Eat and enjoy! 

If you have a dynamite banana bread recipe, please share it below! If tried and true, I would love to feature you on my blog! 

Bon Apetite and Happy Monday folks! <3