I’ve been on a baking frenzy lately! If you’ve caught my past posts you know I love my Pumpkin, so I of course had to try my hand at Pumpkin Bread. I found a tasty recipe and made a few changes to make it a bit more healthy BUT then decided to add Cinnamon Chips & Walnuts. I actually made one with and one without the chips. The bread is still wonderful, tasty & moist without the additions, but the Cinnamon Chips really take it from ‘Wow’ to ‘Foodgasmic!’
Cinnamon-Walnut Pumpkin Bread
(adapted from Cooking Light, November 2007)
3 1/3 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3 tsp Pumpkin Spice
2 c Swerve/Splenda (0 cal baking sugar of your choice)
1 c Egg Substitute
1/2 c Canola OIl
1/2 c Unsweetened Almond Breeze
2/3 c Water
15 oz Pumpkin Puree
8 oz Cinnamon Chips
1/2-1 c Walnuts (I used candied leftover from Thanksgiving)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 loaf pans (9″ x 5″) with cooking spray. Mix WW Flour through Pumpkin Spice in a medium bowl. In a large bowl mix Sugar-substitute, Egg-Substitute, Oil and Unsweetened Almond Breeze with an electric mixer. Add Water and Pumpkin until well blended. Now slowly mix in dry ingredients. Stir in Cinnamon Chips. Spoon batter into the 2 prepared loaf pans and sprinkle with Walnuts. Bake for 60 minutes! Cool on wire rack and do your best not to cut into it right away 
First Official Yogurt Mess
Yogurt parfaits have been one of my favorite dishes/meals for years. I first discovered them at the Nordstrom’s Espresso Bar about twelve years ago (wow, that makes me feel old). They still have them there, though they’re not as good as they use to be, or perhaps, I just enjoy mine even more :p Anyways.. I’d never heard of it being called a ‘Yogurt Mess’ until I started reading Healthy Living Food Blogs. So this morning I had my first official yogurt mess! It involved:
Oikos Greek Yogurt- Honey – 5.3 oz
Granola (Mix-My-Granola)- 1/4 c
Pumpkin spoonful
Sunflower Butter spoonful
Cinnamon-Walnut Pumpkin Bread
de-Yogurtmess-virginized!
Naturally, it was a complete delight I also had a cup of Starbucks Via with SF Praline syrup.
Today’s my last no-gym day. I would go in today, but after work I need to read a book for class that I’ve been putting off. I CAN’T WAIT for Spin tomorrow. 3 days out of the gym and I feel like a giant blob! (Though my not-so-clean diet isn’t helping the cause :p).
Advise Needed
On a related note, I have the opportunity to take a Spin Certification course this weekend but it is $325. I’m quite broke at the moment but could charge it and make myself feel better with the ‘spend money to make money motto.’ What do ya’all think, is it worth it?
Fun Links
Oh my goodness. I am bookmarking this immediately!!! I need to get me some cinny chips.
Yogurt mess virgin!? Today was the first day I went WITHOUT yogurt in so long
The combo of the two is killing me!
Oh yum is all I can say!
I would do the spin certification – it is worth the money and something you’d love to it. Plus, once you start teaching the classes you make the money back pretty quickly.
Walnuts are healthy! Gotta get those Omega 3′s