Scary Good Pumpkin Banana Bread Recipe

It’s not too late to get into the halloween “spirit” and make a yummy treat that is not to tricky to pull off.

Of course, every Rebecca recipe adventure has a story. I had a few bananas left over from the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon and I needed to do something with them. I also recently purchased canned pumpkin at the store. I searched the internets for pumpkin banana bread recipes – surprised to find so many actually. Most didn’t pass my health test, with large amounts of oil and sugar… until I found this one advertised as “low fat”. I decided to give it a go — with a few minor tweaks to amp up the nutrition value.

They came out so delicious, but I am sure you can creatively think of other tweaks. Perhaps adding walnuts or mini chocolate chips. Personally, I say serve it up with some chai tea (not tai chi – you shouldn’t eat and exercise at the same time)… or try apple cider or yummy cocoa.

Please try making this and get back to me with a comment on how you liked it — and tell everyone what scary substitutions you made!

Here’s the original recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour (one loaf, or 40 minutes if using mini loaf pans)

Ingredients:

• 2 mashed ripe bananas (original called for 1 but I had extras)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (I had a can so I used it)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs (original called for 1 egg and 2 egg white, but in this economy, I’m not wasting eggs. In addition, egg yolk is not bad for you. It has vitamin D – one of the few non-fortified foods, choline, and unsaturated fat – not likely to raise cholesterol.)
• 2 cups flour (1 cup all purpose, one cup whole wheat OR 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I added this to the recipe to make up for the extra banana and pumpkin noted above. You could also add some wheat germ or take this to 3/4 cup easily)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup sugar (I didn’t mess with this but experienced bakers might suggest using some agave nectar, stevia, splenda or other substitute?)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans) with nonstick cooking spray. (I use canola oil and wipe out the excess.)

Place mashed banana, pumpkin puree, oil, egg and egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with an electronic mixer on low speed.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to banana and pumpkin mixture and beat until just moist.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick placed in center comes out clean.

Serves 12. (Now if you make 4 mini loaves like I did, that means you cut them in thirds – that’s a hearty hunk of goodness.)

Per Serving: Calories 196, Calories from Fat 48, Total Fat 5.3g (sat 0.5g), Cholesterol 18mg, Sodium 206mg, Carbohydrate 33.3g, Fiber 1.6g, Protein 3.7g

Note: this info will be off because of the substitutions that were made. But my guess is they are not that different. But if you are concerned, just take a smaller piece!

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