I always buy a big bunch of bananas on Monday, and typically by the end of the week, there are a few that have just a few too many brown spots for my kids to eat them. I turn those into this quick bread and either serve it for breakfast with scrambled eggs or I leave it on the stove for them to eat when they get home from school. Their tradition is to cut a slice, place a pat of butter on it, and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds so the butter melts a bit. I've made it so many weeks in a row since they were small that they consider it a kitchen staple, like eggs or milk.
I find that as they get older, they love the familiarity of their favorites. Often when I try something new, they're polite about it but then they'll ask me where the thing I always make for them is, because that's what they really want. They can't articulate it right now, but I think, to them, the comfort of home is all about their favorite dishes. Home is having banana bread on the stove when they get home from school at least one day a week.
Technique tip: Dust the top of batter with 1-2 teaspoons of sugar before baking to get a caramelized, crunchy bite.
Swap options: This is a great recipe for riffing. Replace the pecans with your nut of choice, add a cup of chocolate chips, etc. A few years ago, we had a surplus of pears at the farm, so I took this recipe and switched it up -- subbing pears for bananas, walnuts for pecans, and adding a pinch of cinnamon.