Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Loaf

I bought a 4.5-lb. bag of Toll House chocolate chips at Costco. Joke all you want about whether or not anyone needs 12 rolls of paper towels or 6 packages of toilet paper at one time, but come the holidays, it’s the place to go.  Need a 10 lb. bag of sugar for about the same cost as 5 lbs. at the grocery store? Costco.  You’re doing spiced nut mix for an office party? Costco.  You need to restock your bar? Costco.

So when I bought that bag of chocolate chips, it was without a lick of regret.  I even felt like I was being somewhat restrained, since there was a 10 lb. bag of another brand.  The thing is, I made this chocolate chip banana oat loaf with the regular chips but it didn’t produce the “chocolate in every bite” effect I was looking for.  For that, you need the minis. Good thing I have no problem with keeping a well-stocked chocolate chip pantry.

I always roll my eyes a little bit when cake recipes claim to be healthy. I won’t go that far, but this loaf cake has more to offer nutritionally than your average slice of banana bread. We’re chocolating it up here, so I’ve used whole-wheat pastry flour, oat bran and rolled oats to up the whole grain and fiber quotient.  So texturally, yeah, it’s a little firmer.  If you use all rolled oats instead part oat bran, part rolled oats it’s a little more tender, it’s up to you to decide what fits your taste.   Either way, you could easily undercut the coffee shop around the block that’s charging $3 for a slice of loaf cake and make a killing. I’m not saying you should, but you know, you could. If you wanted to.