Blueberry Banana Bread

I haven’t been a blog reader for very long (March 2010?) but I still read several of the first blogs I ever followed.  One healthy /professionally trained /culinary graduate / writer / blogger named Emily Malone has always been one of my favorites.  She doesn’t know me, we’ve never met, and I don’t believe she has ever commented on one of my posts.  But that’s just fine – I still love to read about her journey.  Emily is a vegetarian and I’ve learned a lot from her postings at Daily Garnish.  Her recipes have always been good and healthy.  I’m starting to sound like a creepy stalker so I’ll  just say, when I saw those two dark brown bananas laying on my kitchen counter, I knew I wanted to try this recipe she posted a few days ago.

It always helps when you have everything in the kitchen to make a recipe like this. I made a couple of minor modifications so check her original post HERE if you want to make it just like Emily!

You’ll need two ripe bananas, two eggs, 1 cup blueberries, vanilla, 2 tablespoons butter (melted), sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, all-purpose flour and my favorite – Greek yogurt.

Wash the blueberries and drain well.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, smash the bananas with a fork until smooth.

Add the eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, yogurt, and vanilla to the banana mixture.

Whisk until well blended and smooth.

Add the banana mixture to the flour and stir until combined.

Fold in the blueberries …

… and just for fun I added a little cinnamon.

Pour the batter into a greased (I used Pam) loaf pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.

What a lovely combination of flavors.  This bread is not overly sweet (and that’s a good thing) and the blueberry and banana flavors come through loud and clear.  My husband said it was perfect just the way it is.  Pretty great recommendation!

Thanks Emily – another good recipe with a healthy twist.

(adapted from a recipe by Emily Malone at Daily Garnish)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 large ripe bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

     (I only had fat free yogurt so I added 2 tablespoons melted butter)

1 cup fresh blueberries

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Mash the bananas with a fork in a medium sized mixing bowl until smooth.  Add the brown and white sugars, eggs, vanilla, Greek yogurt and cinnamon.   Whisk until blended and smooth.  Pour the banana mixture into the flour and mix until combined.  Carefully fold in the blueberries and pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Test with a toothpick.  Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!