Protein Pumpkin Bread

IT'S FALL AGAIN!!!!

I've been waiting to post this recipe until it was, in fact, fall. I have definite feelings about rushing the seasons and I was seeing a lot of folks diving headfirst into pumpkin stuff in, like, August. And if that's your thing, go for it. But to me, the anticipation of seasonal changes makes the coming of the season all the more sweet.

But now, here we are, in autumn! The weather is cooler, the days are getting shorter, the leaves are turning colors and I've worn a cardigan. Twice.

I think this calls for pumpkin bread.

Nik's Protein Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 c. Splenda (or another no-calorie sweetener of your choice that is equivalent to 1 c. sugar)
• 1/4 c. Torani Brown Sugar Cinnamon syrup (in the absence of this you can use the same amount of brown sugar substitute like Brown Sugar Twin or Splenda Brown Sugar blend)
• Optional: 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 c. Big Train Low-Carb Pancake & Waffle Mix
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetener, syrup and butter with a hand mixer on medium speed until completely combined. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure the first is completely mixed in before adding the second. Add the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and mix again. 

Sift the pancake and waffle mix, baking soda and salt directly into the pumpkin mixture and then mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

Don't mind the Fruit Loop photo bomb. My kids sort of invaded the kitchen as I was in the mixing stage!

Spray a mini-loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray made for baking (it will have a bit of flour in it) OR grease your pan. You may also use a full-sized loaf pan or a cupcake pan if you don't have a mini-loaf pan.

Pour equal amounts of the batter into each slot, then tap the pan against the counter to ensure batter is distributed and to remove any air pockets.

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a moist crumb. Transfer pan to a cooling rack and cool thoroughly before removing mini-loaves. Wrap each loaf individually and refrigerate until ready to eat. These do freeze well but, again, wrap them individually and well.

A word on my "flour of choice." You all may have heard me lamenting that Atkins has discontinued its baking mix. I was so sad! Yes, there's still Carbquik but I loved Atkins Mix because it was both low-carb and high-protein. That was a win-win. And, yes, I've seen the recipes for the "make your own Atkins" but, frankly, I'm lazy. 

But then I remembered seeing that Big Train, makers of Fit Frappe, made pancake and waffle mix. Quiet as its kept, pancake/waffle mix and baking mix are the same thing: a combination of flour, salt and baking powder. It's got pretty good stats. Each 1/4 c. serving has 90 calories, 12g carbs, 5g fiber (so 7 net grams of carbs) and 11g of protein. So not bad at all!

If you don't have Big Train Pancake & Waffle Mix: Don't fret! Just substitute the amount of mix called for in the above with 3/4 c. of multi-grain pancake/waffle mix (available in most stores) + 2 scoops of your favorite vanilla or unflavored protein powder (doesn't matter the size of the scoop). You can also add a scoop of protein powder to the recipe as it appears above without affecting the texture if you want to add more protein. (And yes, I recognize that I have not given you nutrition information, nor will I! Here's why if you're interested.)

The reason I personally added butter was for flavor, not for texture. The pumpkin provides all the moisture you'll need in this recipe but I omitted butter the first go-round and it just wasn't right! One tablespoon should get you the taste you want!

Please note this is a good base recipe. Which means there are probably a bunch of things you can do to customize it. One suggestion from your good friend Nik: About 7-ish minutes before it's done (the top will have formed but it'll still be soft, indicating that the inside is not done yet), add about a teaspoon of sugar-free caramel syrup (of the Smucker's variety) to each loaf and sprinkle some large-grain kosher salt over the top. Then you have...salted caramel protein pumpkin bread!

I can think of other combos. Add sugar-free chocolate chips for chocolate chip pumpkin bread or PB2 for peanut pumpkin bread (I've had this before and it is DELICIOUS!).