Pumpkin and Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
- Light brown sugar - 1 cup
- Egg whites - 3
- Fresh mashed pumpkin - 1 cup
- Canola oil - 1/4 cup
- Yogurt - 1/3 cup (you can use non-cream low-fat yogurt for the fat conscious)
- Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon
- All-purpose flour - 1 cup
- Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
- Baking powder - 1 1/2 teaspoons
- Ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
- Ground nutmeg - 1/2 teaspoon
- Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
To prepare:
- You will need an 8-inch meat loaf pan for this recipe. Grease the pan and dust the insides with a little flour to prevent the bread from sticking to the sides.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
- In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and sugar together.
- Add the yogurt and oil to this and whip some more to blend all the ingredients.
- Add the mashed pumpkin and mix lightly.
- In a separate bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Add this mixture to the pumpkin mixture, one spoon at a time, and mix after each addition. Do not over-mix the ingredients.
- Pour the prepared batter in the greased pan and smooth the tops.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Check by inserting a knife in the center of the loaf; if it comes out clean then the bread is done.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before taking the bread out and cooling on a wire rack.
Variations:
- Add a handful of roasted walnuts in the bread batter to add some extra crunch.
- Instead of all-purpose flour you can use a whole wheat flour and oat flour combination.
- Sprinkle a handful of roasted flax seeds on top of the batter before baking for a more crunchy texture.
- You can also use some applesauce in the batter instead of oil.
Pumpkin bread is nice and moist and can be stored in the freezer for up to two weeks: Once the bread is completely cooled, wrap it in foil and store in a zip lock bag in the freezer. Thaw to room temperature before using.