I almost became a pastry chef. It was neck and neck with nutrition and nutrition won.
Now I just try to do good when I bake.
A while back, I posted my favorite banana bread recipe. I make this banana bread maybe about once a month, seriously. It’s just SO good.
But recently I’ve been feeling like I wanted to mix things up a little. After I did my series on the essential pantry staples you need for quick and healthy meals, I figured this was the perfect time for a remix.
So I took that banana bread recipe and made a few tweaks.
Tweak number 1:
Oat bran. If you didn’t catch the last post on complex carb pantry staples that give you double and triple nutritional power, check it out right here.
Oat bran is one of those foods that comes in strong with a ton of fiber along with the amount of protein in an egg. And adding it to the flour mixture makes this bread lighter and moister than using whole wheat flour.
Tweak number 2:
Greek yogurt and eggs. Nothing too surprising here, lots of recipes use these two ingredients. The difference with this Banana Pumpkin Bread is the extra protein it gives this bread. Both these are pantry staple essentials. Keep these around the kitchen and you’ll always have an easy way to bring up your protein intake in a hundred easy ways.
Tweak number 3:
Pureed pumpkin with the banana. This combination just takes the banana bread to a whole new level. The fiber we’re getting from the oat bran gets a major boost with the pumpkin and banana. It’s going to make the bread CRAZY moist too!
Tweak number 4:
The cup of nuts can’t be missed in this. The little bit of crunch and rich flavor that comes from the nuts sets these muffins off. Nuts are also another must have pantry staple that bring high quality fat and even MORE fiber to this recipe. Yup, nuts are another protein, fat and fiber pantry staple – they make these muffins perfect.
When I make breads like this, I’ve always got to double the recipe.
It almost feels unfair to me when only make one and then have to RE-MAKE them after I’ve inhaled the entire recipe in a week. So I double the recipe and freeze half for quick access. They’re really that good.
These can be made into muffins or a sliceable loaf of bread. Both are perfect for a fast morning breakfast or turned into cupcakes with a ridiculously easy cream cheese frosting. You can even add pumpkin to the frosting, which adds an extra layer of depth to something that’s pretty decadent.
Either way, you can’t lose.
These Banana Pumpkin Nut Muffins are on point. For real, ya’ll.
Banana Pumpkin Nut Muffins
These banana pumpkin muffins are perfect for a fast breakfast. They're even better topped with some cream cheese frosting. You won't realize how incredibly high in fiber and protein they are by the way they taste. You'll just feel like you're eating a cupcake for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 1 cup Oat bran
- 2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp Pumpkin pie spice mix
- 8 tbsp Butter, unsalted
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain
- 1 cup Banana, mashed about 3, extra ripe
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree
- 1 cup Walnuts or pecans
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
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Using a fork or whisk mix together flour, oat bran, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice blend. Set aside.
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Beat butter and sugars together until fluffy.
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Add eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Mix until blended.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin and bananas.
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Add the banana pumpkin mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until blended.
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Stir the dry ingredients in to the banana pumpkin mixture in 3 parts. Stir in gently before adding the next part. Some lumps are ok.
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Stir in the nuts along with the last addition of the flour mixture.
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Divide evenly into muffin tins. You can use loaf pans as well, if you'd like slices instead.
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Bake for 20 minutes for muffins and 30 minutes for loaf, or until knife comes out clean.
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Enjoy plain or top with cream cheese frosting for something extra special.