Mother's Banana Bread with a Twist, Freeze-Dried Bananas

My mother made the most delicious Banana Bread.  There was only one thing better than the aroma of those freshly baked loaves coming out of the oven, the taste.  It was sweet and buttery with the delicious taste of bananas and my mother could hardly prevent us from devouring it before it had cooled.  I have loved that recipe all of my life as does my own family. 

I decided to experiment to see if I could actually make this recipe from food storage ingredients.  I usually always have flour, sugar and soda on hand.  Now I also have Thrive Freeze-Dried Bananas and Thrive Whole Egg Powder.  Basically, the only fresh ingredient I used was butter.  The process of making the batter was fast and easy and the finished product was amazing.  To my surprise, I received even more compliments than when I made the original recipe. The texture was very even and fine, but the flavor was the most remarkable part.  The freeze-dried bananas make the banana flavor incredibly vivid.  This is the first thing that those who taste the bread notice.

This is the recipe and the process I used to make the banana bread from food storage ingredients.

Ingredients:

½ C. Butter                                                      
1 C. Sugar
2 C. Thrive Freeze-Dried Bananas                    

1 tsp. Soda

2 C. Flour

2 T. Thrive Whole Egg Powder                                                         
4 T. Water

Process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray an aluminum bread pan. 

1.  Cream butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy.  

2.  Place the freeze-dried bananas into a blender or food processor and process until bananas are powdered.  

3.  In another bowl, add banana powder, flour, soda and whole egg powder and mix well.  Add the mixed dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture.  

4.  Add the water and stir well until all of the ingredients are incorporated into a smooth slightly thick batter.  

5.  Spoon this batter into the greased loaf pan.  

6.  Bake for 1 hour.  

7.  Check for doneness with a toothpick.  When toothpick comes out clean, the bread is done.  Cool on a cooling rack and watch out for those who are looking to snitch a piece.

If you like nuts, it tastes great with about 1/1/4 C. chopped walnuts added to the batter.  Also, if you are looking for a special treat, frost the banana bread with cream cheese frosting.

Now, why use freeze-dried bananas and whole egg powder?  First, although they cost a little more initially, if I use freeze-dried bananas, I don’t have to make a trip to the store specially to get bananas.  This usually saves money, because not only do you save gas and time, but also you prevent yourself from impulse buying in the store when you only went there for bananas.  Not only that, but it is common for us to waste bananas because they get too ripe before we get them used.  Then, no one wants to eat them.  I end up throwing them away and wasting the money I spent on them.  As for the eggs, they are handy, handy, handy.  They come in powdered form and last for at least 6 months after you open the can.  They can be used in anything that you bake or cook that calls for an egg.  Exceptions are that you cannot make a boiled or sunny-side-up egg.  However, you can make scrambled eggs.  Both of these ingredients are handy, convenient and result in a superior quality, great tasting product.  They prevent waste and are fast and easy to use.  I highly recommend using these and other Thrive Freeze-Dried fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses along with their other food storage foods.  For more information or to purchase Thrive products, please visit my website at:

susansakurai.shelfreliance.com