Holiday Pumpkin Bread

Classified botanically within the gourd family, pumpkins are technically a fruit, closely related to cucumbers, watermelon, and other squash. Their English name, pumpkin, is a derivation of the Greek word "pepon," meaning large melon. 

Pumpkins are low in calories and high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that your body uses as Vitamin A. Did you know that pumpkins are 90% water. During their growth peak, usually August, giant pumpkins can gain as much as 40 lbs. per day! Below is a recipe I created for a moist pumpkin bread with half the calories of sugar. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup stevia, baking blend

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 (15 ounce) pumpkin puree

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 walnuts, chopped


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5). Set aside. In a medium size bowl beat eggs and mix in stevia, oil, water and pumpkin. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in chopped walnuts.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool bread inside loaf pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Then slide a butter knife along the sides of pan to loosen the bread. Carefully invert the loaf pan to remove bread. Cool bread another 15 minutes directly on wire rack. Using a serrated knife, slice the pumpkin bread into 1/2 inch slices. Serve on a platter or store in an air tight container. 

As a side note, make sure to buy the baking blend stevia. It can be found under the brand name Truvia in the grocery store. Enjoy!

(Source: Pumpkins - Fun facts, cooking & nutrition, www.ebay.com)