National Zucchini Bread Day
| April 27, 2012 | Posted by Kim under Cooking, Healthy Eating, Produce |
April 28th is National Zucchini Bread Day and, always looking for a reason to celebrate, I decided to bake a loaf to share. In my search for just the right recipe I came across one on www.Food.com that intrigued me with its use of Splenda and claim of low-fat, low-sugar and low calories “without sacrificing the taste”. Normally I would have continued to look since previous experiments using sugar substitutes turned out to be baked bread with the texture and taste of cardboard. Those of you who grew up in the south know what I am talking about – our sweet tea is never sweet enough unless we put more sugar in the glass on the table, right? Don’t get me wrong, it takes me 5 minutes in the morning to get my coffee just right which includes plenty of the white stuff, love my sugar!
So I was excited to find a bread recipe using Splenda that was guilt-free with each slice containing approximately 60 calories. And since fresh Florida zucchini is in season and available, I decided to bake a loaf and let my co-workers be the critics.
I did make some minor adjustments to the recipe, opting to leave out the walnuts and using Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites since I keep them on hand for my morning omelette. The bread baked up nicely, not at all like the cardboard I imagined. I should give some of the credit to my grandmother and a secret she shared with me years ago. I loved going to her house when she was baking bread, and I remember her telling me that to keep the bread moist you should always turn it out of the loaf pan while it is still warm and wrap it immediately in wax paper. Then once it cools (leave the wax paper on) wrap it in tin foil and it will stay fresh for a week. Remember her secret the next time you bake bread and let me know how it works for you.
Ingredients:
- ¾ c egg white substitute
- ½ c unsweetened applesauce
- ½ c margarine (melted)
- 2 c Florida zucchini (shredded)
- ½ c Florida carrots (shredded)
- ¾ c Splenda (granular)
- 6 tsp Splenda brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour two medium loaf pans (hint – use the wheat flour so the bread is not white when you turn it out)
- In a large bowl mix egg whites, brown sugar, Splenda, applesauce and margarine.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla to bowl and mix well.
- Slowly add flour until blended then add carrots and zucchini.
- Once all ingredients are added in bowl mix using an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes or until the batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into greased, floured loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Turn them out warm onto the wax paper and wrap – if you can resist the temptation of a warm slice with some butter!
Well, I must be going now to begin my search of the next holiday to celebrate – stay tuned!
