Another summer weekend has come and gone and I feel like time is really flying. I spent this past weekend in Philly for a bachelorette party and bridal shower for one of my best friends since fourth grade. One of my favorite things about weddings is the series of events where you get to be with a group of friends who wouldn’t normally be in one place. Seeing a half dozen girls that I’ve known since elementary school and catching up on life was so nice. The most amazing part is that we can all do such different things with our lives but still come back to the same place and connect. The group of girls (or women I guess I should say now!) included a lawyer, a doctor, two teachers, a marketing coordinator and an assignment editor at a local news station. We live in different cities along the east coast and are a range of single, engaged and married but still we have that same place in our hearts for where we grew up.
This Strawberry Banana Bread is a post for the Secret Recipe Club. If you haven’t heard about it before, the Secret Recipe Club is a community of bloggers that, once a month, picks a recipe from a selected blog to make and share on his or her blog. It is a great way to find new blogs to read and see what different types of things people are making. For this month, I was able to choose a recipe from Katherine Martinelli. She has a wonderful blog with a ton of delicious looking recipes. There are a lot of savory dishes I want to try, but for Keep It Sweet, I obviously went with a baked good.
Thanks to several overripe bananas, I chose to make Katherine’s Banana-Walnut Bread. The changes I made were to replace the butter with fat free plain greek yogurt, reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup, use all whole wheat flour, skip the walnuts and add about a cup of chopped strawberries as she suggested. The bread was moist and flavorful. It was a great way to use up some produce on the end of its life! Check out Katherine’s blog and go here for the original recipe.
Do you keep in touch with any childhood friends? How often do you see them?
I’m super impressed that you still keep in touch with people from elementary school! Growing up in NYC, I skipped around from school to school so that it was almost impossible to keep track of anyone, but I always think it’s so cool that people actually have childhood lifelong friends.
Strawberry and banana are such a classic combo that you can’t go wrong! Looks delicious.
This sounds like a delish combo!
I like your choice, Lauren. I had Katherine’s blog last time, but I don’t remember seeing this recipe. Don’t know how I missed it!
I really like your healthy version of banana bread, and adding the yoghurt and strawberries is a great idea! As for childhood friends, my oldest one has been around for 40 years (since preschool) and we try to see each other at least once every week :-).
That is amazing! You are so lucky to see each other so often!
Its wonderful you still keep in touch with childhood friends. I have always thought that was cool, although I have not had the pleasure (outside Facebook). This bread looks tasty and irresistible.
Pretty crazy how easy it is to keep in touch with people via facebook!
I just love all of your adaptations! It looks even better than the original. Next time I make it I am definitely using yogurt instead of butter, great idea!
I think it’s great that a group of people still have some sort of bond after many years filled with changes. Sometimes life gets in the way of reconnecting! This bread looks great btw!
This bread looks amazing! So fun to be in the SRC with you :)
I’m LOVING strawberries baked into my oats lately so I bet I would die over this bread. It looks so yummy – what a clever idea!
How delicious does this look! Mmm!! Thanks for another great recipe lauren!
strawberry & banana anything sounds good to me, but this is a nice change up from the regular old banana bread…not that I don’t love me some banana bread ;)
I’m so glad you got to spend such a wonderful weekend with friends! I totally agree that reconnecting with people from your past, maybe even in your hometown if you’re lucky, for celebrations and occasions is such a fantastic thing. :)
Time is definitely flying! I recently had a strawberry-banana-brown sugar bread and it was delicious. Your version sounds great too! I am still in touch with some of my childhood friends :)
Yum, that sounds so good, too!
This is bread perfection!
Looks amazing! Love your pics!
Stopping by from SRC!
~Liz
Thanks, Liz!
I love this update on a classic baked good :) Looks absolutely fantastic! So nice that you haven’t lost touch with your childhood friends!
YUM! Banana bread is awesome enough but with strawberries added? Yes please! It looks delicious!
I love strawberry banana bread! This one looks so moist and delicious! :)
Oddly enough I’ve never paired the two into bread. I’m going to put this on my list of things to bake.
