Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I've been having a few health issues lately and as a result, I've been trying to eat healthier. Key word, trying. On Monday's Oprah, Dr. Oz was talking about diabetes becoming an epidemic in America and offering advice to prevent and even cure the disease. His biggest tip is "avoid the white stuff"... white rice, white flour, white bread, etc. So that got me to thinking, I wonder if I could bake my sweet tooth cravings with whole wheat flour, instead of white. I wonder if it tastes any good?

Because I always end up have a few bananas that get over-ripened before I can eat them, I just throw them in the freezer to use in banana bread later. When I cleaned out my freezer this week, I realized I had 11 frozen bananas. Time to bake some bread! After searching the internet for just a minute, I ran across this Breadtopia website with a whole wheat banana bread recipe. I decided to adapt it just a bit to reduce the fat content and here's the recipe I came up with.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread
(makes 12 muffins or 1 loaf)

1/2 stick of butter (softened)
1/4 c. applesauce (I used homemade cinnamon cause it's all I had)
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
1/4 c. honey
2 eggs (I used 1 egg plus 3 Tbsp egg whites)
2 c. whole wheat flour

1. Using a hand mixer beat butter, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
2. Add bananas, honey, and eggs. Beat with hand mixer.
3. Add flour and stir until moist.
4. Rest 10 minutes before pouring into greased pan.
5. Bake on 350.
6. For muffins, bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for 6 more minutes.
   For bread, bake for 50 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for 10 more minutes.

The muffins turned out awesome! They were thick, yet light and moist. The color is a bit darker than white flour banana muffins, but they taste just as delish! I might even like them a little bit more because they're hearty and filling, too! I made enough to share with my family, so I'll have to get their opinions as well. I'm thinking this'll be my new Banana Bread recipe!