Blueberry Banana Bread

I had an abundance of blueberries in the refrigerator this weekend so I decided I needed to put them to good use.  Since I also had a few ripe bananas I figured I’d make banana bread … with blueberries in it!  I had never had blueberry banana bread before, but I figured it would be an experiment and it couldn’t necessarily turn out to be a bad thing.

I tried a piece when it came out of the oven after it had cooled for about an hour, and I found the blueberries were tarter while warm. But when I had a piece the next day and it had cooled down completely, the blueberries were not nearly as tart and the banana flavor had become more pronounced.  Definitely far more tasty the next day after it had cooled.

Serves 13. 2 Points Plus Values/serving.

Ingredients:

-          1 ¼ cup flour

-          1 tsp vanilla extract

-          ¾ tsp baking soda

-          1/8 tsp Salt

-          1/3 cup brown sugar

-          2 egg whites

-          3 ripe bananas, mashed

-          ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

-          ½ cup blueberries

-          Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl add ripe bananas and mash.  Add in apple sauce, vanilla, egg whites and brown sugar. Mix to combine.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of flour over the blueberries and mix around so the blueberries are lightly coated with flour.

Add salt, baking soda and remaining flour to mixture and mix until well combined. Be sure to not over mix.

Gently fold in blueberries until blended into the batter.

Pour batter into the loaf pan.  Tap the pan against a hard surface a few times to even out, then place into the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven). The bread is done when a knife of toothpick can be inserted into the bread and it comes out clean.

Allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack before serving.