As far as the friends… sad to say childhood friends didn’t venture over into adult life, it’s awesome that you are still very close to someone from back n the day!
This recipe sounds delicious and looks very moist! I’m glad you had a nice time at home!
Love the idea of subbing yogurt for butter and the addition of the strawberries. Looks and sounds delicious!
I love quickbread with strawberries. And props to you for keeping in touch with elementary school friends!
This looks delicious! I love that you keep in touch with your school chums. I moved around all the time as a kid, so I didn’t have those life-long childhood friends. I love the idea of a secret recipe club!
I do keep in touch with several of my friends from my youth. I have a few I see at least once a year too…
The bread looks sounds so delicious!
What a nice cake to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea! It looks very moist. The SRC is a really fun activity. I am glad you chose this recipe.
Great pictures. These were especially tasty! YUM
Looks wonderful. I made this weekend banana zuchinni bread. It’s that time of the year. thanks for the post. Andi http://thewednesdaybaker.blogspot.com/
Sounds like you had such a wonderful weekend. There is something very special about childhood friends that seems to stay with us forever
What a great idea to add the strawberries! I sometimes find banana bread a little bland, but this would nicely enhance the flavor.
I love strawberries and bananas in smoothies. I don’t know why I have never thought of it as a bread combination. Yummy!
Mmm I love strawberry banana smoothies!
ive never thought to make strawberry banana bread! yummyness.
I love how you can come back to old friends like that. I had my best friend from 4th grade here this weekend, haven’t seen her in 2 years. It was like we were never apart! This bread looks amazing!
I love that! It is so great how that can work:-)
Looks delish!
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my SRC recipe this month: Holy Guacamole.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
Love the healthy adaptation using greek yogurt. So sweet to hear that you have a friend from the 4th grade that you are still close to. My oldest friend is from 6th grade and we think thats a long time!
This sounds delicious. I love the greek yogurt and strawberry combination.
I have one really good friend that I try to keep in touch with as much as possible. I have known her for 13 of my 21 years.
Wow, that is so nice!
This looks so delicious girl! And isn’t it awesome to still have that connection?! It’s truly priceless! I do keep in touch with my friends in Argentina–each time we talk, it’s as if we have never parted :D
How wonderful that you still have those connections! I love when childhood friends can get together and pick up right where we left off. It’s very special.
The bread looks delicious, Lauren! I like your substitutions. It was so much fun doing this month’s SRC, I can’t wait to do it again!
Mmm mm! Love that combo of ingredients!
Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls
Perfect loaf! Fun to be with you in SRC.
Strawberry banana is such a classic combination, but I’ve never really thought to bake the two of them together into a loaf of bread! Sounds delicious!
I like how you made it healthier! I’m interested in the Secret Recipe of the Month Club! I have never heard about it until today. It’s that secret, huh? LOL! Thanks for sharing this!
There is a link on my post with all the details:-) It is a fun monthly club to be a part of!
Thanks! I’ll definitely check it out!
I never would have thought to add another fruit in with my banana bread. It’s always just the same old chocolate chips or walnuts. Way to change it up!
Strawberry banana is my favorite combination, esp. in baked goods!
What a great selection for the SRC! I’m always searching for baked goods, too…and this banana bread looks excellent.
I recently made strawberry, banana and rhubarb and it was Awesome. This looks so good. Nice work on the Secret Recipe Club. Isn’t it fun. I love finding new blogs and reading through them.
What a fun weekend you had!! I can’t imagine the chatting that you all did!
As for the bread… strawberry and banana? Yep! Works for me! Nicely done!
This club seems like so much fun! The bread looks quite delicious
Strawberries and bananas just seem to go together and I love that you combined them in this bread!
I agree that the best part of weddings is how many people you get to see that you wouldn’t normally! I have a group of eight friends from high school that still manage to get together a couple times a year and it’s always so great!
oooh, I am making my banana bread this weekend and I’ve never put strawberries in it… I may have to give this a try!