Whole Wheat Banana Bread (no nuts!)

I'm all about healthy eating, I just don't go all crazy about it or anything.  Here is my attempt at some "healthy" whole wheat banana bread.  And yes, I know I left out the "nut".  I do not like cooked/baked nuts so I left those out.  But if you like those go ahead and add them.  I'm not eating it so it doesn't matter to me. :) 

This bread turned out great!  I'm sure I will continue to tweak it every time I make it.  But it was yummy!

Ingredients: 1/3 cup of oil (or applesauce, I used applesauce), 1/2 cup of honey, 2 eggs, 1 cup mashed bananas (I used 3 bananas), 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 teaspoon baking soda. 

--->Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mash the bananas.  I used a fork and it worked great.

Add the applesauce and honey to your bowl.  Mix it up.  Note: to make honey slide out of the measure'er better, spray it with cooking spray before adding the honey, slides right outta there.

Add 2 eggs and mix well.

Add mashed bananas and vanilla.  Mix. ***I agree it looks kinda gross.

Add whole wheat flour and salt. Again, mix.

Add the baking soda to the hot water, (NOT to the batter!) stir to dissolve.  -- Note:  This causes a pretty neat fizzy noise that makes you feel all science-y-ish.  :)

Pour the water into the batter.  Mix.  Pour the batter mixture in to your GREASED 9x5 inch loaf pan. Yes, I missed the pan.  I am a messy cooker.  But I wiped it off before baking so it wouldn't get burnt.

Bake for 55-60 minutes.   Fresh out of the oven! :)

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, run a knife along the edges to loosen the loaf.  Carefully dump out onto a baking rack to cool. 

Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. 

ICING (optional):  When you pull the bread out of the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes, pour this icing/glaze over the top and allow to harden.  It's sooooo good!

Ingredients: 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk.

Really, I just eyeball the ingredients for this, no measuring required.  Just start small or it will keep growing and growing and GROWING and then you will have so much icing you will have to bake another loaf of bread (what a shame).

I ended up with an icing that is pretty thin or runny, you don't want it to be too thick, just like a glaze.

Pour on top of your freshly baked loaf of bread, allow to cool with the bread. Important Note: Notice that I covered the baking rack with a piece of foil. If you do not do this before pouring on the icing, you will have a sticky mess to clean off of your counter = no fun!

I like to eat this with a generous heap of butter (so much for healthy).  YUMMY!!!

  ** Nooooo, it's not meatloaf!  Haha....it's dark because of the whole wheat flour. :)

Note: This bread is great to make on a rainy or snowy, cold day.  Eat with a cup of tea or coffee or while reading a book or watching a movie....the possibilities are endless! :) 

See a written (no pictures) copy of this recipe here: Whole Wheat Banana Bread (no nuts!!) - Recipes