Banana Bread

To get the best banana flavour, always use the ripest ones you can find - they should be starting to turn dark. The nuts are optional but I always make it with nuts (unless, of course, someone who will be eating it has an allergy!)
Good news! So I just read in Self Magazine that walnuts act as a fat blocker (these quick breads are really fatty!)... all those Omega-3s in the nuts reverse the saturated fats (I never knew that.. thought they were just antioxidants). Yippee!!! So, if you're not allergic, the nuts are not optional!! lol

This makes one full-sized loaf/about 16 slices

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium-sized ones)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil (you can substitute 1/4 cup applesauce to make it a little lower fat)
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Method:
1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside.

2. In another bowl, combine the egg, bananas, sugar, and cooking oil (or applesauce). Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts.

3. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan; cool on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.


Reference:
Original recipe was found in the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book.
Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen (1996). Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Meredith Publishing Group: Des Moines, IA.