I am still here. And I’m still pregnant. I don’t really feel like it could be anytime soon but you never know. I am content waiting though and totally enjoying every minute of summer that we have been having.

We had a great weekend once again! Every weekend we have been visiting with the grandparents. It is really nice because my parents live on the lake so the girls have been loving being on the beach and practicing swimming. It is just so nice to be outside as much as we have been. Sunshine makes everyone happy. 🙂

Our garden is also still doing awesome. The corn has grown so tall and we always have never-ending amounts of lettuce, peas and beans.

We also have chard and beets…

and radishes!

The past few days I have also been busy in the kitchen making a lot of food. I wanted to have some meals made ahead of time for the family if and when the baby arrives so I made a big pot of Mixed Bean Garden Vegetable Soup with Homemade Whole Wheat Buns, Anytime Almond Cookies and 2 loaves of Apple Carrot Spice Bread to freeze and have for later. We have also still been obsessively eating the Smoky Hickory Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers topped with fresh lettuce and a side of beans from our garden a lot lately.

I absolutely L-O-V-E banana bread (in case you didn’t already notice) so today I made a loaf but tried something different. I added walnuts to the loaf and made Walnut Banana Bread.

Extremely Addictive Walnut Banana Bread

This loaf is deliciously sprinkled with Omega-3-loaded walnuts and sweetened naturally with maple syrup. I also reduced the oil in this recipe and added milk to the loaf to make it lower fat. A healthy whole wheat quick bread that is great for breakfast or a nice energizing snack. This loaf is also extremely addictive. You have been warned!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 large overripe bananas (brown are best)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts. In a separate smaller bowl mash the overripe bananas. Add the maple syrup, oil, almond milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and add to the flour mixture. Do not over mix or the loaf will not rise properly. Pour batter into a lightly greased or non-stick 9 x 5 loaf pan, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts and bake 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This loaf is amazing! I love bananas and blueberries and bananas and chocolate chips but I really love the crunchiness the addition of walnuts adds to this loaf. I am definitely taking some to the hospital to snack on after I have the baby.

I hope that you too are enjoying your summer!  I will keep you updated about when the baby finally arrives! 🙂