Comfort Eating and Strawberry Banana Bread

Last week was an exercise in comfort eating for me. Yes, I gained 3 lbs. No, it doesn't feel particulary better today with the cold, harsh light shining down on the bathroom scale, but at the time it filled a need.

One of the things that I indulged way too much in was Strawberry Banana Bread. I have a weakness for banana bread that does me in every single time I make it. No matter how much I give away I still manage to eat more than my share of warm bananay goodness! What can I say? I am weak.

This is totally yum with the strawberries. It's also good with blueberries or even just the banana bread by itself. Oh, and you really do have to cool it completely before you dump it out of the pan. It will totally disintegrate if you get too anxious!


Strawberry Banana Bread
Makes 2 loaves. 12 slices each

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups ripe bananas (about 6 medium-size) , mashed
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1-1/2 pounds frozen strawberries (I like to chop them into chunks rather than slices), thawed

Grease two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Incorporate the bananas and scrape the sides of the bowl with the spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix tgether the salt, baking soda, and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until fully incorporated.

Add the strawberries. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack before inverting onto a plate.


Nutrition Facts:
Calories 218; Fat 8.6 g; Cholesterol 51mg; Sodium 267mg; Total Carbohydrates 33.3g;
Dietary Fiber 1.2g; Protein 2.8g