Cravings & Banana Bread

What else can you do with three over-ripe bananas besides throwing them in the trash?  Mmmm, make banana bread.  So, of course, once I had this idea in my head I started craving some like woah…

I have an awesome recipe that was passed down through the generations, but I know it’s not the healthiest of banana breads.  Once again, I hit up Ambitious Kitchen for some ideas.  Behold:

Low Fat Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Bread(click here for recipe)

When you have those over-ripe bananas staring you in the face, you don’t need much else to make this super delicious, healthy bread (insert mouth-watering here).

No oil involved or white sugar.  You don’t even use the whole egg, just the whites.  Bring it!

My tweaks:

• I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose – I believe this made the bread a tad denser than it would normally be.  But, it worked and obviously I prefer going with the healthier stuff…
• Figured I would double the cinnamon
• A little extra vanilla
• 1 heaping cup of blueberries, the more the merrier
• Nothing wrong with sprinkling a little brown sugar on top before baking, right?

My roommate and I enjoyed some late night – by the time I went to the gym, got home from work, went to the store, made dinner and had the bread in the oven, it was already 10pm.  Needless to say I was a tad lazy when it came to picture-taking, but I’ll give you a little show:

yummm

look at all that blueberry goodness!

Obviously I had a little piece this morning, and also brought another piece to indulge in tonight during yoga teacher training – it’s the perfect, most delicious snack to hold me over til a super late dinner.  Yeah, I’m still salivating…  Not quite as good as Nana’s aforementioned banana bread, but not far off considering the healthy factor.  Oatmeal, bananas, blueberries – it’s magnificence all smooshed together in a bread.

And that brings me to the next topic; no, we’re not quite done yet.

Cravings

Cravings can be the worst, and at times, can be über hard to control.  Hence, why I just had to make that bread last night.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty as to why cravings happen to us:

• Lack of primary food.  We’ve been over this concept in previous posts, but what’s going on in your life? – A bad relationship?  Unhappy with your job?  Are you stressed?  Bored?  If so, eating can help fill a void.
• Water.  My advice:  when you think you’re hungry or have a craving of some kind, try drinking a glass of water before you eat.  Most times the water will suffice!
• Comfort food or something you’ve recently eaten.  Sometimes cravings are triggered by foods we ate when we were younger (I categorize this as comfort foods and I’m going to blame the banana bread baking on this factor) or something we’ve recently eaten.  Try eating a healthier version when these cravings hit.
• Seasons.  This might be where I’m the worst – for example, did you notice my obsession with all things pumpkin a few weeks ago?  It’s not even technically fall yet!  But if you think about it, most times in the summer, we crave cooling foods (raw foods, ice cream) and in the fall we like grounding foods (think: squash, onions, nuts).  And let’s not forget winter and craving hot foods (meat, fats).
• Lack of nutrients.  We tend to crave what we’re lacking.  Like, if you have insufficient mineral levels, you might crave salt as a result.
• Hormones.  Enough said.
• De-evolution.  Doing really well on a diet and exercise plan?  Sometimes we self-sabotage and start craving foods that throw our bodies out of whack.  We’ll blame possible low blood-sugar for this, most of the time.

Yeah, I made the bread and gave in – oops!  It happens.  But next time you’re hungry and think you need to eat, try drinking some water instead.  See if the hunger goes away.  And, next time you get a craving, stop for a minute and evaluate why you might be having this craving versus giving in.  I think you’ll be surprised with the result!

Here’s to a cravings-free Wednesday!