Banana-Apple Spice Bread

I seem to recall telling super-amazing, super-kind, super-gorgeous Sophia, of Burp and Slurp, that the next dessert I posted would be chocolate-free, and then here I go nonetheless, posting about the likes of Brownie Pie... I was so excited about sharing the dessert I baked for my co-workers, I complete forgot about my promise to acknowledge that there are other flavors in the dessert kitchen besides chocolate... Sophia, I'm so sorry! I promise I at least didn't forget my excitement about baking a chocolate-free dessert in your honor, because you were uppermost in my mind as I contemplated yet another variation for my beloved banana bread, and managed to steer my mind away from chocolate chips and in another direction altogether... :-)

Really, what could be better than a dessert bread with not one, but two fruits? Or, in other words, what could be better than a Trader Joe's right next door to my new job, complete with gorgeous dried apples tantalizing me on my way home from work? Add a sudden, unseasonable, unexpected plunge in temperatures back to a near-wintry state of cold winds and colder rains, and I was instantly in the mood for baking... Something cozy... Something nourishing... Something warm and spicy... Something with bananas and apples!

Banana-Apple Spice Bread

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup raw turbinado sugar
2 egg whites, beaten
1 T lime juice
1/2 cup diced dried apple

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9X5" loaf pan with cooking spray.
~ Stir together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and salt, and set aside.
~ Mash the bananas, then whisk in the canola oil and applesauce. Whisk in the turbinado sugar, egg whites, and lime juice.
~ Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
~ Fold in the diced dried apple.
~ Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and bake for 50 minutes to an hour - until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool before removing from the pan... or serve warm!

Sophia, here's to wonderful you!!