Cheap Eats: When Good Bananas Go Bad!

Two great things about making banana bread -- well, three actually. One, you can use those too-ripe bananas instead of throwing them away. Two, you'll get several days' worth of healthier-than-a-doughnut-and most-cereals breakfast bread. And third, sometimes it's good to do something that occupies your mind -- without making you want to scream -- and produces a positive result.

Here are two outstanding banana bread recipes. This first one is incredibly simple, very tasty, made in one bowl, and hand-mixed, so there's not much clean up afterward. The second one is a little more labor intensive -- two bowls and an electric mixer! -- and it includes crushed pineapple. But you end up with two loaves and one can be frozen for later.

Simple Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mushed up with a fork
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, preferably organic, free trade, if it's available/affordable
1 egg, beaten with a fork
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, preferably organic, whole wheat

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a wooden spoon, mix melted butter and mashed bananas in a big mixing bowl. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda and then salt over the mixture and stir in. Finally, add the flour and mix. Pour the ingredients into a greased 4 x 8 loaf pan and bake for one hour. Allow to cool for ten to 20 minutes before serving.

The second version, pineapple banana bread is worth the extra effort, imo. It's absolutely delicious, but the fat content is higher. So if you just want to use up some bananas, the first version is a quick, easy way to do that.