I don’t want to make you read too much before getting to the recipe so I’ll make it short and sweet, just like this recipe!

Banana bread is so good because bananas are innately sweet, especially when they get past the “peel and eat” stage. But, it’s also good because it’s one of those foods that manages to be whatever you want it to be. If you’re looking for a healthier breakfast option you can add oats, flax meal, or sub the chocolate chips for blueberries. If you are looking for a filling afternoon snack you could spread a little almond butter on top. Or, if you want it to be your dessert add some cream cheese frosting or have it warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream!

On a deeper level banana bread is the perfect stand-in for how our personal perspective on food gives it its value. The categorization of “good” foods and “bad” foods just leads to inner turmoil. For me, in the past, banana bread was always an opportunity to “healthify” a recipe. I would eat it, feel superior about it, and maybe actually enjoy it, but it never really met the satisfaction factor. One big thing I’ve learned through the Intuitive Eating process is that the satisfaction factor really matters. When I was trying to “eat healthy” all the time I was denying my natural instincts to find pleasure from food, but would eventually end up eating something “bad” with guilt and shame. It was an unfortunate cycle of denial and overcompensation, I’m done with that. I’m on a path that trusts the messages my body sends me, and honors them. It’s not easy, it’s not perfect, but it’s what feels right.

As a kid my mom always baked from the healthy angle too, luckily for me that included plenty of butter and the process of broiling banana bread which elevates it (even the heavy whole wheat, nut-filled, chocolate chip-less kind) to a crispy, golden state of deliciousness! That process, with this newly created recipe (baking therapy during the Covid pandemic), is making its On the Food Side debut as my birthday cake, it’s really that good! In fact, the best EVER!!