High Protein Health-Nut Banana Bread

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more protein into each meal and snack I eat. After becoming vegetarian, I knew that finding new protein sources was going to be crucial to my success.  Each day I try to drink a protein shake filled with fruit, Greek yogurt flies out of the refrigerator, and I go through peanut butter faster than I want to admit.

And although I enjoy scrambled eggs for lunch or dinner quite often, I can never get myself to eat them for breakfast. It's got to be on the sweet side for me, without causing a whole bunch of guilt and a sugar crash after. That's where this banana bread comes into the picture.

Yes, another banana bread, despite the fact that there are already two recipes for it on the site. But this bread is delicious and healthy. It's not your grandmother's banana bread. No, it's filled with yogurt, protein powder, flax seed, whole wheat flour and peanut butter for a hearty dose of protein and fiber. And with only a 1/2 cup of sugar in the entire loaf, it has a mildly sweet flavor that won't weigh you down.

High Protein Health-Nut Banana Bread

Ingredients
*3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
*5 tablespoons butter, melted
*1/3 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon Light and Fit) 
*35-40 grams vanilla-flavored protein powder (I use Pure Protein Vanilla Whey Protein)
*1/4 cup sugar
*1/4 cub brown sugar
*2 large eggs
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/4 cup ground flax meal
*1/2 cup all-purpose flour
*3/4 cup whole wheat flour
*2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
*2 tablespoons milk 

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with aluminum foil; set aside.
*In a large bowl, beat together the bananas, butter, yogurt, protein powder, sugar, brown sugar and eggs. Beat until well combined. Add in baking soda, salt vanilla extract, cinnamon and flax meal. Stir until combined.
*Beat in flours until just combined. Reserve 1/2 cup of the batter. Transfer remaining batter to loaf pan. Stir peanut butter and milk into the reserved batter and stir until combined. Spread peanut butter batter atop batter in loaf pan. Run a knife through to evenly distribute peanut butter batter layer.
*Bake for 50 minutes, until golden brown on the surface. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Happy baking!

Madison