Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Loaf

  I love blueberries and I especially love mixing them into baked goods. I have a few more recipes to post over the next few weeks that also involve blueberries, so forgive me if I overload you on blueberries but I just cant resist them! Blueberries on their own are wonderful, but mixing them into baked goods seems to add that bit of extra sweetness. Along with blueberries I happen to love bananas and any sort of banana flavor baked good. This banana loaf recipe was excellent, very moist, dense, and sweet. The blueberries add some texture and a nice complimenting flavor to the banana bread. The oatmeal added into the recipe also adds great texture and makes the bread feel heartier. The recipe comes together very quickly, and although the baking time is long, it is easily something that could be made during the week or when you are short on time. This is definitely a healthier version of a banana loaf with the whole wheat flour, the use of buttermilk, and substituting apple sauce for vegetable oil. The original recipe which included oil instead of applesauce and no whole wheat flour came in at 193 calories a slice, not sure how my alterations affect that number but I am pretty sure you can eat this guilt free :) 

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Loaf

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup regular oats

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients through the salt in a large bowl, stirring well. Mix in oats. 

  Combine mashed banana, buttermilk, applesauce, vanilla extract, and eggs. Then add to flour mixture and stir just until moist. 

  Spoon batter into a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan (I greased mine with a little butter but you can use cooking spray instead). Bake about 45-55 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The original recipe said to bake 55 minutes, but mine was done at about 45 minutes so keep an eye on the bread towards the end. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack then remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack. 

recipe adapted from Cooking Light