I need a vacation. Bad. So bad, I've debated putting beaded “beach braids” in my hair to spice up my look. It got vetoed. I’ve turned my roommate into my pool boy whenever I tan. He’s not amused. Annnd… on our 500th trip to Home Depot, I started carrying around a water bottle with an umbrella in it and pretended the garden section was an exotic jungle.

Can you smell that?

That’s not coconut oil, honey. That’s desperation.

Sadly, my vacation days will have to wait.

1. I cannot find my passport.
2. Who knew buying a home meant you now actually live at home… Depot.

What to do when a girl just can't get away? Grab that coconut oil and get creative. Since that heavenly scent can trick me into thinking I'm in the tropics, I wanted to know what else it could do. Turns out, quite a bit! No wonder it smells like vacation... it needs one!

Did you know?

• Coconut oil makes a great moisturizer for both skin and hair. It contains a good amount of Vitamin E.
• The lauric acid in coconut oil may reduce the risk of infections and helps maintain healthy heart.
• It can withstand heat, which makes it a great addition in both baking and sautéing.

While I could go on, that last fun fact did me in. My happy little oven mitts couldn't wait a second longer. (Side note: it's really hard to flip through mom's recipe book with oven mitts on). I found the perfect recipe to accommodate such a worthy ingredient and great news! One bite and you'll be on vacation, too.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• 3 Eggs
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Cup Coconut Oil (or Vegetable Oil)
• 2 Bananas, sliced
• 3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 3 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 Cup Mini Chocolate Chip Morsels (optional, if you simply want Banana bread)

Beat the eggs (or egg replacer) until light and foamy.

Coconut oil at room temperature is solid. Warm in up in a pan or microwave 20 seconds and stir frequently until it liquefies. Let it cool a little before adding it to other ingredients.

Add the sugar, oil, bananas and vanilla extract to the egg and mix well.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Then add to egg-banana mixture. Stir until well blended. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. (It can make one big loaf or two mini loaves). This time, I did two mini loaves. One with bananas and chocolate chips, one with simply bananas.

Watch your oven, though. Depending on where I'm cooking, this can bake up in as fast as 40 minutes.Enjoy!

This recipe also makes great Zucchini Bread if you want to swap out the bananas and chocolate chips. YUM!

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Featured Natural Foods Omega Fatty Acids Recipes

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