This recipe, one of our favorites, ups the nutrient content of typical banana bread with the addition of carrots. The carrots also add sweetness, reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe.

It’s one of our go to training foods, not only because it’s an easy-on-the-stomach source of pre-workout energy, but it’s also tasty enough to share with our training partners as a reward after a hard session.

Here are a few tips to follow when making this recipe:

-grate the carrots with a box grater. They provide a little extra sweetness, but disappear in the cake, so picky eaters won't even notice they are there.

-mash cinnamon into the bananas: this makes the spice evenly distributed throughout the batter

-use mini chocolate chips: they don't sink to the bottom of the cake as much as regular-sized chips.

-use ripe, but not overripe bananas, so that the bread is not too sweet.

All week, I've had a slice or two before my bike trainer workouts this week...and maybe another slice or two for dessert!

-Laurel and Bec

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (with carrots!)

3 bananas (not overripe)

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (or all-purpose gluten-free flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 medium carrots, grated with a box grater (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl mixing, use a fork to mash bananas with cinnamon.

In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium (or rigorously by hand) until the sugar starts to dissolve or as Mamzie says, "melts into the other ingredients."

Add flour, baking powder and baking soda to oil/egg mixture, mixing by hand until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Stir in carrots, mashed bananas and chocolate chips.

Divide mixture into 4 greased mini loaf pans, filling each one about halfway.

Bake 35-40 minutes for mini loaves. If using a regular loaf pan, bake for longer, around 60 minutes. The edges should be golden and a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Make sure to do this toothpick test because oven temperatures may vary.