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Y is for Yogurt

June 4th, 2011 at 03:37 pm

Most evenings there's a yogurt commercial on. Usually one featuring Jamie Lee Curtis. But yogurt seems to be a mainstay of many women's dairy intake.

Up until a few years ago I didn't know something called "Greek" yogurt existed. It's a little thicker than regular yogurt and seems to be the darling of many television chefs. I'm not saying that to run it down -- I actually like Greek yogurt. I just think it is amusing how something becomes popular and they all sing it's praises.

Years ago when my mom was kind of failing and wouldn't eat a lot, she would eat sweet things. So, about every week I'd bake banana bread. Being the no holds barred person she was, she would critique it and usually tell me it was too dry or this and that. Then I found THE banana bread recipe. It had yogurt in it. I've included it in my blog, but I'm going to print it again because if you haven't tried it, and want to make banana bread, it's amazing. I've also tried adding part banana and part zucchini in the same recipe and it worked well too. It's very moist and although the loaf doesn't turn out as beautiful in shape as many other recipes, it's all about flavor for me.

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 F

3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
¾ cup chopped walnut pieces (optional)

Lightly grease 6x9 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil or butter

Peel the bananas place in a small mixing bowl…mash

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, and sour cream and whisk until smooth

Add the cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, mashed bananas, and walnuts to the egg mixture and whisk to combine

Add the flour and stir until just combine – don’t overmix.

Our the batter into the loaf pan and baked until golden brown and it has risen…about an hour and 10 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes after removing from oven.


I was looking through my recipes and noticed that Emeril also has a recipe for blueberry muffins that incorporates yogurt. I've made them and they are pretty wonderful too:

Emeril’s Mile-High Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 F

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh for thawed frozen blueberries
½ cup whole milk

Line a 12 muffin tin or spray with non stick spray
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, butter, and lemon zest.

Add the dry ingredients to the yogurt mixture and whisk just until combined, being careful not to overmix

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the blueberries into the batter, again being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffing cups.

Bake in the oven until puffed up and golden brown, about 20-22 minutes

Remove the oven and let cool in the tin for about 5 minutes

2 Responses to “Y is for Yogurt”

  1. patientsaver Says:
    1307276167

    I love banana bread and I see that your recipe is very similar to mine, except that I use whole wheat flour. Also, with 3 very ripe bananas, you can cut way back on the sugar. 1 cup of sugar is a lot, if you think about it, for a single loaf of bread. But anyway, sour cream or yogurt is a great addition to any quick bread, really keeps it light.

  2. Jerry Says:
    1307738722

    I am living in the birthplace of yogurt, and there is none better than Bulgarian and Greek yogurt. It's really a staple of the diet here, as well, and people swear that it leads to healthier digestive tract. However, many Bulgarians complain that the best yogurt bacteria have been taken from Bulgaria and are used in Japan, where it is very popular... (so if you want some insurance of real Bulgarian yogurt, fly to Tokyo?) However, if you go out into the mountain villages, the yogurt here is amazing.
    Jerry

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