Tag Archives: blueberries

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Healthy-ish. A closer look at the ingredients of whole wheat flour, ripe bananas, fresh blueberries, dark chocolate and 2% Greek yogurt, you can’t help but feel a bit smug when eating something so decadent. No butter, honey instead of refined sugar, and you are patting yourself on the back.

This combines parts of two previous banana bread recipes I’ve made in the past. And it is a treat anytime of day—for breakfast with more fresh fruit, a snack in the afternoon, or dessert in the evening with perhaps a dollop of good French vanilla ice cream. OK, so maybe the ice cream isn’t in keeping with the healthy factor, but sometimes you just need some self-love, right?

No mix master needed. Simply get a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas, add the other ingredients and then pour batter into your prepared loaf pan. Top with a smattering of additional blueberries and chocolate pieces, pop in the preheated oven for an hour. Voila, masterpiece accomplished!

A popular item to share at a Sunday brunch. If it is not all eaten right away, wrap in plastic wrap followed by a layer of tinfoil and keep in the refrigerator, or freeze.

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate

  • Servings: 8-10 slices
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and broken into large chunks
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup fresh blueberries, plus about 20 more for topping
  • ½ cup dark chocolate pieces, plus about 20 more for topping

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  • In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Mix eggs, yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and baking soda into mixture.
  • Add flour and mix.
  • Gently fold in blueberries and chocolate chips into mixture. Save about 20 blueberries and chocolate pieces for the top.
  • Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Press in parchment that slings over the sides for easier removal. Pour the batter into the pan. Top with the saved berries and chocolate.
  • Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the bread.
  • Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan. Lift out of pan using the parchment sling and cool another 15 minutes or so before serving.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Blueberry Galette Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This

Uncategorized, , ,

In my mind, blueberries are synonymous with late summer. Growing up in Michigan, August was the best time to harvest the sweet blue globes, gobbling them up as we picked the fruit from the bushes. Then of course, whatever was left by the time we got home, Mom would add them to muffins, bread, fruit salad, and an array of desserts. If by chance there were still leftovers, they were frozen for another time.

This classic Blueberry Galette is the perfect easy treat to whip up using all those fresh blueberries. This rustic version is basically a lazy girl’s blueberry pie, way easier to make than a homemade pie and every bit as tasty. All you have to do is place the blueberries on top of the dough, and fold the dough however you want. Serve à la mode with a dollop of good French vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert!

Top the crust with sugar — This is a nonnegotiable step. Topping the crust with sugar will give your pie crust a beautiful golden brown, sweet, crunchy finish that is both beautiful and delicious!

The Best Blueberry Galette

  • Servings: 6-8 slices
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

For The Pie Crust*

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
  • 2 – 3 Tbsp. ice cold vodka or water
  • 1 egg, for egg wash
  • coarse sugar, such as demerara

For The Blueberry Filling

  • 4 cups blueberries, washed
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the cold butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand and no large chunks of butter remain.
  2. Add in the vodka (or water), one tablespoon at a time. If your dough has come together, don’t add any more vodka. You want just enough to bind the dough into a ball.
  3. Turn the dough out of the food processor and form into a flat oval disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes, but up to 3 days.
  4. Once your dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  5. Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Roll your dough out into a 12-inch circle. Place dough onto prepared baking tray. Place a 9-inch cake pan in the center of the circle and press down ever so slightly. This will create an indentation to show exactly how far out to place your filling!
  6. In a large bowl combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the berries evenly.
  7. Place the blueberry mixture in the center of the pie crust into an even layer. Lift the edges of the pie dough in towards the center, folding every 3-4 inches as you go around.
  8. Mix egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over crust. Top with coarse sugar if desired. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the blueberry filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Original recipe from Broma Bakery

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread

Uncategorized, , ,

Here’s a take on banana bread that’s a bit healthier than many. It incorporates whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, honey instead of sugar, and blueberries, in addition to the bananas. Our blueberries were fresh frozen. We had bought them from a local farm market at the height of their season, and flash froze them on a baking sheet before packing them in a ziploc. If you plan to incorporate frozen, thaw the berries before using them in this recipe; the same applies to frozen bananas–which ours were.

To keep the blueberries from all sinking to the bottom of the batter, dust them in flour first, then save about 20 berries to lay on the top of the batter to give the loaf some visual color. Because we had whole milk yogurt on hand, that’s what we used instead of 2%.

Next time I may line the pan with parchment. Even though I greased the pan before pouring in the batter, it was difficult to release the cooked loaf, and some stuck to the bottom of the pan. Any leftovers after two days, wrap tightly in saran wrap and then tinfoil and store in the fridge to protect against mold.

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread

  • Servings: 1 loaf/10 slices
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and broken into large chunks
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup blueberries, thawed if frozen
  • Mash bananas with a
    potato masher
  • Add dry ingredients
  • Float extra berries on top of batter
  • Cool in pan for at least 20 min
  • Slice when cool enough

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  • In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Mix eggs, yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and baking soda into mixture.
  • Add flour and mix.
  • Add blueberries and gently fold into mixture. Save about 20 blueberries for the top.
  • Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 5-inch bread pan. Top with the saved berries.
  • Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the bread. (Our loaf took 65 minutes, so keep an eye on the bread.)
  • Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before inverting out of pan and serving.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe from tasty.co