Coconut Banana Bread + Weekly Menu

I saw this recipe on Erika’s blog, I knew it would be baked this weekend. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. Done and done. This girl knows what she likes, alright? I’m just amazed I was able to hold off 16 or so hours between the time I saw the recipe and the time I made the recipe 😉

I did lower the amount of sugar in the recipe – less granulated sugar and less agave. I also cut out 75% of the butter and used unsweetened applesauce instead. As always, I used whole wheat pastry flour, but half whole wheat + half all-purpose would do fine, or any gluten-free flour of choice should sub in well. One reader wanted a lower-carb option for this bread and I recommended an almond meal/flour versus regular wheat flours. I also had egg substitute on hand that I needed to use up, so I used 1 large egg + 1/4 cup egg substitute in place of the 2 eggs (which could be replaced with 1/2 cup canola oil to make this vegan — along with all applesauce in place of all of the butter). All-in-all I was able to shave off most all of the saturated fat in the recipe, cut 520 calories out (52 calories per slice), and increased the fiber content by about 25% (1 gram per serving). And if you’re curious, I don’t think any one of those substitutions altered the recipe for the worse…Mmmmm mmmm! 😀

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Coconut Banana Bread adapted from The Teenage Taste

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut, divided
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg + 1/4 cup egg substitute
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp agave (or maple syrup or honey)
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 1/2 bananas worth)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-x-5-x-3 inch loaf pan, set aside.

Place all dry ingredients (reserving 2 tablespoons of coconut) in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a small bowl, mash banana until no large chunks remain and add the egg, egg substitute, butter, applesauce, and agave. Add to bowl with other ingredients. Stir to combine, not over-mixing.

Spoon into prepared pan and top with reserved 2 tablespoons coconut. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool on a wire rack and wrap tightly to store. Yield: 1 loaf (10 slices).

Nutrition Information (per slice): 199 calories; 5.5 g. fat; 21 mg. cholesterol; 266 mg. sodium; 34.1 g. carbohydrate; 4.0 g. fiber; 1.5 g. protein

Result: What a perfect twist on banana bread…why didn’t I think of this?! Moist, sweet, and a perfect start to any morning! When I posted about this as breakfast yesterday morning on Facebook, everyone wanted the recipe! I guess I’m not the only coconut lover around! Enjoy!!

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A few notes on this week’s menu. Monday is our 2nd wedding anniversary, and I decided to do a fun, casual “cocktail party” menu tonight to celebrate. Due to work all day, and teaching all night on Monday, our actual anniversary, we will celebrate together the night before. On Monday, the Buffalo Chicken Pasta is a carry-over dish that we didn’t get to last week. And t’s also right up Mr. Prevention’s alley, so I figured that was the next best thing to his wife on our special day. 😉

Weekly Menu: May 22nd-26th

• Sunday: Pepperoni Pizza Puffs and Chicken Meatballs with Sweet Peanut Sauce, and Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks for dessert
• Monday: Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta {carry-over from last week’s menu}
• Tuesday: Tequila-Glazed Grilled Chicken with grilled asparagus
• Wednesday: leftovers
• Thursday: Honey-Lime Enchiladas and Mexican rice

I was “up” 0.6 at weigh-in. I say “up” because the scale was showing a loss at home on Friday morning, but a meal out that contained a lot of salt changed that for me. I’m not discouraged, though 🙂 The scale is a terd, but I won’t let it rain on my parade 😀

Question: What night do you want to come over for dinner? 😉

Happy weekend!