Banana Bread

 Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 5 ripe bananas
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp.baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt (optional)
• 5 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown granular sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Makes 18 Servings (1 slice per serving)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a large loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Peel and mash 3 bananas. Peel and cut 2 bananas into small chunks. Set both aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together both types of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat to incorporate.
5. Alternating in batches, add mashed bananas, flour mixture and milk to bowl with butter mixture. Combine well but do not over beat; fold in walnuts and banana chunks.
6. Turn batter into prepared pan; bake until a tester inserted in center of bread comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool more. Cut into 18 slices. 

WW POINTS VALUE: 4-5 pts. per serving

Note: This recipe appears on www.weightwatchers.com. Moist and rich, this banana bread makes a great breakfast or snack that you and your loved ones won't be able to get enough of. It's the best way to use up bananas that you think are about to go bad; there's definitely no need to waste them. I used two cups of whole wheat flour, cut the brown sugar in half and added ground spices to make this banana bread healthier. The chopped walnuts are a crunchy treat as well, but feel free to omit them if you don't particularly want them in your bread. I added dark chocolate chips to add more flavor to the bread and made it more mosit too. You can enjoy it plain or toasted with some reduced-fat cream cheese smeared on each slice.