Pieces of July | Monthly Round-up

These lyrics. 

This beat. And Justin Bieber ain't bad either.

New favorite crossbody bag.

Living digital space gallery.

Pre-travel reads for my Shanghai trip in August starts now.

My Favorite Healthy Banana Bread Recipe | VLOG

My go-to recipe for healthy banana bread. 

I discovered this recipe when I was in college - wait did that just make me sound old? I only graduated last summer! Anyhoo, the recipe uses unsweetened applesauce and honey and I was absolutely won over that I haven't made banana bread any other way. Unsweetened applesauce is a great substitute for butter and the honey adds subtle sweetness to every bite. I love that the bread is super fluffy and moist while it's a healthier version of the standard banana bread. Who said you have to sacrifice taste for health?

__________

You will need:

9x5 loaf pan

nonstick spray

parchment paper (to line the bottom of baking pan)

foil (to cover the top)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cups honey

3/4 cups unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

2-3 whole ripe bananas

1 cup walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Smash the bananas. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, honey, unsweetened apple sauce, vanilla extract, and stir until well combined. 

In a separate bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Do not overmix.

Mix in bananas and fold in the walnuts. 

Line bottom of baking pan with parchment paper for easy clean-up and lifting the bread out of the pan. Grease pan and pour in the batter. Top with walnuts for garnish. Finally, cover the top with foil to prevent bread from browning too quickly. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Cool before serving.

Recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

__________

Watch me put the recipe to the test!