Christina @ This Woman Cooks {Guest Post}

Hi! My name is Christina and I run the blog This Woman Cooks! I'm a SAHM to a beautiful, dramatic, energetic 13-month-old toddler. You can read all about us on my blog, from what we eat to where we shop to what we do on a daily basis. I'm so happy to be here helping Stephanie out while she adjusts to life as a new mom.

On my blog you'll find lots of recipes. I love to cook and I love to bake. I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes with you today. I have always loved banana bread. My mom used to make it all the time when I was a kid. Her recipe is written on an old, beat up index card, with stains from years and years of baking. She always adds chocolate chips to her batter and I do the same. It's just not the same for me if it doesn't have chocolate chips!

This is not my mom's recipe, but an adapted version of hers, with no oil, or butter. I use applesauce instead of oil and butter and swapped one cup of white flour with whole wheat flour. The chocolate chips are also dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. These little changes make me feel a little better about eating it, and about giving my daughter a piece to try. She loves this banana bread as much as her mama!

2-3 mashed bananas
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 container of applesauce, sweetened or unsweetened
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips, plus more for topping

Make 1 loaf.

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Take a large bowl and add the sugar, eggs, and applesauce. Mix until combined. Add mashed bananas and mix again. Add the dry ingredients to the wet- flour, salt, vanilla, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until combined. The batter should be nice and thick batter. Pour in the chocolate chips and fold them in. 

Pour the batter into the loaf pan, sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes. I start checking after 40 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean, with a few moist crumbs, it's done. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. 

Check out Stephanie's 'Savory' Sponsor: