Friday, February 04, 2011

Healthy 10 Minute Banana Bread

I hate bananas to eat it like as a fruit. I am seeing this bananas on my kitchen counter for about a week, and they are not being touched by anyone...so sad. I know it is very good for health with full protein, but don't why I don't like it. Shoj likes bananas a lot (especially the small varieties, but not this green ones) but I did stop him from eating it cos I wanted to try to eat it by making some healthy recipe. Anush used to eat a lot when he was young, but now as he ate too much of it...he also does not like it. So for sure I need to hide this banana in a recipe so that Anush will also love to eat it and will be a good and healthy change for my husband.
I started searching in google for some simple, healthy recipe. I didn't wanna use lot of butter (as usually butter is used a lot in this recipe to make it more rich). I wanted to use butter less for two reasons - 1. To keep it simple and healthy, 2. Reason being that I didn't have much butter left at home... he he he.
The bread recipe was from the site The Fresh Loaf, I should say it was wonderful very easy just took exactly to put all the things together and it was so moist and very tasty. I did add some walnuts and golden raisins to make it healthily rich. :-)
You know what this recipe owner has another recipe for banana bread and called it as "Better Banana Bread"
Some goof facts about Banana:
Every part of a Banana tree is edible:
Banana - can be eaten as a fruit and can be used in cooking in both raw and ripe forms.
Flower - Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and South Asian Cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups and curries.
Leaves - Especially in the South Indian states in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor.
Health Benefits:
Along with other fruits and vegetables, consumption of bananas may be associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and in women, breast cancer and renal call carcinoma
Bananas contain moderate amounts of vitamin b6, vitamin C, Maganese and potassium, possibly contributing to electrolyte balance.
In India, juice is extracted from the corm and used as a home remedy for jaundice, sometimes with the addition of honey, and for kidney stones.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
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Wet Ingredients:
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1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar
Dry Ingredients:
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1 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Note: You can use any nuts of your choice (about 1/2 cup) - I used golden raisins in the batter with dry ingredients and walnuts in the bottom after greasing the loaf pan.
Method:
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1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Mash the bananas with fork or masher.
Wet Ingredients
3. Mix both the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and mix it together.
4. Grease the loaf pan with butter and flour, add the crushed walnuts (optional) and then pour the batter and bake it for about 30 mins for small loafs or 50 mins for normal sized loaf.
Note: I used only half of this measurements to make a medium sized loaf pan, so it took me exact 30 mins to bake. Now I am sure I will bake more of it and definitely will try the "Better Banana Bread" recipe too...cos it's yummy and I think a better way to eat banana ;-)  (I am sorry to those who love bananas!!).