The Hair on my head AND "Clean" Banana bread

Does your hair define you?  I mean when people are describing you to other people do they typically start with your hair type and color?  Have you seen my hair?  Not only does it define me...it engulfs me.  I think it was very appropriate that God gave me the hair that is on my head...I am definitely not a person who would look natural in straight hair.  My hair is crazy!  It is curly, it is frizzy, it is poofy, and it is insane!  There really are no other words to describe it.  I used to be jealous of straight haired people, their lives seemed so organized and put together.  Every hair in place, in a nice even pattern...just like their lives.  Then I look at my car, my bedroom, and my kitchen and realize that if I had straight hair it would still find a way to rebel against me and become curly.  Like for realz yo, it is off the hook and has a mind of its own.

I recently cut off 7 inches of hair, and I swear 1/2" has already grown back in less then 2 weeks!When the hair stylist was lost in the jungle of my hair she kept commenting on how it was never ending...she thought she had already cut that piece off...and it was already back!  I swear I am distantly related to Rapunzel...now if only Zachary Levi would be my prince.  (Tangled movie reference: ) )

I realize that hair is not a good segue into food, but I just felt compelled to discuss it since it has been particularly fluffy in our current humid state.

Have you ever been served a dish of food only to look down and find a strand of hair?  Of course you have...it happens all the time!  When I was in 7th grade my family and I (really meaning me) decided to bring a little bit of our Southern tradition to the East Coast school we were attending and make some Mardi Gras cakes.  I worked extra hard and made about 4 cakes to share with the small student body of about 60 students.  I was in the middle of dishing out the cake when a Senior boy...who was "THE" Senior guy that every girl had a crush on came up to me to thank me for the cake...then he pulled out a long blond curly piece of hair that was embedded into the cake and said "I think this belongs to you."  How humiliating!!!!  From that day on I always make it a point to be extra vigilant about NOT letting my crazy hair find a way into my food.  To make a long story short, that moment ended all chances of me marrying Mr. Popular...so watch out where your stray hairs may fall, they may alter the course of your life in ways you never expected.

Now that I have thoroughly turned you off to the idea of food, let me share with you a recipe.  This is a recipe for Banana Bread made without oil/butter or sugar...instead it is made with applesauce and honey.  Now if you are expecting this bread to taste like your normal everyday sugar and oil filled banana bread - you will be disappointing   Instead this bread tastes like sweetened bananas.  It is much drier than your typical banana bread, but still very tasty.  I usually toast mine and slather on some natural jam, cream cheese, or butter.  The more I ate of the loaf the more I liked it.  If you are also gluten free - I imagine you can also swap out the flour for a gluten free alternative - I haven't tried this, but it seems like it would be fine.

Clean Banana Bread

adapted from a Pinterest recipe

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce (I used homemade applesauce)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 mashed overripe bananas
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Keep your New Year's resolutions to be healthy, make this bread, listen to this song and dance to it, and of course - eat your heart out!

 

Dagny