Healthier Pumpkin Bread

If your family is anything like mine, pumpkin muffins and bread aren't just reserved for fall. We LOVE pumpkin! Kids love pumpkin because, when paired with delicious spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, it's just plain good. I love pumpkin for the same reason, but also for its health benefits. Pumpkin is a good-for-us-food, packing more than just flavor into that orange body. Pumpkin (canned and fresh) is high in Vitamins C and E, Potassium, and Fiber; and pumpkin is a great plant source of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. Now that you know how good pumpkin is for you, try our friend Hope's recipe for muffins (or bread) with less sugar and fat!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
2 cups or 1 can pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream together butter and sugar and add in eggs. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture until well-blended. Fold in pumpkin. Pour into 2 buttered loaf pans and bake for 1 hour. (If making muffins, cook time is lowered to 25-35 minutes.)

As always, feel free to experiment with different types of flour, substituting all or part of the sugar with honey or agave nectar or stevia, or simply doubling or tripling the recipe to share with friends and family.

Submitted by Hope; written by Lindsey