tasty & healthy

I have been an absolute baking machine the last week or so. I have buried myself in various cookbooks and of course, you guessed it, Pinterest, searching for recipes that are tasty, but healthy too. Its possible, I promise....for  these two adjectives (tasty & healthy) to co-exist. I foresee many recipe posts in my future. Today I will begin by sharing with you a scrumptious autumn-like (it may be August but it sure is beginning to feel like fall around here!) treat of the classic banana bread...-with-a-twist. Substitute of the day: quinoa flour. Sounds strange, right? I thought so too, at first. However, it is quite tasty, that is, after you get passed the unique and distinct smell of the flour. And I will be honest- it was seriously hard to find. Looked up and down the baking aisle at the local health food store and...nada. Every other kind of substitute flour you could think of- coconut, oat, chickpea (um, gross?!)...but no quinoa. I actually found it at good 'ole Ingles (our local regular grocery store) amongst the “organic” options on the baking aisle. A little pricey (about $10 for this small bag) but it goes a long way. Only 1 1/3 cup in this particular recipe.

First, in a large bowl, combine the flour (watch out for that smell!), baking powder, salt, and spices.

Then mash the banana in a smaller bowl (I used my handy Pampered Chef Mix 'N Chop which can be found here. I am a PC Consultant and would be glad to hook you up with this nifty tool and others!). Add the remaining ingredients.

By the way, brown sugar is my favorite. Also, I used Greek yogurt in this recipe for the extra protein (gotta keep my hubby happy! :)). 

Then add the banana mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. 

Don't over due it here. Chunks are ok.

Gently mix in your nut of choice (walnuts, pecans, almonds, any will do). Pour [sticky] mixture into a greased loaf pan & bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Place loaf pan onto a cooling rack for 10 minutes then take the loaf out of pan and allow to rest on rack until cool.

Refrigerate banana bread (wrapped in plastic or foil) for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. Enjoy! Full recipe listed below. Happy baking :)

Quinoa Flour Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup quinoa flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1 cup mashed bananas (the riper the better)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter (you can also use coconut oil here)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices
• In a separate smaller bowl whisk together egg, bananas, yogurt, brown sugar, & butter until blended.
• Add banana mixture into flour mixture until just blended. Gently mix in nuts.
• Spread batter evenly into greased loaf pan.
• Bake for 50-55 min.
• Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days or wrap in plastic wrap then foil & freeze for up to 3 months.