Yesterday, I made it facebook official, so today I'll make it blog official -- I'm 12 weeks pregnant with my third child! It's been fun being pregnant again, especially this time around because I've felt absolutely wonderful (which is something I attribute to running). But something else I'll share is that I've never been one of those women who considers pregnancy a time to eat whatever I want. I take baby building seriously, as I take my pregnant health seriously because I'm a natural homebirther devoted to staying low risk. Thus, I follow certain food guidelines and try to get extra protein with minimized white flour and sugar in my diet. And this delicious banana bread is a great way for me to get what I need in a tasty, easy way. And even if you're not pregnant (like my husband), you'll appreciate the benefits of the healthy ingredients I've stealthily added. I say "stealthily" because this bread really is so moist and delicious, you'd never realize you were getting extra protein, flax, and wheat germ.
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, crushed
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flax
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup textured vegetable protein (rehydrated with 1 cup water)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (or some other nut), chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time; beat. Add crushed bananas; mix. Add dry ingredients and rehydrated textured vegetable protein (rehydrate tvp by cooking it over medium heat in a small sauce pan with 1 cup of water). Finally, mix in chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
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Congratulations on your pregnancy! What a special time of life it is while waiting for a little one to arrive.
ReplyDeleteHey, I've never used the vegetable protein before - what's it like?? Soy?
Thanks, Tracy! The tvp is a soy product. Once it's been rehydrated it has an appearance similar to oatmeal, but it really had no flavor, so it takes on the flavor of whatever you put it in. The one I use is a Bob's Red Mill product.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Jenny!! So happy for you! I too enjoyed a healthy, balanced diet during my pregnancy. I occasionally had major sweet cravings though. I just wish I knew about this recipe at the time! : (
ReplyDeleteI hope everything goes well for you.
Jennie