Pumpkin Banana Bread Recipe

Are you looking for a new pumpkin banana bread recipe? Here's a nutritious version using coconut oil, which is a healthy fat, rather than butter or vegetable shortening.

If you are tired of other pumpkin desserts such as pumpkin sheet cakes, muffins or cookies, give this quick bread recipe a try. It's low in fat and calories but deliciously high in taste.

Equipment

1. Greased loaf pan (9 x 5)
2. Electric Mixer
3. Large Mixing bowl
4. Measuring cups and spoons

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. (Tip: if using glass loaf pan, reduce heat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.) Yield: One large loaf: about twelve slices. Total cooking and prepping time: about 50 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 mashed, medium ripe banana
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup 100 percent pure pumpkin (from 15 - ounce can)
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• dash (or pinch) of nutmeg

Tip: Two tablespoons is the equivalent of 1/8 cup; put container of coconut oil in pan of hot water to liquify it quickly

Here's What You Do

1. Combine banana, pumpkin, melted coconut oil, and brown sugar in mixing bowl.
2. Beat on low speed on electric mixer to combine ingredients, and then beat at medium speed one minute.
3. Add the egg; beat well.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices to the pumpkin-banana mixture and beat for about two minutes. (Batter should resemble cake batter and be smooth and lump free.
5. Fold in nuts by hand and pour batter into pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Bread is done when a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the loaf.

Let sit in pan to cool for five minutes and then remove to cool completely. Loaf will slice into neater slices when cool. Serve for snacks or dessert or use to complement fruit and summer salads. Store in a closed paper or plastic bag or freeze.

Nutrients in Pumpkin

A one-half cup serving (the total amount of pumpkin in this recipe) furnishes 80 percent of an adult's daily requirement for vitamin A in the forms of como beta-caroteno and beta-carotene. It also supplies trace amounts of vitamin E, iron and calcium. You probably already knew bananas were a potassium rich food, but did you realize that same one-half cup serving of pumpkin gives you over 250 mg of heart healthy potassium?

Pumpkin is fat and cholesterol free, low in carbohydrates and calories, but high in fiber. What that means to you is pumpkin is a delicious low fat food that helps you feel fuller for longer (no more cravings) because of its high fiber content. Nibble a slice of this spicy quick bread in place of other fat, sugar and calorie laden snacks when you feel the need for something sweet. It's a good-for-you snack!

The yield for this pumpkin banana bread recipe is twelve to twelve and one-half, half-inch slices. While you won't get an entire day's worth of nutrients by munching on a slice of this bread, you will be getting a tasty, healthy dose of some crucial vitamins and minerals.