I don’t know about you but I happen to love banana bread.  But rarely do I ever get to make it because my children are monkeys and almost always gobble up the bananas long before they are banana bread ready.  Even when I buy ‘extra’ bananas, they are gone before I can use them. 

Well, just yesterday I had the rare opportunity to make some.  I had never made a ‘clean’ banana bread before.  If you know me, you know that Anthony and I have cleaned up our diets, and those of our kids,  in recent months.  Sure we slip up a time or two (or ten) each week but we’re trying.  And our eating habits are largely different from where they started. 

So, I decided to give banana bread a makeover.  Maybe I was a tad bit nervous.  You see, I’m a recipe follower to a T.  I’m not one of those people that is comfortable changing things up and just knowing it will turn out.  If it says 1/2 cup, I’m going to use 1/2 cup.  But recently, I have grown a wild hair of sorts and started to tweak things a little bit.  It’s not something I would say I’m good at yet.  I still cringe each time, crossing my fingers that my ’experiment’ doesn’t completely ruin the recipe.  Luckily, I’ve had luck on my side… so far.    Let’s keep that streak, shall we?

Well, I made a version of banana bread that my family absolutely loved!  And believe it or not, there is absolutely NO refined sugar or white flour in it. 

Banana Bread… All Cleaned Up!

1 egg

1/2 c. olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 or 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1 1/2 c.whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 c. Sucanat (dehydrated cane juice)

1/4 plus 2 T. agave nectar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

3 T. ground flax seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 325*. 

Mash bananas in small bowl, set aside.  In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix until blended.  Add bananas, mix until blended.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl.  Add to wet indredients a small amount at a time, mixing each time you add more. 

Once it is all incorporated and mixed well, pour into a sprayed loaf pan (4 1/2 x 8 1/2).  Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. 

Make 1 loaf but could easily be doubled or tripled.