Tag Archives: pudding

Breads

Fall is Pumpkin Bread Time!

Photo: Pumpkin Bread

Halloween is almost upon us and I’m just now getting my Pumpkin Nut Bread recipe out. This is a moist and delicious breakfast or snack bread. My secret ingredient in this to make it really rich-tasting is sugar-free vanilla pudding mix.

I used a combination of flour types to make this. Almond flour alone isn’t sturdy enough, so I reinforced it with gluten flour, DCC All Purpose Flour, and Carbquick Baking Mix. You can use any low carb flour options with this.

If you decide to use coconut flour, remember it expands up to 3 times it’s size, so 1/3 cup of coconut flour can equal 1 cup of the others. You also need to add additional eggs or egg whites when using coconut flour as it will not rise without the help.

If you like your bread really spicy, double the amount in the recipe. I usually add more than it calls for since I like to taste the cinnamon and cloves.

Pumpkin Nut Bread

1/2 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Gluten Flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Low Carb Flour
1/2 cup CarbQuick or similar
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs, large
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
2 tablespoons Sugar-free Vanilla Pudding Mix
1/3 cup Water
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice *
1/4 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts

* If you don’t have Pumpkin Pie Spice, add 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Spray 4-1/2 x 8-1/2-inch loaf pan with baking spray or cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom and spray.

Whisk sugar substitute and oil in a large bowl to combine. Whisk in eggs and pumpkin.

In a separate small bowl, combine all the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the seasoning.

Add 1/2 of the flour to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Add 2 tablespoons water and stir. Add the rest of the flour and stir, then add the rest of the water and mix together. Stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter in pan to about 2/3rd full. If you have extra batter, bake in cupcake papers or a greased ramekin. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until it is firm in the middle. (If you’re baking cupcakes or a ramekin, check them at 20 minutes, allow 5 minutes more if they aren’t done and check again.)

Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turnout on a rack to cool completely. Cooling is important or the cake might crumble easily.

Makes 10 servings, about 3/4-inch slices.

Nutrition: Pumpkin Nut Bread

Happy Halloween!

Try these other pumpkin recipes:

Image: Pumpkin Loaf     

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaf              Pumpkin French Toast

     

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is a favorite. The only thing I would change is to use Swerve Brown Sugar.  Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

 

Desserts, Recipes

Easy Pumpkin Pie – Regular and Heart Healthy

Photo: Easy Pumpkin Pie

Hey, it’s Autumn… and that means Pumpkin Pie season! Actually, I love pumpkin year ’round, but it’s definitely a Halloween treat in my book.  This recipe is the easiest one I’ve found for making a rich, tasty pumpkin pie.

But there’s a twist… I have a friend who is on a limited-sodium, low-cholesterol  diet for her heart, so I wanted to adapt this recipe to make a crustless pumpkin pie that is within her range. What a revelation learning how much sodium is in almost everything. I trimmed this down as much as I could, and it still tastes delicious.

So I am printing the regular recipe and the heart-healthy recipe. The instructions are basically the same, only the ingredient list changes a little.

If you use a baking mix such as Bisquick, Bakesquick, or Carbquick, it will make a thin crust that adds just a little more support for a pumpkin pie. If you just make it as a crustless pie, you can put it in 1/2 cup ramekins or cups for a pumpkin pudding. If you use Bisquick, it will add many more carbs as that isn’t a low-carb flour.

This recipe is super-easy to mix and cooks in about 45 minutes to an hour. It’s rich and creamy. I’ve used a couple of specific brands to make this since they are the lowest I could find in both carbs and sodium. Swerve Brown Sugar Blend is 0 carbs and 0 sodium, which is the only brown sugar substitute I’ve found that meets that criteria. It is optional in the recipe. If you omit the brown sugar, then add 2 more tablespoons sugar substitute.

