WHOLE WHEAT HONEY OAT QUICK BREAD- CLEAN EATING

My son is three and super picky. If he had a choice he would dine on pop tarts, peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate milk all day, every day for the rest of his life. I try everything to get him to try new things but he prefers most food to be in the color palette of brown. If I want/need him to eat something healthy I have to usually puree it and hide it in his limited diet. Unfortunately, he can usually detect it and proceeds to then spit it out!

Cleaning up his diet has been a challenge. There have been MANY tears cried over the sad loss of brown sugar pop tarts and many more tears cried over the beloved chocolate milk. But we are getting there, slowly. Right now he is living off of peanut butter sandwiches and oatmeal. So I am tackling the bread today and cleaning it up.

This recipe is perfect for me for one reason...I hate waiting for dough to rise. I wish I loved the process of making bread, it seems like such a beautiful art, but I hate it. It takes so long. When I bake, I like to make a mess then clean it up however when I make bread I feel like my kitchen is in disarray for hours on end. So, when I ran across this quick bread recipe and I knew it was for me.

This is not a light airy bread that you are going to get with a yeast bread. This is dense and heavy, similar texture to a banana bread so it won't work real well as sandwich bread but it is great warmed up or toasted with a little nut butter on it.

WHOLE WHEAT HONEY OAT QUICK BREAD- CLEAN EATING
Adapted slightly from eatingwell
12 slices

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant), plus 2 tablespoons, divided

2 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour, or white whole-wheat flour (see Tip)

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

8 ounces (scant 1 cup) nonfat or low-fat plain Greek yogurt

1 large egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup mild honey

1 cup cup nonfat milk (I used 1 cup coconut milk)

Position rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch (or similar size) loaf pan with olive oil.

In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, using a fork, beat 1 cup oats, yogurt, egg, oil and honey until well blended. Stir in milk.

Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until incorporated but not over mixed (excess mixing can cause toughening). The batter will be thick.

Immediately scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oats over the top of the batter.

Bake the loaf until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. (It’s normal for the top to crack.) Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around and under the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool until barely warm, about 45 minutes.

Tip: Make Ahead Tip: Store cooled bread, tightly wrapped, for up to 1 day at room temperature. If desired, warm (wrapped in foil) at 375°F before serving.

Tip: White whole-wheat flour, made from a special variety of white wheat, is light in color and flavor but has the same nutritional properties as regular whole-wheat flour.

 PRINTABLE RECIPE