Pineapple Coconut Banana Bread

~Amanda~

Homemade breads are always a staple in our house. I have to have some sort of freshly baked, delicious, and healthy bread to snack on at all times. I love having a little piece before I head out to work in the morning, for snack during the day, or as an evening treat after dinner (topped with some gelato!). Not to mention, I just really love baking and it’s the most relaxing thing for me to do at the end of a long day of work so I will find any excuse to bake something new as often as possible. The weather has been unusually rainy and dreary for Colorado recently and I am craving warm weather and sunny skies. Since the weather won’t cooperate with my warm weather wishes, I decided to make something that at least incorporates some of those warm summer flavors to get me in the spirit. The result was this summery and tropical inspired Pineapple Coconut Banana Bread.

The scent and taste of coconut and pineapple shout summer and instantly make me think of the tropics. Those ingredients alone will make your house smell wonderful while this bread is baking, and you’ll almost feel like you’re on an island vacation…almost. I like to use coconut oil as a healthy oil/butter substitute and because it brings in the wonderful coconut flavor and scent. I also add shredded coconut to the bread for even more coconut flavor and the nice crunchy texture. For the pineapple, you can cut it up in whatever size you prefer, I love having big chunks in the bread as it adds such great sweetness and texture. However, when I made this bread there was no fresh pineapple at the store, so I bought some canned crushed pineapple and just made sure to drain it well so I wasn’t adding too much liquid into my batter.

I usually try and make my breads with no sugar to keep them on the healthier side, but this bread made me want to indulge a little bit more than usual so I added a little white and brown sugar (in addition to agave) for some sweetness. I still used greek yogurt and added in some chia seeds to add some extra nutritional benefits to it though, so I felt a little bit better! One thing that I will say was missing from this bread is nuts. I didn’t have any when I made this, but I am definitely going to add in some chopped macadamia nuts next time; I love nuts in bread and I think the macadamia will add more depth to the tropical flavors and well as a great textural crunch! So if you’re in a summery, tropical mindset like me, or need to get there, definitely make this amazing bread today… you’ll be in the summer spirit in no time!