Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread

Banana bread for the bae!

This soft and tender loaf does not need butter, oil, or refined sugar! I threw in some fresh blueberries along with chopped pecans because I am never a purist when it comes to banana bread or home baked goods in general.. just make sure you don't go overboard so you can have a tasty personalized treat- the best imo!

Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread
recipe adapted from Running with Spoons
makes one loaf (12 slices)

2 large eggs
1/2 cup (115 g) plain 2% Greek yogurt
2 medium-size, ripe bananas, mashed (200 g or 1 cup)
4 Tbsp (60 ml) maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (60 g) quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup (150 g) white whole wheat flour 

Optional:
more sweet? add total of 6 Tbsp (90ml) maple syrup + 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
add-ins? 1/2 cup chocolate chips/dried fruit/nuts/etc.

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC), and lightly grease a 9 x 5 (23cm x 13cm) bread pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart. Whisk in the yogurt, bananas, maple syrup, sugar (if using), and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
3. Stir in the oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Finally, spoon in the flour and gently stir it in until just combined. If you're adding any mix-ins, fold them in now.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

Mildly sweetened; subtle banana taste

Texture: 4 stars out of 5

Not as soft and fluffy as AP flour banana bread but more hearty and dense due to white whole wheat flour. Oats added a good chewy bite!

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta

A tangy creamy tasty custard.

Perfectly sweetened with a touch of honey. 

Panna Cotta is Italian for 'cooked cream.' Instead of the traditional cream and sugar used, this recipe uses Greek yogurt and honey! Healthier without compromising the creamy decadent qualities.

These would be great for parties since they are simple to make and can be made ahead of time. Serve them in the ramekins or unmold them onto a plate before serving. I served mine in some small decorative glass jars with toppings like granola, toasted coconut chips, almonds flakes, cacao nibs, and blueberries. Anything will work with this delicious base really. And of course, they are great on their own as well.

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta
recipe adapted from Entertaining with Beth
made approx 11 small size jars

1 cup (240ml) milk
1 vanilla bean *1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60ml) honey
1 envelope (0.25oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups (475ml) Greek yogurt 

1. In a small bowl, pour 1/4 cup of milk and sprinkle gelatin on top. Let stand until softened, 5-10 minutes.
2. In a saucepan, bring the remaining 3/4 cup of milk, and honey to a simmer. Add honey and stir to combine.
3. Add gelatin milk mixture, and whisk until gelatin is fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt and vanilla extract.
4. Strain milk mixture into yogurt. Whisk to combine until smooth.
5. Pour into glass jars/ramekins and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.
*I like to pour just halfway up the jar so there's room for toppings!

The directions on here have been modified to what I think will work better. This time, I sprinkled gelatin on hot milk and honey mixture, and gelatin clumped up. Honey was also burnt slightly due to whisk not reaching the edges of the pan. Nonetheless, the results were delicious. Fool proof recipe?

Heat milk and honey.

Whisk yogurt and vanilla extract in separate bowl.

Strain milk mixture over yogurt mixture.

Whisk till smooth.

Pour into ramekins/jars.

I love that this is a light dessert, and the topping options are endless. I would love to play around with adding a caramel on the bottom of the jars or serve with a blueberry compote next time!

Taste: 5 stars out of 5
Subtly tart from the Greek yogurt.
Texture: 5 stars out of 5
Creamy and decadent.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread [no butter + no oil]

It's pumpkin season.
And my second bake with pumpkin ever.
(first bake here)

With the overwhelming amount of pumpkin recipes and posts, I had a hard time deciding what I should bake with my left over pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin scones - starbucks copycat recipe..
Pumpkin crumb cakes - i loveee crumbs/streusel..
Pumpkin cheesecakes - with a graham pecan crust..

Pumpkin puree would be a great wet ingredient in creating some moist/tender cakes and breads. Seeing my overripe bananas and leftover Greek yogurt, I decided on this bread that combines the best of everything and can be served anytime of the day. Healthy for on the go breakfast and also indulgent (with the chocolate chips) to be a delicious afternoon snack.

The bread was lightly sweetened with the natural sweetness from one banana, 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. The spices were well balanced and did not overwhelm the pumpkin and banana flavors. This bread would be great on any Thanksgiving spread.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread
recipe adapted from Running with Spoons
makes one 9x5" loaf

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. sea salt *used 1/4tsp
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 large, ripe banana (~1/2 cup mashed)
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup (82g)* maple syrup *used 50g
¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup chocolate chunks, semi sweet 

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF, and lightly line/grease a 9x5"bread pan. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir until well combined and set aside.
3. Lightly beat eggs in medium sized mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas, pumpkin, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir gently. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in any add-ins you wish to include.
6. Pour batter into pan, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
*After 45 minutes, cover with a sheet of tin foil to prevent the top from getting too brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Wet ingredients - before mixing.

Wet ingredients - after mixing.

Wet + Dry + Add ins.

After folding in dry, fold in any add ins!

Nice thick batter.

Ready to bake.

After 60 minutes of baking. 

The texture is soft and tender- thanks to all the good wholesome wet ingredients. The crust was nicely browned and had a chewy texture. The chewy texture pairs well with the soft interiors. 

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5

Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5