Nutty Pumpkin Bread is Gluten Free, but you'd never know it

Nutty Pumpkin Bread is Gluten Free, but you'd never know it

The theme for Recipe Redux this month is Creative Quick Breads, just in time for the holiday season. 

I love anything pumpkin and this time of year it is easy to find pumpkin soups, breads, coffee drinks, and ice cream. Yum! I love pumpkin bread, and wanted to create a gluten-free version for a potluck I’m attending where I know one of more of the guests are not eating gluten.

Using a store-bought gluten-free flour blend makes this recipe easier and faster to put together. I have had good success with the gluten-free flour mix from Bob’s Red Mill. This is a combination of garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour and fava bean flour.

Nutty Pumpkin Bread, Gluten Free (but you wouldn’t know it)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 banana, mashed

White sugar substitute equivalent to 1/2 cup (I used 1/4 cup Truvia sugar blend)

Brown sugar substitute equivalent to 1/2 cup (I used 1/4 cup Truvia brown sugar blend)

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin

2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour mix)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon xanthum gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray 9x5-inch bread pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine butter, coconut oil, banana, white and brown sugar substitutes; mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, xanthum gum, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring only until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack and then remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes  12 servings.

Nutrition Information per Serving:

242 calories, 12 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber, 4 g protein, and 167 mg sodium. One serving of this low cost recipe provides an excellent source of vitamin A.

Be sure to check out these other quick bread favorites.

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Happy National Nut Day with Nutty Granola

Nutty Granola good any time of day

October 22^nd (today) is National Nut Day. We all know that nuts are good for you but make an extra effort to eat one of more servings of nuts today. The theme for Recipe ReDux this month is to think nuts.  I love nuts in many foods, from cashew butter on my toast in the morning, to candied nuts on a green salad with pear slices, blue cheese and dried cranberries, to pecan-crusted fish or chicken breasts, to a nutty dessert, such as chopped nuts on top of a dish of vanilla greek-style yogurt. They are good anytime of day.

One of husband’s favorite snacks is a homemade granola I make mine using walnuts, pecans, and sliced almonds. He enjoys eating the granola plain, as a snack. I like it that way, too, but I also sprinkle it on yogurt, ice cream, or on top of pancake batter.

When I make granola, I use a special pan called a T-Fal ActiFry that has an arm that rotates around the bowl automatically keeping the granola mixture constantly moving inside. It only takes 10 minutes to cook, much faster than oven methods I have used in the past.

 The recipe below is my revised version of the granola recipe found in the recipe booklet that accompanied my ActiFry machine (Cherry-Pecan Granola). I make my version much nuttier. In my version, I add walnuts and sliced almonds in addition to the pecans called for and instead of 3/4 cup of nuts total, my recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups. I also substitute golden raisins for the dried cherries. I use a full teaspoon of cinnamon and omit the salt. You can also add ground ginger or nutmeg, if desired.

Nutty Granola

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/3 cup golden raisins

Directions:

Combine nuts, rolled oats, cinnamon, maple syrup and oil in a large bowl; mix to combine. Transfer mixture to bowl of ActiFry and cook for 9 minutes. Add raisins and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer to cookie sheet and allow to cool. Store in airtight container.

Makes 5 cups or ten 1/2-cup servings.

Nutrition Information per (3/4-cup) Serving:

249 calories, 13 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g dietary fiber, 6 g protein, and  2 mg sodium. 

Don’t have an ActiFry, then bake granola (without raisins) on baking sheets lined with foil or parchment paper at 325 F. for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. Stir in raisins after removing from oven.

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