Bodybuildin' Banana Bread

I always tell the story of how when the twins were younger, since they had a lot of ear infections and were slightly delayed in speech that my mom took them for and evaluation (don't worry, they're fine). What sticks out about the evaluation wasn't that they were completely normal (although living with them almost their entire lives, "normal" is a relative term) but what they did with the bananas. The psychologist had them each in separate rooms and allowed them to just play while she observed. At the conclusion she came to my mom and said, "Mrs. Shirahama, the boys are developing just fine. Although I do have to say there was something that struck me as a bit odd. They both took the bananas and put them in the freezer. I've never seen such a thing."  To my moms embarrassment, she was always putting whole bananas in the freezer once they started to brown. Those did, after all, make the best banana bread. So there you have it folks. Want good banana bread? Freeze the bananas. 

I told a lady at work this secret and she scoffed saying how disgusting bananas are when you've frozen them and then try and revive them, their skin nearly disintegrating as you try and peel them. She had one bit of my banana bread, made with browned, frozen bananas and she was singing a different tune. 

So as you all know, I'm eating like a meathead (I don't hate it) and Steve would prefer that I abstain from my baking a bit and I'm left feeling...empty? And yes - the same mind of empty that I felt when we completed all seasons of "Breaking Bad" and again at the conclusion of "Sons of Anarchy". So to my kitchenaid I went, ipad in hand, superb google skills at bay and searched for something to make with those brown, frozen bananas that were starting to overtake my freezer door. I stumbled upon, ok fine, on bodybuilder.com (insert hand slapping forehead and shaking in shame), a banana bread recipe that had no flour, no sugar and...no taste? No, all joke aside, the components made sense and I could see this turning into something beautiful, or at least tasty. 

BODYBUILDIN BANANA BREAD
Adapted from Bodybuilding.com

2 medium-sized ripe Bananas
3/4 cup rolled Oats
3 Whole Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites (beaten)
1 tsp raw honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup light vanilla almond Milk
1 tsp Baking Powder

2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I used Nectar by Syntrex, next time I'll try the Usana)

                                                   1/4 c dark chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If using frozen bananas, allow to thaw and mash thoroughly. If using overripe bananas, just mash. Add in almond milk and eggs, mix to combine. Add honey and vanilla and mix until combined.  Add dry ingredients, blending until a batter forms. This batter will be somewhat thin if you use the Nectar protein powder as it is a whey isolate. I would imagine with a thicker powder, usual get a thicker batter. If using chocolate chips, fold in now. Pour into greased loaf pan and cook 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.