Recipe Makeover: Nancy's Pumpkin Bread

Every year for the past 5 years, a friend of mine brings a much anticipated and appreciated loaf of pumpkin bread over as a holiday gift. And every year I think to myself that it just might be one of the best-tasting pumpkin breads I've had. Well, this year I asked her for the recipe.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did warn her that I would be "messing with" her recipe by lowering the fat, saturated fat, and sugar and switching to half whole-wheat flour. If you are a sweet potato fan, then by all means use cooked, pureed sweet potatoes in place of the canned pumpkin.

Here's what happened nutritionally:
The calories decreased from 258 to 169 and the grams of fat and cholesterol were chopped in half, saturated fat was cut by 2/3rds, and fiber doubled.

Nancy's Light Pumpkin Bread

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lite pancake syrup or maple syrup
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
6 tablespoons lowfat milk or fat-free half-and-half
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with foil or paper liners, or if making bread, coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with canola cooking spray (dust lightly with flour if desired); set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients by beating on medium speed until well blended.
3. Pour the dry ingredients, all at once, into the mixing bowl and beat on medium-low until blended, scrape sides of the bowl and blend again.
4. Fill prepared muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter or pour all of the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Bake until top of muffins spring back nicely after gentle pressure (about 30 minutes). If making a loaf, bake for about 70 minutes.

Yield: makes 12 muffins or 1, 9 x 5-inch loaf. If you want to make 2 loaves or 24 muffins, just double the recipe.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 169 calories, 3 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 3 g monounsaturated fat, 1.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 185 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 27 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .4 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = 1 gram.

Original recipe contains 258 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, and 36 mg cholesterol per muffin or slice.

NOTE: If you want to add the Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze - In a mixing bowl, combine 1/4-cup light cream cheese, 1/2-cup powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons fat free vanilla creamer or similar, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Fall Baking: Overnight Brown Sugar Pecan Coffee Cake

Okay, I live in one of the warmer states, but even I am beginning to feel the fall season approaching and you know what that means? Time to start your mixers...it's fall baking season!

Making some of the old favorites is a given, but I thought I would throw a new recipe your way to try on one of these cool fall nights - Overnight Brown Sugar Pecan Coffee Cake. You mix up the batter in the evening and it sits in your refrigerator overnight and then you pop it in the oven in the morning. All there is left to do is enjoy it piping hot from the oven with a cup of tea or coffee.

Overnight Brown Sugar Pecan Coffee Cake

Photo: Elaine Magee

If you want to mix up the topping quickly and you haven't chopped up your pecans yet, just place the brown sugar, pecan halves and cinnamon in a small food processor bowl and pulse briefly to blend the topping ingredients and chop the nuts.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons light margarine (with plant sterols added if possible)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1/2 cup fat free or reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (you can use 1/4 teaspoon if desired)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnut
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Coat an 8x 8-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, beat margarine and sugar together on medium speed until nice and creamy. Add in the egg and sour cream, beating well after each addition.
2. In another bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, nutmeg and salt with whisk or fork. Add flour mixture to the margarine mixture, beating on low just until blended. Pour into prepared baking dish.
3. In small bowl, combine brown sugar, chopped pecans and cinnamon and sprinkle mixture evenly over coffee cake batter. Cover baking dish and refrigerate overnight.
4. Remove dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake coffee cake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut coffee cake into 9 squares and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!

Yield: Makes 9 servings

Nutrition information per serving: 177 calories, 3 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate, 6.7 g fat, .8 g saturated fat, 3.2 g monounsaturated fat, 2.4 g polyunsaturated fat, 27 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 83 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 34 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = .2 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = 2 grams.

Related Topics:

• White Chocolate-Cranberry Coffee Cake Recipe
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox