Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

My sister served me this bread last week for breakfast and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so this weekend I decided to make myself a loaf. It's a wholesome chocolate banana bread made with whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt. When eating a breakfast bread, I like like having a nice thick slice; something I can really sink my teeth into. This bread is perfect for that. And topped with a little peanut butter for a little extra protein umph is my favorite way to finish it off! 

I streamlined the original recipe here, just so I didn't have to use as many bowls! Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another and mix them together. Done. I also did what I seem to always do and cut back on the sugar from 1/2 c honey, to 2 tbs honey + 2 tbs brown sugar (so 1/4 cup total). Feel free to double this for a sweeter and more indulgent bread. 

Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Adapted from The Baker Mama 
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup (110 grams) milk
• 1 cup (225 grams) mashed ripe banana; about 2 large bananas
• 1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the remaining ingredients until well combined. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix with a spatula until mostly combined. Add in the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks if using, and continue to mix until completely combined with no more streaks of dry flour in the batter. Batter will be thick.

Spread batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Press more chocolate chips into the top of the batter before baking, if desired. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 50 minutes, turning halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely and serve.

Yields: 8-10 slices

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars. You can never have too many recipes. I'm always trying out new variations, and new renditions. They're all yummy and wonderful to have on hand for (healthy-ish) snacks. This version is a winner because Chocolate!! When I add some nice dried fruit, or delicious nuts or seeds to a granola bar, they're always delicious, but I always want chocolate. Always.  :) 

This bar is a version of my cranberry walnut granola bars, but I replaced the almond butter with peanut butter, and then obviously used chocolate chips instead of the cranberries and walnuts. Both good options, but when that chocolate craving hits there's only one option!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Adapted from Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) peanut butter
• 1/3 cup (112 grams) honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 cups (160 grams) old fashion oats
• 1/3 cup (38 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12x9 inch or 8x8 inch pan, or line with a parchment paper sling, and set aside. 

Place the butter, and peanut butter in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave until the butter melts. Stir until the well combined. Mix in the honey, vanilla and salt and give a good stir. Add the egg and stir the whole mixture until smooth and combined. 

Add the oats, whole wheat flour, and chocolate and stir everything together until well combined and there are no more dry pockets of flour. 

Transfer the mixture into the prepared  pan and pat down firmly into an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Yields: 14-16 granola bars
 

Brownie Batter Chocolate Oat Muffins

When it comes to breakfast, I love a good egg sandwich, avocado toast, or a delicious scramble full of peppers, mushrooms, sausage and cheese. However, where my heart truly lies, and what I really want every morning, is with a sweet breakfast. I just have a big old sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast (and really any time), and I will almost always choose a sweet breakfast over a savory one despite how good those savory breakfasts may be. (I usually just end up have a savory "breakfast" for dinner, problem solved!)

I especially love chocolate for breakfast. I don't think I really need to explain it any more than that. Chocolate. Breakfast. Enough said. But even though I love sweets for breakfast, I don't always feel good about eating them. These brownie batter muffins solve that problem. They are sweet and chocolatey, yet have some nutrition in them, and are not just empty calories. Yes, you can have the best of both worlds! 

These yummy little brownie batter muffins are easy to make. Really just need one bowl and some simple ingredients. I cut down on the maple syrup from the original recipe from 1/2 to 1/4 cup to make them a little healthier and I thought they were just fine. So naturally sweetened with the maple syrup if that's your kind of thing. I'm sure honey would be fine as well, or just regular white or brown sugar if that's all you have, although I have not actually tried this I bet it would be fine. There is some protein and healthy fat from the almond butter (yes peanut butter would work just fine too). And you can go ahead and add in anything else that floats your boat; chocolate chips or chunks, cocoa nibs, any nut you like, even some fresh or frozen berries, or dried fruit. Customize away, and enjoy!

Brownie Batter Chocolate Oat Muffins
Adapted from Running with Spoons
Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) milk
• 1/4 cup (75 grams) maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (64 grams) almond butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (160 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour or whole wheat rye flour
• 1/4 cup (20 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Cocoa nibs (optional)
• Chopped chocolate (optional)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a muffin pan by spraying the cavities with cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper liners. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg. Whisk in the milk, maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add the oats, flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder, and mix until well combined. Add the cocoa nibs and chocolate and give one more good stir to combine. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each until about 3/4 full. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Yields: 10 muffins
Approximate Calorie Count: 190 calories each
 

Zucchini Cardamom Bread

Every year when I see the mounds of zucchini at the farmers market I have good intentions about using it in plenty of baked goods over the weeks. I've found in the past however, I end up just roasting it all up and eating it before it makes its way into anything sweet. This year I told myself that I had to do some baking. And then when I was at the zucchini stall I picked up how much zucchini I thought I would want for the week, and then I bought twice as much! No going back, no choice but to bake!

One of the first things I set out to make was a nice zucchini bread. When I saw a recipe for cardamom zucchini bread (with chocolate!) it sounded like a delightful twist on a traditional bread so I went for it. The cardamom adds a lovely floral note to the bread. The 1 teaspoon called for in this recipe is definitely a hefty amount of cardamom, so if you're not a huge cardamom fan, or you're not sure if you like cardamom, you can always add half the amount to start and see how it goes. But I recommend giving it a try. The cardamom mixed with the dark chocolate chunks is a wonderful combination!

This recipe has a good 1.5-2 cups zucchini (doesn't have to be exact), and is sweetened with a touch of honey. I'm always looking to cut back on the amount of sugar in my diet, so I halved the amount of honey in this recipe and thought it turned out just fine. I didn't find it compromised the quality of the finished product, but if you're not sure if the 1/4 cup of honey will be enough, go ahead and use 1/2 cup honey.

I also swapped out 1/2 cup of the flour for 1/2 cup oat flour because I love oats in my bread, and love how healthy they are. If you don't have any oat flour you can use all wheat flour. Finally, I replaced some of the oil in the original recipe with Greek yogurt. I always have Greek yogurt on hand, and I love baking with it. You can use sour cream instead, or you can just use the full 1/2 cup of oil instead and skip the yogurt. I made all these little changes for myself based on what I like, but you can certainly make it your own based on what you like. It may change the final product slightly, but in the end I'm sure whatever you come up with will be perfectly edible! 

Zucchini Cardamom Bread
Adapted from Dishing up the Dirt
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (50 grams) olive oil
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup (85 grams) honey
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 medium-sized zucchini, or 1/2 of a large zucchini)
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate (I used 40 grams)
• A few hefty pinches of turbinado sugar for topping

Directions
Place an oven rack in the middle position of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, honey eggs and vanilla, Stir in the zucchini. Mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (being careful to not over-mix) adding in the chocolate partway through the mixing. 

Pour the batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with the turbinado sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool the zucchini bread in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: 1 loaf

Chocolate Coconut Crunch

ALERT: Highly Addictive Recipe!!! Be forewarned, you may end up eating the whole batch at once! If you're looking for something new and delicious to snack on, this is the recipe for you. Puffed kamut or rice (or other puffed grains) combined with coconut, cocoa and chocolate along with a little butter (mmmm!!) and maple syrup for sweetness and then baked turn out this addictive and delicious snack that you may not be able to stop eating! Don't say I didn't warn you!

This recipe has just the right amount of coconut to add richness and a hint of coconut flavoring without overwhelming the whole batch. Next time I make this I plan sprinkle some flake salt over the whole thing right before it goes in the oven for that wonderful salty/sweet combo. I used butter instead of coconut oil which is what the original recipe called for, and cut back just a little on the amount. I also decreased the maple syrup from 1/2 to 1/3 cup maple syrup and thought it was still plenty sweet. With the chocolate in there too I don't feel the need for as much maple syrup, but to eat their own! 1/4 cup? 1/2 cup? It really doesn't matter. What matters is how do you like it? I guess you'll have to try it and find out!

Chocolate Coconut Crunch
Adapted from Alexandra Cooks
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup (120 grams) oats
• 2 cups (30 grams) puffed kamut, alternatively you can use brown rice cereal or Rice Krispies
• 1/2 cup (35 grams) shredded coconut
• 3 tablespoons (15 grams) cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons (42 grams) butter or coconut oil
• 1 1/2 ounces chocolate
• 1/3 cup (110 grams) maple syrup

Direction
Preheat oven to 275ºF. In a large bowl, combine oats, puffed kamut or rice cereal, coconut, cocoa powder, and salt. Toss to combine.

Place the butter or coconut oil and dark chocolate together in a small bowl and microwave until completely melted. Stir to blend; then add to dry ingredients along with the maple syrup. Stir until well combined.

Turn mixture out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread into an even layer. Cook 35-40 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. To maintain large chunks, do not stir the mixture. Remove from oven and let cool. Break into shards or into small pieces.

Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Protein Bars

I'm not a big fan of trying to rebrand food as something it's not. I understand the reasoning, but I still don't like it. Vegan cheese is not cheese, almond milk is not milk, and a turkey bacon is not bacon. It's not that I have anything against these foods and don't necessarily have a problem eating most of them, I just don't like how they're named something they actually aren't. Instead of always trying to replace a food product with something else, why not instead try to come up with something different, and better!

Black bean brownies are another thing that I just can't get into saying. I just don't think a baked good full of black beans is a brownie. To me a brownie is chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar with just a little flour. It's a magical combination, and no recipe with beans is going to be comparable, unless of course the ratio is so out of wack that there are hardly any black beans in it anyway and then what's the point? But this does not mean I'm against what most people try to brand as "black bean brownies". I'm intrigued by anything that claims to be nutritious AND delicious. I'd just like to propose that instead of calling these concoctions "brownies", that we step back and just call them "bars" instead. A bar can be made out of anything, including beans!

I searched the internet high and low and came back with dozens of black bean brownie recipes. There were several that I was considering trying when I just decided to make up my own! That way I had complete control over what went in it, and I could make it to my taste. I wanted to make something less dessert-y and more of a snack I could feel pretty good eating in the afternoon when I suddenly realize that I didn't eat enough for lunch and dinner is still hours away! These bars were the result. I would especially not call these a brownie because they are not sweet enough. I didn't want them to be super sweet, just enough sugar to make them taste nice, but not like a rich dessert. So be warned if you want to try them that they will not be sweet. 

In the end I was very pleased with how they turned out. They are dense and fudge, yet a little dry in texture. They hold together very well and are a great on-the-go snack. They are chocolate-y enough to feel like a treat without being so rich as to seem like dessert. And as for any bean flavor, nope! You really can't tastes beans at all. I cooked my beans from dry, so I can't say how canned black beans would taste in this recipe, but I imagine they would be just fine. Overall, a good snack, satisfying and nutritious. 

Chocolate Chunk Protein Bars
Created by Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) pureed black beans
• 1/4 cup (64 grams) almond butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) cocoa powder
• 6 medjool dates (110 grams)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• A couple dashes of cinnamon and/or cardamom
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) chocolate chunks

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor place the beans and almond butter. Process until smooth. Add the eggs and process until well combined. Add the remainder of the ingredients (except the chocolate chunks), and process until smooth and uniform. Remove the blade and stir in the chocolate chunks by hand.

Transfer the batter (it will be very thick) to a greased and lined 9x9 inch pan. Smooth the batter into an even layer. Place in preheated oven and baked for 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan until cutting into bars. 

Spiced Oat Cookies with Chocolate and Fruit

Cookies are the best. They're always a hit, they're easy to make, the options are endless, and did I mention, they're delicious! I'm always on the lookout for a new cookie to try even though I have plenty of good recipes in the archives. You never know when you'll stumble upon the best recipe ever. Recently I came across this recipe for Cardamom-Spice Oat Cookies from King Arthur Flour and they looked just different enough and tasty enough to try. 

