A Beautiful Day for Banana Bread!

What a beautiful day today is! The temperature is 72 degrees, the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping.

My morning ritual as soon as I get out of bed is to open the shades in the bedroom to get a good peek at the day. We overlook a wooded area, and most mornings at least two deer are stretching their necks to eat some of those beautiful Spring green leaves for their breakfast. This morning was no exception, they were busily moving from tree to tree. We have the nicest straight line along the trees that is just as high as their little, or not so little, necks will stretch. It looks as if we had measured it ourselves, and purposefully trimmed all of the branches at the same height.  Ahhh......the wonders of nature.

This is my favorite kind of day. I love to turn the AC off and open all of the windows and doors,letting the beautiful breeze blow through the house. I, many times, get that urge to bake something, anything, just to permeate the house with some delicious smell.

What could I bake? Hmmm.............well I have these extra ripe bananas I had stuck in the refrigerator before leaving for Florida last week, and so of course, why not bake a banana bread. My husband doesn't have a sweet tooth, but he does enjoy a nice warm piece of banana bread.

My go to recipes are always from Cooking Light or Ellie Krieger.(Of course my splurges are from the Barefoot  Contessa herself, Ina Garten!)  Some of you know that Ellie in my household, is my "go to girl" first for recipes. She is a registered dietitian, and has her master's degree in nutrition from Columbia University. If you don't have any of her cookbooks you are missing out on some of the most heart-healthy fare that tastes simply delicious. She is also very active in creating a much healthier school lunch fare for the children in schools in NYC, and so much more! Can you tell I have a great admiration for her?

I love a good banana bread but it is a splurge so why not make the most of the nutritional value when you bake anything anymore.  Today I am using a Cooking Light recipe, Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread taken from September 2003. The recipe makes 1 loaf and yields 16 slices at 183 calories. (copy and paste link below for the recipe)

Hope you enjoy it-- Happy Baking!

http://www.food.com/recipe/marbled-chocolate-banana-bread-75167