Coconut Banana Bread

This morning, Landon and I had some friends over to play.  I had a craving for some sort of a sweet bread, so, when I came across this recipe, I knew it was a no-brainer as it combined two of my favorite criteria....healthy and coconut.  I had most of the ingredients on hand already and it was super easy to whip together.

First, I rounded up all my ingredients.  I think the only ones I had to buy were skim milk and greek yogurt!!

 Then, mixed the dry ingredients together...

Then mashed up the bananas with a fork and mixed with the brown sugar and vanilla...

 Then, added the egg whites and mixed...

 Then, added the oil and mixed... (do you see a pattern forming?!?!)

 Then, added the flour mixture in three batches and mixed between additions...

 

 Then, added the greek yogurt, orange juice, and milk, and mixed.

 And finally, added some coconut, and mixed.

Once everything was combined, I poured it into an 8.5" loaf pan (recipe called for 9x5" but I just used what I had) and sprinkled the remaining coconut on top.

After an hour of baking and cooling, I sliced this baby up and volia....coconut banana bread.

With Spring just around the corner (hopefully...I know we still have a few months to go, but, a girl can hope, right?!?!) you will be seeing a lot of coconut recipes popping up since I have a slight obsession for the flaky sweet :-)

Coconut Banana Bread (from fitsugar.com)
Ingredients

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 Large ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup of brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons skim milk
¼ cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda together in mixing bowl.
3. In separate large mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg whites and mix together until smooth. Next add oil. Then, slowly add in flour and combine until moist. Next add Greek yogurt and orange juice. (Depending on the consistency you can add two tablespoons of skim milk. If you like your bread more dense —omit the milk — but if you like it more airy or lighter you can add it.) Lastly add ½ cup of coconut and mix together.
4. Pour into greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle two tablespoons of coconut on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the bread is golden brown.

Optional: throw in ½ cup of walnuts to batter to help keep you satisfied all morning. Another option: substitute ½ cup of regular flour with whole wheat flour