Banana Oatmeal Bread

We are into Phase 2 of South Beach, which means working back in the whole grains and fruits. I may have jumped the gun a bit in the baking frenzy I had on Sunday, since this week is only 1 fruit and 1 whole grain per day. But I made Banana Bread with Cinnamon Sugar topping for the folks in the office and just had to make a Banana Bread that I could eat at home. So I went for an Oatmeal Banana Bread. I tweaked the recipe slightly to make it even more SB friendly. It's so very tasty and is perfect to eat right before boot camp for then energy boost I need to get through the class.


Banana-Oatmeal Bread
adapted from recipezaar.com

1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour) 2/3 cup sugar (I used Splenda granulated for baking)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup oats (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
1 cup mashed banana
1/3 cup buttermilk (I used non-fat plain yogurt)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I subbed Sunsweet Lighter Bake)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. (I used 9x5 loaf pan, spray it with cooking spray and then lined it with parchment paper, letting some paper hang over, it made it much easier to get the loaf out of the pan)
2. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Combine banana, buttermilk (yogurt), oil (Lighter Bake), vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Spoon batter into the prepared pan (and sprinkle a handful of oats on top) and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack, in the pan, for about 15 minutes (I left mine in longer and it was fine).
7. Remove the bread from the pan after 15 minutes and cool thoroughly on the rack.



This is a tasty and very hearty bread. If you are doing South Beach remember to limit yourself to just one slice, but that's truly all you need to fill you up. This one is definitely going to be a regular in our house moving forward. Enjoy!