Healthy Banana Bread

Okay, my husband and I have a slight obsession with banana bread. I pretty much buy bananas with the hope that I end up with overripe bananas for banana bread. The problem is, I usually can't wait days on end for the bananas to turn brown. So I tried out a new recipe and roasted the bananas before they were fully browned and it's quite possibly the best healthy banana bread recipe I've made so far (trust me, I've made A LOT). I tweaked this recipe to my liking, substituted apple sauce for the oil in the recipe, added wheat germ, and then doubled it to make two loaves (like I said, we're obsessed). The best part is that because it's healthy, you don't have to feel guilty for having more than one slice. Throw on some honey and a dab of butter and you'll never turn back.

Ingredients:

4 bananas
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 egg whites, plus 1 whole egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup (if you don't have it you can use honey instead)
1/2 cup 0% greek yogurt
1/2 cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Optional Crumble Topping:
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet place all four bananas (skin on) and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Lower oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon. In another large bowl, mix together apple sauce, egg whites and whole egg, honey, agave, and brown rice syrup.  Mix in the roasted bananas, vanilla, and greek yogurt. Gently stir in flour mixture. Add baking soda to the 1/2 cup hot water and stir into batter, but don't over mix! Lastly, gently fold in 1/2 cup of nuts. Divide batter into two bread pans.

Crumble topping:
Cube butter and add to bowl of cinnamon, sugar, and flour. Mix with hands or pastry cutter until the mixture turns into little crumbles. Sprinkle on top of batter.

Bake loaves in the oven for 50-60 minutes.