My mom and I were trying to figure out what to make to serve to the family after Max's blessing ...we came up with this menu: fruit salad, watermelon, shrimp and pasta salad, Swedish meat balls, Mediterrean farro salad, croissant ham & cheese sandwiches and croissant roast beef sandwiches, and a sheet cake big enough to serve everyone...but mom wanted to make something else...she remembered clipping a recipe from Cooking Light and this is what they had to say about Jamaican Banana Bread: "Feast your eyes on our favorite banana bread, and you'll see why we chose it to be a part of the yearlong tribute to Cooking Light's best all-time recipes." 
While this bread was baking the house smelled so good that when it came out of the oven we seriously debated taking it to the gathering...I mean, was the rest of our family really "this-good-of-bread-worthy?" Of course, the answer was yes - they were worthy - but we just hoped that maybe there would be some who wouldn't take any and then we'd have leftovers to bring home...no such luck - the fam was like a plague of locusts - and the Jamaican Banana Bre
ad was the first thing to go! 
So little Max was blessed, the family celebrated with a feast and all is well....and the Jamaican Banana Bread was a hit!
Jamaican Banana Bread - Adapted from Cooking Light's Best All-Time Favorites
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons dark rum or 1/4 teaspoon imitation rum extract and 2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
Topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons dark rum or 1/8 teaspoon imitation rum extract and 2 teaspoons water
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To prepare the bread, beat 2 tablespoons butter and cheese at medium speed of a mixer, add 1 cup sugar, beating well. Add egg; beat well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, sitrring well. Combine banana and next 5 ingredients (banana through vanilla), stirring well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mix after each addition. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup coconut.
Pour batter into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray, bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan. Cool slightly on wire rack.
To prepare topping, combine brown sugar and 2 teaspoons each butter, lime juice, and rum in a saucepan, bring to a simmer. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons each pecans and coconut, spoon over loaf. Yield: 16 servings (serving size = 1 slice.)
One last note....banana bread is not on any of my top 10 lists...I like it, but it's usually just not worth the calories....this banana bread, however, at 193 calories per slice, is definitely worth the 1/2 hour on the treadmill it will take me to burn it off...and this banana bread would be excellent to take to a brunch or a sick friend...or anywhere you want to impress someone...it's THAT good!
Since it was a family day, I thought I'd end with a quote from each of my parents...
"If it were easy to be a tourist...everyone would want to be one." Carol, My Mom
"My dog and my S.I.L. (son-in-law) are the only two people I know who can't hold their licker/liquor." Lynn, My dad
