I bought quinoa a week ago. I still don’t have the guts to prepare it, out of fear of what happens to unfortunately too many of my experiments in healthy-food-ness. Make it. Eat some the first day. Then a day goes by: everyone opts for the other options in the fridge. Another day goes by: my mom brings over a vat of chicken curry. Another day goes by: take out time! By day 4, no one will be eating what they hadn’t eaten the past 4 days (my chia seed pudding is currently suffering that fate)! So while I procrastinate on the quinoa, I tried to make some healthier substitutions in my usual banana bread. After going through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was all like “yeah! butter! if french people can douse their food in it, why can’t we?”. Then I read an article that scared the pants off of me about saturated fats. So what to do?! There’s got to be a balance between the Paula Deen fried mac’n’cheese-wrapped-in-bacon death on a plate and quinoa/kale/green smoothie diet.So, here is my answer. Banana bread. I know bananas have a bad rap for the amount of sugar in them, but hey, they have potassium. That’s important, right? Personally, I’d rather eat natural foods with natural sugars (like coconut water) and vitamins/minerals than an artificially flavored protein shake to curb my appetite! So, on to this bread. Does it have sugar? Yes. But there’s fiber from the date and whole wheat flour. Does it have fat? Yes. But it’s coconut oil and supposedly the saturated fat in that is better for you. And nuts! Good fats that keep you full longer! I cut the amount of sugar from the original recipe by a 1/2 cup. If you’re rolling your eyes at me at this point, I’m ok with that. This isn’t a cake baked in a loaf pan that you can call a breakfast. It’s hearty. It tastes good. And you don’t have to feel guilty for having a slice. Have it with a glass of milk for a snack, or with coffee for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 medium bananas, smashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Bring the buttermilk and eggs to room temperature: set the half cup of buttermilk out and let it come to room temperature while assembling the rest of the ingredients. Place the eggs in a bowl with lukewarm water (cold ingredients will cause the coconut oil to congeal).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x5in loaf pan with non-stick spray (or grease with butter).
3. Combine coconut oil and sugar in a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until combined (or use any electric mixer) for about 2 minutes. Add the bananas, eggs, and buttermilk, one at a time until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add to the wet ingredients with the mixer running, until combined.
5. Turn off the mixer. Add the dates and pecans. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to combine (scraping off the sides and bottom).
6. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes (start checking with a toothpick at 1 hour 5 minutes. It should come out dry).