Banana Blueberry Quick Bread
Over the past couple weeks many of you have emailed me asking one of two questions: Have you found out whether the baby is a boy or a girl? And, is pregnancy affecting your kitchen habits? The answers are: yes and yes.
To answer question one: last week we discovered that we’re having a baby boy! We were thrilled as can be and I was so glad we didn’t wait until delivery day since a boy means a bris and who wants to deal with that in the wee hours after giving birth? I joke with my husband that I knew all along because I did, after all, buy lots of powder blue and forest green yarn when I started knitting again. But then he reminds me that I also bought pink yarn, so there goes my psychic maternal powers theory.
As for the second question, I’m surprised to say that I haven’t had many pregnancy cravings so far. (I’m not counting that one time I sent my husband all over the city because I wanted a Willy Wonka Bar before we went to see G.I. Joe at the movie theatre. Movie food doesn’t count!) The biggest change has been that I’ve started adjusting how I bake so that the treats I do make for myself include more healthful goodness. This is probably a good way to approach baking in general and something I should have done all the time (instead of some of the time) before, but eh, what can you do. 
A perfect example of this shift is the Banana Blueberry Quick Bread you see here. I took the traditional banana bread equation and replaced butter with olive oil, supplemented all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and wheat germ, reduced the sour cream and added plain yogurt. I also added antioxidant-rich blueberries to the mix, resulting in a relatively healthy (and super delicious) banana blueberry bread that, frankly, made my morning every day this week.
Up next, an easy work-lunch option that I like so much I Twittered about it before even heading to the office on Wednesday – that’s how much I was looking forward to eating it. And sadly no, I can’t blame obsessing about upcoming meals hours in advance on pregnancy. I’ve been like that for years – and I’m OK with that.
Banana Blueberry Quick Bread (My Recipe)
Ingredients: Makes 1 Loaf
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used lowfat)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (I used nonfat)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with PAM or another baking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the olive oil and sugars well. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly.
In a medium bowl combine the flours, wheat germ, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl combine the mashed banana, sour cream, yogurt and vanilla, mixing well. In another small bowl toss the frozen blueberries with two teaspoons of the flour mixture.
Add the flour mixture to the olive oil mixture, stirring until just combined. Add the banana mixture and mix well. Fold in the blueberries, then scrape the batter into your prepared pan.
Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Allow bread to rest for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Banana Bread Recipes On Other Blogs:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (Gluten Free) from Karina’s Kitchen
- Almond Banana Bread from The Knead for Bread
- Cranberry Banana Bread from Chocolate & Zucchini
- Banana Bread from Whipped the Blog
- Jacked Up Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen
29 Responses to “Banana Blueberry Quick Bread”
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Congrats on the boy! So fun! Love this bread recipe too!
AWESOME NEWS! Congratulations, Ari!
You’ve made quite a healthy loaf there. I wonder when I will finally substituting with healthier stuff.
I like Banana Blueberry Bread . I am glad for a version that uses whole wheat flour and wheat germ as we have lots!
Congrats on the news that you are having a boy!
Perfect for the cool weather that I’m so looking forward to! I always have blueberries in the house because Alice is part bear and will eat her weight in them.
BTW, I didn’t have a lot of cravings either… it was more about repulsion and indifference. I made great meals that sounded so good to me as I was preparing them, but when it came down to actually eating it, I ended up with pb&j or scrambled eggs instead and my husband was left to eat it on his own.
Congrats! And that bread is beautiful.
SO EXCITING!!! Hooray for a little boy
And for a delicious batch of blueberry bread!
Congratulations! How exciting and here’s to healthy/happy months ahead! Your banana bread looks delicious and I like the combo of banana and blueberries!
A wonderful bread”surely delicious!
Congrats!
Cheers,
Rosa
Mmmm…looks great! Blueberries and banana are wonderful together. Congrats on the boy…shall be fun. Two boys to feed makes life all the better!
How exciting! This loaf sounds amazing, i think i’m low on my banana stock, though… better get on that;)
Congrats on the boy! They are a lot of fun.
Delicious looking bread. Perfect anytime of day.
Your bread sounds very delicious and healthy.
A boy? Congrats!
Paz
mmmmmmmmmmmm, I’m now hating that I just tossed some old bananas–I was waiting and waiting to bake bread or muffins but never got around to it–ergh @ work…
Can you freeze super ripe bananas???
congrats on knowing the sex–that’s exciting!
You know that you have to reserve the Bar Mitzvah date now, don’t you?
Ha! And the sad thing is you’re only half joking.
The bread certainly doesn’t look healthy!! I’m pretty sure it must not have tasted healthy either!! And congrats on finding out you’re having a boy!! You must be overjoyed!!
As far as baked goods go this bread is actually pretty healthy. I got 10 slices out of one loaf, which means that every slice had only 294 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3g of fiber and 4g of protein.
Congratulations, Ari!! I hope your pregnancy goes smoothly.
Congratulations! And what a super idea to put blueberries in banana bread. Sounds delicious. K x
good for you for trying to incorporate more healthful stuff into your diet, and congrats again on your son. next hurdle: the name.
Hi,
Thanks for the comment on my site – your right it was perfect!
This bread looks great – I’m always looking for recipes for my blueberries so will definitely try this next year!
Great site, and added to my RSS feed!
Andy – http://onceuponathyme.wordpress.com/
This bread looks great, especially adding blueberries into it I am a huge fan of blueberry
Congratulations on the baby!
congratulations and glad all is well
incidentally i did a fairly healthy banana ‘bread’ as well in muffin style, but mine is with chocolate chips (there goes the healthiness) 
Congrats! I was blessed with a boy, too. You’ll love it – they’re so full of energy and sweetness!
Congratulations on the boy! Looking forward to more healthful snacks
Love how you’ve added wheat germ here…I already love banana bread but I love wheat germ too 
Must try!
Gorgeous! I love how healthy this is!! Perfect for breakfast! Thanks for sharing!
Just made this yesterday from another recipe. Will have to do a comparison taste. Looks delicious.
COngratulations on the baby boy.
I’ve never baked with Olive oil. I think I’ll try your recipe. Sound yummy …and healthy!