Better Pumpkin Bread

Last year I created a recipe for better banana bread that had healthier swaps for the sugar, flour, and margarine. The results were amazing as it was still moist and delicious, but much healthier than the original version.

This morning, while researching pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins, I decided to make a better pumpkin bread. Typical pumpkin bread recipes have a lot of sugar (often 1 1/2 cups per loaf, which is about 1/8 cup of sugar per serving)! This better pumpkin bread is sweet too, but sweetness coming from dates and maple syrup seems a much better bargain than from cane sugar. This swap works for me, because you still get the fiber and other nutrients from the dates.

Better Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup whole dates
2 tsp water
1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1 cup oat flour (grind whole oats in a blender or spice grinder, until it is a fine powder)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of ground ginger

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to thicken.

Blend the dates into a paste in a powerful blender. You may need to add a tsp or two of water depending on how moist your dates are. Add the maple syrup to the blender and blend until it is well incorporated and the dates are almost completely broken down. Next, put the date paste into a mixing bowl and add the coconut oil and brown sugar. Mix to combine well and then add the pumpkin and soured soy milk to the batter and mix again.

Now you are ready to add the dry ingredients. Add in the oat flour, whole what flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Mix until it is just combined. Fold in the raisins, if you like and then bake for 1 hour.

For 12 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 93 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  267 Calories from Fat  90

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  10.0g 15%

Saturated Fat  8.1g 40%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  208mg 9%

Potassium  262mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates  44.1g 15%

Dietary Fiber  3.2g 13%

Sugars  25.6g

Protein  3.0g

Vitamin A 64% • Vitamin C 2% Calcium 4% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade C+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet