Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Around our house, the best way to eat banana bread is with chocolate chips and walnuts. Once again, I adapted a Cooking Light recipe (for Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread) to make it practical and easy for our family. (Why melt the chocolate and swirl it in? It was fun and fancy, but chocolate chips are so quick and tasty, and I feel great about our healthy add-ins.)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2 cups (freshly ground) whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sweetener (we prefer honey)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 and 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt (or kefir)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine flour, soda, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk well. (Sometimes we replace part of the flour with ground flax seeds.)

3. Beat sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended. Add mashed banana, eggs, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until moist.

4. Gently fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

5. Bake one loaf at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove from pan. (We often use the mini loaf pan and make 4 small loaves. These need to bake for about 40 minutes.) Enjoy!