Don't ask me how, but I managed to completely forget to add the cardamom to the cardamom-spice cookies so they became just plain "spiced" cookies, but that didn't seem to matter too much in the end. The final cookie was fantastic! Visually beautiful with a wonderful texture, slightly crisp on the edges yet nice and chewy in the center. I've had some trouble with oatmeal cookies in the past always being too soft for my liking but these were perfect. They baked up well, spread perfectly, not too flat, not too round, a smashing success. 

When I started to make these cookies I realized that my brown sugar was as hard as a rock and I didn't feel like dealing with trying to soften it up, so I just replaced it with white sugar and it was fine. I threw in some chocolate and dried fruit, prunes were what I had so in they went! Any dried fruit would do, I'm partial to chocolate cherry myself, but really anything will work. 

I halved the original recipe and didn't want to halve an egg so I just skipped it and added a little 1/2 and 1/2 for fat and liquid. Necessary? Probably not, but they turned out great, so whatever! I ended up getting 8 nice sized cookies out of this recipe, each cookie was about 50-55 grams of dough. I thought they were a perfect size in the end, not too big and not too small. All around delicious!

Spiced Oat Cookies with Chocolate and Fruit
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients

• 5/8 cup (75 grams) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (60 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 cup (70 grams) butter
• 1/3 cup (70 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (20 grams) maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) half and half
• 1/4 cup (28 grams) chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup (28 grams) prunes, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Directions
Line a baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and syrup together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla and half and half and beat at medium speed until smooth. Scrape the bowl once again.

Add the dry mixture and mix at low speed until just combined. Scrape the bowl and mix once more for 30 seconds. Add the chocolate and fruit and mix until well blended.

Place the dough and refrigerate at least a couple of hours, or overnight. When ready to bake, scoop out pin pong-sized balls of dough (I did 50 grams of dough each), and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Place in a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until just golden at the edges and have set in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Yields: approximately 8 large cookies
Nutrition: approximately 180 calories per cookie

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

As I type this, the sun is streaming in the window, blinding me as I sit. I love spring. :) The birds are singing, the buds are just starting to burst out in light green leaves, and the flowering trees are gracing gardens and yards with fragrant and beautiful blooms. Morning runs are warming up, making it easier for me to haul myself out of bed and out the door into the not quite as frigid conditions. Thankfully I can stop worrying about sliding around on icy sidewalks for many months. 

While I'm on the topic of things I love, I also love banana bread; almost as exciting as spring! For these banana muffins I adapted my favorite Greek yogurt banana bread , turning them into muffins with the scrumptious addition of some nice dark chocolate chips.  They baked up tall and fluffy with a moist and tender crumb. Easy to whip up on a lovely spring morning to enjoy with a cup of steaming coffee on your sunny porch. Happy baking!

Like I said, I took one of my favorite banana bread recipes and turned them into muffins. I started by cutting the recipe in half because I just wanted a small batch, so the final recipe makes 6 nice muffins. I increased the oven temperature to 375 degrees and baked them for 18 minutes. For a little extra flavor and fun I added some cardamom along with the chocolate chips, but you could also try adding a little cinnamon for that extra spice. A light and delicious breakfast muffin, perfect for spring!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 very ripe bananas (approximately 7.5 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
• 2-3 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour, or a mix of all purpose and whole wheat flours
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I did 35 grams, but you can do a bit more if you like your muffins bursting with chocolate!)

Directions
In a large bowl, mash bananas with a whisk. Add butter, yogurt and sugar and whisk until combined and somewhat smooth. If it's still a little chunky, don't worry. Add the vanilla and egg and stir until combined.

Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and flour and stir just until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips mix until just combined (don’t overmix).

Spoon batter evenly into 6 muffin cups that are either greased or lined with muffin liners. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.