Check It: Healthified Blueberry Banana Bread

The last time I visited my dermatologist and the last time I got a facial I left with some parting words of advice for my particular skin type - lay off the dairy, if possible, and you'll see an improvement in your overall complexion.  Well, a couple months later I now fill my coffee with light soy milk instead of cream or regular milk, I take calcium chews every day & I do my very best to lessen my cheese intake...although, I am telling you now I will never, ever fully give up cheese.  Not only is it one of my favorite foods (all shapes & forms), but it's the basis of so many amazing dishes of which I refuse to deprive myself. The thing to remember?  Moderation.  It's all about moderation.

Given my effort to reduce my daily dairy consumption, I was super excited when I found a recipe for a delicious banana bread that uses natural honey & applesauce instead of milk or butter - also no oil or sugar!  I added some blueberries into the mix to bump up the sweetness & flavor a bit. Another bonus of this recipe was that it already called for whole wheat flour for the bread.  When I bake I usually like to substitute all (or at least half) the amount of all-purpose flour a recipe calls for with whole wheat flour to up the nutritional value.  Done & done.

Check out photos & recipe below!

You know you want some...

Starting lineup

Other major players

Bananas | Applesauce | Honey | Eggs | Blueberries

Having the blues - in a very good way

Two worlds collide

Combine

Bananas over batter

Pre-oven

Old timer | Old soul

Post-oven | Lookin mighty fine

So, so, so good!

Healthified Blueberry Banana Bread

(adapted from 8 weeks to a Better You Recipes)

Ingredients

- 2 ripened bananas

- 1 c blueberries (or as much/as little as you'd like; you could also try strawberries, raspberries or blackberries in place of the blueberries)

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 1/2 c sugar-free, natural applesauce

- 2 cups whole wheat flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Mash bananas together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine blueberries, eggs (beaten), applesauce and mashed bananas.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda & salt until combined.  Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir well, until fully combined.  Transfer mixture to a 9"x5" greased bread pan.  Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.