Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

Fall in love with this easy, whole-wheat pumpkin bread recipe.

By: Jodie Shield, MED, RDN

When I think about fall, the first thing that comes to mind: bright-orange pumpkins. Sure, they make festive Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, but they’re delicious and nutritious, too. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash loaded with antioxidants like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein. These powerful phytonutrients help protect us from heart disease, cancer, and may prevent age-related vision loss. Another healthy pumpkin perk: pumpkin is a low-fat source of vitamin E and rich in fiber and potassium.

Since most of us are familiar with pumpkin pie, I decided to try Libby’s classic Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread recipe. However, it called for so much sugar – 3 cups for two loaves! So, I cut the recipe in half and reduced the sugar content by 25 percent. I also used whole-wheat white flour for added fiber. The result: perfectly browned, moist pumpkin bread! Be sure to try the Pumpkin Hemp Seed Bread recipe that I developed for Food and Nutrition Magazine. Some of my other quick bread favorites are Applesauce Bread and Banana Nut Bread all on my FREE app Eat Healthy: Homemade Meals in Minutes. You can download it now at iTunes or GogglePlay.

 Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

10 Servings

Prep Time = 20 minutes

Cooking Time = 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 ¾ cups white whole-wheat flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teapoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup sweetened dried, fresh, or frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
2. Combine, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl; set aside.
3. Combine pumpkin, oil, and eggs in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake for 60 minutes or until wooden pic inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cook on wire rack.

Nutritional Information per Serving (1 slice): 244 calories, 4 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrate, 11 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 31 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams fiber, 159 milligrams sodium

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