Easy Mix Pumpkin Pie Regular

1 cup canned Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup Bakesquick or similar low carb flour mix (optional)
6 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Swerve Brown Sugar Blend (optional)
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Butter, softened
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 eggs
Pinch Salt
1/4 cup Pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a 6-inch square baking pan or an 8-inch round pie tin by putting parchment paper on the bottom. (This will prevent it from sticking to the pan.) Lightly grease the pan’s side with a little butter or a baking spray.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and stir until it is well-mixed. Add chopped pecans, if you wish. These will add 0.4 net carbs to each serving.

Pour into pan or pie tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. The pie tin will be closer to 45 minutes, while the baking pan will be closer to the hour since it is deeper. Check with a toothpick. It should come out clean when inserted in the middle.

Remove from oven and let cool about thirty minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours before serving. Top with a little whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Makes six yummy servings.

Photo: Nutrition Info for Pumpkin Pie

Photo: Pumpkin Pudding

Easy Mix Pumpkin Pie Heart Healthy

1 cup canned Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
6 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons Swerve Brown Sugar Blend (optional)
1 cup Unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Butter-flavored Crisco, softened
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 cup Liquid Egg Whites
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare six 1/2-cup ramekins or cups by lightly greasing with Crisco.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and stir until it is well-mixed. Add chopped pecans, if you wish. These will add 0.4 net carbs to each serving.

Pour into ramekins and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Check with a toothpick. It should come out clean when inserted in the middle.

Remove from oven and let cool about thirty minutes. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours before serving. Top with a little Cool Whip.

Makes six servings.

Photo: Info for Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Milk

Info: Pumpkin Custard with coconut milk & Egg Whites

Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate plus Avocado equals dessert?

Recently, I watched a Food Network Show in which one of the chefs on the show made a Chocolate Avocado Mousse and I was intrigued. For one thing, they talked about the creamy, rich flavor of the dessert. I decided to try to make a low carb version. I found three slightly different recipes, including one from Food Network’s site, and I combined them with my low carb ingredients to make four servings.

To be honest, I’m undecided about this as a flavorful chocolate dessert. It’s not bad, but it isn’t your grandma’s chocolate mousse. The avocado makes it taste richer in fats, but doesn’t really add any flavor to it. What I did notice was the texture, which is creamy, but also has a little grit even though I thoroughly processed it in the food processor until it was smooth. The roomie wasn’t thrilled, agreeing that it didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t the tastiest mousse either.

Where this might be beneficial to people would be if you are lactose intolerant, since you can use almond or coconut milk to make this version, or if you want to get the benefits of avocado, but you don’t actually care for the taste. The chocolate masks it well. Ultimately, it’s up to each person to decide if they think this is a delicious dessert or not.

I have eaten it two or three times and find that a little makes a pretty good topping on a scoop of low carb ice cream. If you layer it in a glass with orange or cherry flavored whipped cream, it might be a better balanced flavor that cuts the extreme chocolate richness. If you give it a try, post a comment before to let me know what you thought and how you served it.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

1/2 cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoon Butter
2 very ripe (8 ounce) Hass Avocados, peeled and pitted
6 tablespoons granulated Sugar Substitute
1/3 cup Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream (optional)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon fine Salt
Melt the chocolate chips with a little butter in a double boiler or put in a microwave safe bowl in a microwavable container with water in it for about 1 minute, then stir. Stir until the chocolater is completely melted. You may have to microwave a couple of time in 30 seconds increments

Here comes the hard part. Put all the ingredient in a food processor or blender and process until it is creamy and smooth. I actually added the cream to it because it was so thick and too chocolaty for my tastes. You can add additional almond milk instead if you want it thinner.

Spoon into four 1/2 cup serving bowls or glasses. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. It keeps a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Would be great layered with cherry-flavored whipped cream (or orange flavored) and a fresh cherry on top.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 341 Fat: 23.7 g Net Carbs: 4.4 g Protein: 2.5 g