My husband LOVES banana bread, so anytime we have a few bananas go black he looks at them and gives me a look.  I know that look.  And that look means it’s time to break out my Kitchen Aid mixer!  Banana Bread can be made really really healthy, but I find it to be dry and crumbly the times I’ve subbed out every ingredient for something better.  I asked my husband if he wanted bad banana bread or good banana bread and he told me ‘don’t be a hippie about it.’  I am a woman of balance, so this version is somewhere in between.  It’s an indulgence, but one that won’t have you feeling so guilty.

I decided to add in oatmeal.  My husband and son love oatmeal but I could care less for the texture.  I force fed myself oatmeal during my first pregnancy, but this time around it makes me gag.  Oatmeal, banana…your guts will thank me!

Here’s what you need:

1 cup brown sugar/raw sugar

1 stick butter

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 bananas very ripe

1 cup oats

2 cups flour (use whole wheat if you like)

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/2 cup milk (any variety)

1/2 cup Semi Sweet chocolate chips

**tips**

-If you don’t have very ripe bananas on hand or they don’t have more ripe ones at the store, you can put somewhat ripe bananas in a brown paper bag and close it and leave it at room temp or in a warm over for a bit.  I just microwaved mine for 30 seconds and left them on the counter for a few hours.  This will speed up the ripening process.

-If you find your bread turns out crumbly add in a teaspoon or two of cornstarch.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl,  mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch salt, and cinnamon.  In your mixer bowl or another large bowl mix together butter and sugar until creamy, then add in bananas, eggs (1 at a time), milk and vanilla.  Mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, cup by cup until all is incorporated.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.  I added a third and threw in some chocolate chips, then a bit more batter and more scattered chips.  Alternatively you could mix them right into the batter but I recommend tossing the chocolate chips in a spoon or two of flour before mixing into the batter.  This will prevent them from clumping or congregating.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a knife through the center comes out clean.

Enjoy with melted butter!!