Healthy Banana Bread

I love my Mom BECAUSE...

Ok. I trashed my mom a little bit in my last post. That wasn't very nice. There are SO many reasons to love my mom!

First, look how cute she is:
          

             Mom & Me



                                               

Not everyone pulled off the early '80s poof as well as she did.

Second, she thinks I'm really funny. Even when I made fun of her eating habits for all of the world to see (or the 8 people who accidentally clicked on my blog link when using a touch screen to scroll through status updates on Facebook) she emailed me to tell me how much it made her laugh.

Third, when my brother and I were growing up she let us eat sweets for breakfast. I'm not talking about boxed donuts or toaster strudel. She baked for us! Blueberry muffins, maple scones, poppy seed bread, and my personal favorite ...chocolate chip banana bread! There is absolutely nothing better than starting your day with a warm piece of banana bread spread with a little bit of peanut butter.

These days, whenever we come home for visits, she makes sure that there is something special waiting for us in the kitchen. AND (and this is my favorite part) she never lets us make our own breakfasts.

 

See? Don't you love her?

It's not Sheila's Banana Bread But it's Pretty Darn Good

(Adapted from this recipe at AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1.5 cups white sugar
• 1 cup (not packed) dark brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 6 very ripe bananas, mashed ( whenever I have a banana start to go brown, I throw it in the freezer until I've accumulated enough to bake with. The riper-the-better)
• 12 ounces 0% fat Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose white flour
• 2.5 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (the dark chips offset the sweet bread nicely)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. (or different size loaf pans, just adjust your baking time accordingly)
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon.
4. Mix in salt, baking soda and both flours. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Divide into prepared pans, filling each 3/4 of the way (this bread REALLY rises)
6. Bake for 1+ hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Share a piece with a friend, or family member and feel the love.