Coconut Banana Bread {Guest Post}

This weekend me and the hubby are off to San Diego for his companies retreat.  This has been quite the month of trips for us and I am just about tripped out.  I just barely finished unpacking a few days ago from our last trip.  Now it is time to leave on another one!

I am so thrilled to have Bakerette over for a visit!   We attended the same church building a couple of years ago and we were reunited at the Build your Blog conference.  It is so fun that we have food blogs and that we both share a love for cooking! I absolutely adore her and her cute blog, and I know you will too!

 Aloha! I’m Jen at Bakerette.com where I share really cool recipes, trends, insights, and ideas I come across every day. I'm thrilled to be guest posting on the Recipe Critic. Thank you, Alyssa, for inviting me! Winter has managed to sabotage my fitness regimen and I've fallen into a lazy slump. I don’t even remember the last time I exercised or picked up the dumbbells staring at me next to the TV. Not to mention all of this cooking I've been doing to keep me busy indoors! My once chock-full-of-fresh-fruits-and-vegetables diet now consists of junk food. Lots of it. As if you couldn't tell with all of the fattening junk food I've been posting at Bakerette. So, I’m getting my groove on today. I’m determined to eat my fruits all disguised in this coconut and banana bread. I've got an idea...let's go to Hawaii and pick coconuts and go bananas...

Do you want to hear something embarrassing? It's embarrassing AND hilarious (well, I think it's hilarious!)...I had been driving around running errands for the better part of the day and my last stop was the grocery store. I was pushing the cart down the aisle and went to turn left when I reached up to turn on my BLINKER. Ha-ha. I had been turning my blinker on all day long that I automatically reached up to turn on the blinker...ON. MY. CART! Now THAT, my friends, is going bananas (or blond).

Now onward to this amazing banana bread recipe made with coconut. I'm talking AMAZING. Seriously. This quick bread was devoured within a couple of hours in my home. Each of us kept going back for more. Next time I will make TWO loaves instead of one. You might want to do the same if you want any leftovers for the next day! The coconut really makes this recipe. It adds a neat texture that tickles your tongue and the bananas make it ever so moist. Oh, I almost forgot, the added coconut milk gives it an OMGosh wonderful flavor. This is a quick bread recipe that you don't want to pass up! So who's been to Hawaii and can I stow away in your suitcase next time? I'll bring the coconut banana bread. I hope you'll stop by and say Aloha! at Bakerette, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour 15 mins Yields: 12-16 slices

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bananas, mashed
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs mixing well after each addition until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a third mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or pastry cutter. Stir in the coconut milk.
4. Alternately add the dry ingredients and banana mixture to the egg mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from FatGirlTrappedInASkinnyBody.com

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