Healthy Banana Bread and Hummus Recipes

So I made two new recipes this weekend. Banana bread with no added sugar and all whole wheat flour and a straight up hummus recipe. Honestly the banana bread is not my favorite but Miles loves it, he's eaten a ton of it. I think that banana bread needs to maybe be a little bit unhealthy so it's more of a treat. This version is a bit dry and I ended up slathering butter on my piece which I never do with other banana bread recipes. Evie and I both loved the hummus, but we are hummus fans in general. Both recipes are from www.100daysofrealfood.com

I used coconut oil in this recipe and had to melt it in the microwave first, it seemed to work fine. Next time I will substitute a little bit of unrefined all-purpose flour for the whole wheat to help with some of the coarseness.

WHOLE-WHEAT BANANA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes clean with a toothpick

With the hummus recipe below, I did leave out the water until last, and just added a little bit at a time, I don't like runny hummus. I also used a whole can of garbanzo beans and added a little bit of crumbled feta in at the end. Pretty yummy!!

Traditional Hummus

 

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup dried chickpeas or 2 cups canned (rinsed)
• water
• ⅓ cup cooking liquid (that is left after boiling dried chickpeas)
• 3 or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, to taste
• 3 tablespoons tahini (ground sesame seeds – usually found near the peanut butter in the grocery store)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt (or more if preferred)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If using dried chickpeas pick over and rinse them. Put them in a Tupperware container or bowl with water to cover by 2 inches. Soak them in the fridge overnight. The following day rinse them again and then put them in a small pot with fresh water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 90 minutes. Reserve the cooking liquid.
2. If using canned chickpeas rinse them with water.
3. In a food processor combine the soft chickpeas, ⅓ cup cooking liquid (or fresh water if using canned chickpeas), lemon juice, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Blend until smooth and add more liquid if a thinner sauce is preferred.
4. Garnish with paprika if serving as a dip.