Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

I have always loved all things banana. Banana popsicles, banana candy, actual bananas, but I somehow developed an allergy to them as an adult. However, while I can't eat them raw, I have no reaction to foods with bananas that have been cooked. This is lovely because I've always been a huge fan of banana bread - covered with lots of delicious butter - mmmmm! But, banana bread? Eh, not usually incredibly healthy.

So, when someone from our local food co-op suggested this recipe, found at a fabulous little blog called Joy the Baker, I tried it right away and just absolutely fell in love! The loaf makes 10 slices, and each slice is just 4 Weight Watchers points. Not bad at all, man. I've eaten it from time to time as a stand-alone breakfast when I'm running late and don't have time for anything else. It's also a great snack, and Kaylee just goes berserk for it. Gotta love a recipe that is kid-friendly and can serve as breakfast, a snack, or even dessert.

I also highly recommend making it with your kids! Kaylee is almost 2, and she just loved mixing the dry ingredients while I worked on the other parts of the recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. canola or walnut oil
1 large egg, beaten (you can eliminate some calories/fat by using egg substitute)
3 large bananas, ripe
1 c. uncooked old fashioned oats (not instant)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.

In a medium sized bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.