Quick Breads Done Light

Not all low fat recipes taste bad

This weekend I decided to try two new light recipes for quick breads. I have a bit of a "self-control" issue when it comes to banana bread and other sweet quick breads (By the way, quick bread means the kind of bread you can make without yeast...thus, it's quick to make). My favorite banana bread recipe is quite yummy...but it's not good for calorie counting. I've also tried various zucchini bread recipes, but all of them are pretty high in sugar.

I was watching a show called Zonya's Health Bites and she lightened up recipes for banana bread and zucchini bread. I was skeptical, but decided to give them a try. I was pleasantly surprised by both. I'm not going to say they are exactly like the recipes that have tons of butter and sugar, but they are very tasty (especially with a little bit of Smart Balance spread onto a slice). Another great thing is that both recipes are not only tasty, but good for you. It's a win-win! Both recipes are taken directly from Zonya's Lickety-Split Meals cookbook. I'm excited to tell you more about her show in a future post.

Each recipe makes enough batter for two loaves (or 8 mini loaves, if you have a mini-loaf pan) I actually made 1 regular loaf and 4 mini loaves when I tried the recipes this weekend. I gave away some of the mini loaves and popped a few in my freezer.

Banana Bread
~ This is great in the morning with breakfast or after dinner for dessert!~

• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 egg whites (or 1 egg, yolk and white)
  
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups bananas (about 5)
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour)
  
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (opt) (I didn't add these)
  
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed (opt) (I added this very healthy ingredient and it didn't affect the taste at all!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.
   
2. Mix brown sugar, egg/s, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mash the bananas (I use a food processsor). Stir into mixture.
4. Add oil to mixture and stir.
5. Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a sifter and sift over mixture (or place in a separate bowl and use a fork to equally distribute the salt and soda).
   
6. Stir dry mixture together thoroughly with the wet ingredients.
7. Stirnuts and flax seed into batter, if desired.
8. Divide batter evenly between the pans (loaves will not be high). Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Per slice, this bread comes in at 137 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 7 grams of sugar...it's a great source of fiber and protein as well.

Zucchini Bread
~This also makes for a great anytime treat~

• 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves (I skipped these cause I didn't have them)
  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1½ cups sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup skim milk or nonfat plain yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini, unpeeled (I shredded it in my food processor)
  
• 1/2 cup nuts, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a small or medium bowl.
3. Beat sugar, egg whites, milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon extract in a large bowl.
4. Stir zucchini into wet ingrediants. Then stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.
5. Stir in nuts, if desired. Divide batter evenly between pan(s). Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   

Per slice, this bread comes in at 140 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 13 grams of sugar...not bad...plus there's plenty of nutritional value in it as well.

This proves that you really can have sweet treats when you are watching your weight. You just have to watch your serving sizes and use healthy recipes!