I hate bananas!

I've always hated bananas. Anything banana. You know those little bananas in the Runts candy boxes? I always gave or threw them away. In December 2010 however I found out that my potassium levels were dangerously low. So low in fact it caused heart palpitations and excess swelling in my knees after injury. So, I started eating bananas (I get really nauseated if they aren't green ones) and bought a potassium supplement. I was getting no where near the 4700mg we need daily. I was getting maybe 1000mg, and that's being generous.

I've become somewhat immune to the taste of bananas as long as they are green. I sometimes can't eat a bunch of bananas before the green turns to brown so the brown ones end up as banana bread because my hubby hates to waste ANYTHING!

Those bananas? They're too ripe for me.

My hubby is the best at making bread. He uses a bread machine most of the time, but not for banana bread. I LOVE his banana bread. A little butter and I'm all set!

The recipe for this bread is in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook on page 124. (It's the 15th edition.) Here's the recipe now that I've given credit to the author!



BANANA BREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping

1) Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and 1/2" up the sides of one 9x5x3" loaf pan or two 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2" loaf pans, set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

2) In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar and oil. Add egg misture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired sprinkle with Steusel-Nut Topping over batter.

3) Bake for 55-60 minutes for 9x5x3" loaf pan or 40-45 minutes for 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2" loaf pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center(s) comes out clean. If necessary, cover loosley with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. Cool in pan(s) on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s). Cool completely on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

STREUSEL-NUT TOPPING

In a bowl combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons all purpose flour. Using pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup walnuts.

For our banana bread, Greg, (my soul mate) used vegetable oil, not butter and left the walnuts out. Oh, and no Streusel Nut Topping. I'm not a fan of walnuts so we didn't have any in the house. But as you can see the bread came out beautifully. I know it's not vegan, but we're inching our way toward vegan. Greg is quite reluctant to go vegan, so I've gone as vegan as I could without cutting out the eggs!

I'm still not a banana fan, but this bread is amazing!