Banana Bread

I love bananas. 

They come pre-packed in their own carrying case, require no utensils, and taste fantastic.

They also get bonus points for being one of the few fruits that are usable even after they've passed their snacking prime. If you have bananas that are black already, but no time to make banana bread right now, no fear! Toss them in the freezer and just thaw them out when you want to make bread with them.

Bangin' Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients:

    3 to 4 ripe banana, mashed (The riper the better!)
    1/3 cup vegetable oil 
    2 tablespoon ground flax seed
    3 tablespoon water
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

    Pinch salt
    1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup whole wheat flour
    1/4 to  2/3 cup nuts (raw unsalted is best, I like mixing half sunflower seeds, half chopped walnuts)
    Additional small handful of seeds/nuts for top of loaf

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Mix ground flax and water in a small bowl, set aside. 

3) Mash bananas in a bowl, add oil and mash a bit more until well mixed. Don't worry about making it smooth, the bananas can be a little lumpy. 

4) Mix in the sugar, flax mixture, vanilla, and spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. 

5) Mix in flour and desired amount of nuts.

6) Grease loaf pan and pour mixture in. Add seeds/nuts to the top of the loaf. 

7) Bake for 45 minutes to and hour. Test done-ness by inserting a butter knife into the loaf. It should come out clean. Cool the bread on a rack to keep the edges from getting soft. ENJOY!

Notes:
- The sugar can be adjusted to taste pretty easily, molasses or other sweetener generally works fine in this recipe, if you're using liquid sweetener (i.e. molasses) increase the flour a little bit. The dough should be soft and sticky, but still definitely doughy.
- Chocolate chips also make a good addition to this bread, just go easy unless you dramatically reduce the sugar or have an intense sweet tooth to satisfy.