Mingle (and Bake) with Melt! Banacarapple Bread

I always feel like putting on a fancy apron and spending my days baking at this time of year. I think of rich deep Fall flavors - pumpkin, sweet potatoes, gingerbread, cinnamon, pecans - yum! This is the time of year I love to make all kinds of breads, pies, soups, and sauces and just enjoy the richness of it all (and workout!).

In the past I have tried working with new healthier ingredients such as brown rice syrup, buckwheat flour, and coconut oil. I still continue to try and find healthier alternatives to create new dishes and baked goodies with.

Recently I was introduced to Melt Buttery Spread,

a organic gluten-free butter substitute. It has become the perfect compliment to the dishes I have been making - not to mention a new component to my baking and cooking. Oh how I love the added benefit Melt brings to the table by incorporating healthy cooking oils into my dishes.

Since receiving some samples, I have fallen in love with Melt (not to mention the song 'I'll Stop the World and Melt With You" - one of my faves from my younger days - plays in my head every time I see it). It has a whipped creamy buttery yumminess, but it is better for you, made with virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil and canola oil. It is a healthy gluten-free butter and supports digestive wellness, optimal nutrition absorption and healthy weight.

I have been using it a lot - on toast, muffins, to saute veggies, and on my steamed broccoli, pretty much anywhere I would normally use butter,

I have tried Melt with great success.

I have a recipe for you using Melt (in just a minute)

...but want to tell you about the

Mingle With Melt Sweepstakes 

that is going on right now...through through October 31, 2011!

And seriously it takes a minute or two to enter

(enter your name, your email, and my blog name)...

and the prize is awesome...

$500 VISA gift card towards your Mingle With Melt 
dinner party from Rich & Creamy Melt® Buttery Spread! Enter to win a chic, foodie evening-in with friends from Rich & Creamy Melt®, the great tasting, organic butter alternative that’s good for you. 

One winner (and the blog that referred them) will enjoy a $500 Mingle with Melt VISA giftcard with which to buy food, decorations, cocktails, cooking supplies, and maybe, the perfect little black dress, for your dinner party! Mingle with Melt! We'll also provide 3 packages of Melt and feature each winner's party photos and original recipes featuring Melt on the Melt Facebook page and website!
(all the sweepstakes details/rules on are the entry page)

Now here's the recipe!
This is a rich full bodied bread.
It has a sweetness to it but it is not too "sweet."
You can really taste the molasses and the fruits/veggies!
My kids "eat it up!"

Banacarapple Bread

(banana-carrot-apple)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Melt, melted
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 Tablespoons of agave (or honey)
• 3-4 (depending on their size) ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups of brown rice flour (For this recipe, that is what I had, but in the past I have used a combination of healthier flours, like 1 cup Buckwheat Flour and 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour - I can find both of these at my regular grocery store or whole foods)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup finely grated carrot (I just grated 4 carrots in the food processor)
• 1 apple, cored and either diced or grated (I got lazy and after coring threw it in the food processor).
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Other optional flavors: Raisins, cranberries, ginger

MAKE IT!

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Use some melted Melt to butter the pan and then dust the pan with the flour.
3. Mix the Melt, molasses, agave/honey, (room temp.) eggs, and mashed bananas together.
4. Sift dry ingredients together
5. Add dry to the wet in small batches
6. Fold in the carrot
7. Fold in the apple
8. Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes

Voila...super yummy, totally healthy, kid-tested Banacarapple Bread!
And top it with a spread of Melt...super delicious!

Do you think your kids would eat bread with carrots in it?
Next time I want to add some zucchini!

Don't forget...don't miss out on your chance to win a
$500 giftcard in the Mingle with Melt Sweepstakes!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received samples of Melt Buttery Spread.