Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Bread

Who doesn't like banana bread, and if we can make a healthier version of that, its ever better ! Check out for a low cholesterol, low sugar, whole wheat, anti oxidant and omega 3 rich "banana walnut bread" and enjoy it anytime, guilt free. Believe me, this recipe is so delicious, I made this 3 times in a month :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, dry roasted and roughly chopped
2/3 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen blueberries that are thawed)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and dust it with all-purpose flour. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, sift it twice and set aside.
Mash 2 bananas. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes, you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla, beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients (flour mixture) just until incorporated, no need to overly blend. Mash the remaining 2 bananas with a fork in a small bowl so that they still have a bit of texture. Fold in the nuts, blueberries and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good tap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown. Good way to check if its done is to insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf and it should come out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.
Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Tips and More:

• If you don't have vanilla extract, vanilla essence is fine. 
• You can substitute walnuts with pecans. 
• The sugar we put in the bread is very less and thats fine too, the bananas give the sweetness needed.
• We are sifting the flour twice in order to incorporate air into it. Since the whole wheat flour is denser than the all-purpose flour, this step is very important. 
• Butter is high in cholesterol, vegetable oil is not. Hence, I replaced most of the oil content with vegetable oil. I added some butter for much richer taste.