Healthy Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread

There are few things more delicious to me than banana bread. My mom would make it growing up and store it in the fridge, and I would love coming home from school and slicing a piece for a snack. I recently did a no sugar, no white flour, no processed sweeteners bet for a month with my father-in-law (and it was SO HARD) so I had to be creative when it came to my treats. He allowed me to have honey as a sweetener and can I just say that I have never had more honey in my whole life than I did last month? I didn’t even know I liked honey that much but when that’s the only sweetener you can eat…well, lets just say I was tempted to pour myself shots of honey 🙂

Anyway, I will say that doing the challenge for a month opened my eyes to healthier alternatives for some of my favorite foods, and I absolutely loved this recipe! It makes two loaves so I froze one to enjoy later. Just put it in a Ziploc bag and store it in your freezer until you’re ready to eat it, up to 3 months. I like this because you only have to make the recipe once and you get the reward for a long time!

If you’re looking for a KitchenAid, I thought this one looked like a good deal. I think it’s cute when people leave them on their counter tops if they get a color that matches their kitchen.

Healthy Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread:

2/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup honey
4 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas (I used 4 large bananas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
31/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used normal flour but I’m sure whole wheat pastry flour would be great)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup hot water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. I grease my bread pans by painting on Crisco with a pastry brush then coating with flour. I make sure the sides are fully covered then I tap off excess flour in the sink.
In a large bowl or mixer, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs and beat well.
Stir in bananas and vanilla, then stir in the salt and cinnamon. Lastly, stir in the flour, just until combined.
Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then mix briefly into batter until it is evenly distributed. Spread batter into the greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes. Be sure to check that the bread is done baking by inserting a toothpick in the top. It should come out clean. Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes: I got this recipe from cookieandkate.com and doubled the recipe.