Headed out the door in the morning for a walk, a strength training session, work or maybe you are savoring a cup of coffee and a chapter in a good book to start your day? A breakfast that has some protein, fiber rich carbohydrate and healthy fat = WIN. A slice of quick bread that is healthier and delicious can be an excellent “go to”. I approach any quick bread asking myself how I can make it healthier without jeopardizing taste or texture? Two of my typical tweaks are: Plain Greek yogurt instead of oil and I decrease the sugar by up to 50%.

This is my current favorite. I tried it with all oat flour instead of half-half and it didn’t end well. I do recommend using 1 cup of flour. I do think you could use white whole wheat or whole wheat instead of all-purpose. I didn’t try that because I didn’t have any on hand, but I think it would be A-OK. Be cautious about adding any other moist ingredients (or adding too much Greek yogurt) – you could end up with a mushy texture that just won’t bake. How do I know that? Let’s just say that the opossums and raccoons that live in the woods near my house are used to finding some tasty things in my compost pile. Since it is made with Greek Yogurt, I slice it and keep it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to eat it. Here you go!

• 1 cup old fashioned oats (ground into flour)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 /2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cups shredded apples (2 large) plus a few extra chopped apple chunks for texture
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots (optional)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Stir all ingredients except apples and walnuts together until well blended. Stir in apples and walnuts at the end. Pour batter in to a loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper and lightly sprayed with cooking spray. You can sprinkle some finely ground walnuts on the top of the loaf before baking to make it extra “pretty”. Bake at 350 F for 60 – 70 minutes until done. Ovens vary, so I’d start with 60 minutes then check on the status and go from there. Remove from the pan onto a cooling rack. Slice into 10 generous slices or 8 very generous slices. Using the ingredients stated above and 10 slices, each slice will be about 200 calories with 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

Note: You can use any recipe builder to calculate calories and macros of any recipe. MyFitnessPal and Loseit! are examples of free nutritional tracking apps that have recipe building capabilities.

Stay HEALTHY. Be STRONG. Get AFTER It!