Pumpkin Spice Bread > PSL
Fall is becoming winter really fast in Colorado, with the most recent storm delivering almost 2 feet of snow here in Aspen and more on the way this week. Trail season in the mountains is long gone, and is being replaced by invites to ski the early-season white coat. Meanwhile, the nearby desert is in its prime, and for me, fall months consist of regular pilgrimages out to warmer temps and lower elevations to find that orange dirt. To best prepare for the weekend desert trips I love baking a loaf of pumpkin bread for tasty adventure fuel, in true fall fashion.
It’s delicious as an after-dinner treat, a quick breakfast before the morning run, or an elaborate brunch served with runny eggs on top. And hey, just like the oat-based WolfPack, why not bring it on the run?!
I just had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season last week, but I’ve been making this Pumpkin Spice Bread like clockwork since it turned October!
What's a desert run without a little spice^
Bake a loaf of this pumpkin bread with a generous amount of spice to make the whole house smell and feel like a cozy cabin- perfect for fall OR winter.
While called “pumpkin” bread, any type of fall squash works well. For example, try making the recipe with freshly roasted butternut squash! (How-to: cut butternut squash in half length-wise and place face-down on an olive oil or coconut oil-greased baking sheet. With a knife make a few “stabbings” into the squash on both halves to let the steam escape. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a fork sinks softly in. When done, using a spoon scoop out the seeds then scoop out the flesh for the batter).
Pumpkin, butternut squash, kabocha squash, and sweet potatoes (the orange variety) can all be turned into a loaf of this bread. All of these orange veggies are super high in beta carotene which our bodies turn into Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is important for…
- Immune function- keeping us strong against cold season
- Red blood cell formation- as runners we churn over a lot of these
- Vision- you’ve heard carrots are good for the eyes, it’s the orange pigment that’s also in pumpkins!
- Healthy skin and bone formation- think about all those retinol (a type of Vitamin A) skin creams
Important! Beta carotene and Vitamin A are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning they must be absorbed with FAT. So! Don’t skimp on the olive oil in this recipe, add toasted walnuts to the batter, and/or spread grass-fed butter or peanut butter on slices to make the most of it.
The Ingredients:
1 15oz can organic pumpkin puree (or 1 ¾ c other squash puree)
¼ c real maple syrup (should be one ingredient: maple syrup)
¼ c olive oil
1 organic egg
1/4 c unsweetened nut milk
2 c oats, ground into fine flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp pink himalayan salt
2 tsp baking powder
*Optional- ⅓ c toasted walnuts or mini dark/semi sweet chocolate chips
Process:
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
- Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and hand mix with a whisk (pumpkin, maple syrup, oil, egg, nut milk)
- If using freshly roasted squash, scoop out flesh and mash well first, then measure)
- In a blender grind oats to flour texture, then add other dry ingredients and pulse to fully incorporate
- Add blender of dry ingredients to wet and mix thoroughly with whisk
- Optional- sprinkle in toasted walnuts (raw walnuts will get soggy in the batter) or chocolate chips
- Grease a standard bread pan with olive or coconut oil
- With a spatula spread batter smoothly into pan
- Optional- spread sliced banana on top
- Bake at 350F for 60 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean
- Turn off oven, open door ajar and let cool 15 minutes to finish setting up.
Enjoy this recipe and tag Spring Energy with your foodie pics!
One of the last mountain runs of the season^
Cheers! Kelly
