Summer With A Side Of Applesauce Bread
Summer is in full swing again and so are all those beautiful and bountiful summer time flavors! Although pies often take the very deserving spotlight for summer treats, breads can often be looked over and are often reserved for the fall. We see this as a completely missed opportunity to truly savor and appreciate what nature has to offer in all their shapes and sizes!
Sweet breads and loaves can be a very quick and easy treat to whip up for garden parties, pool hangouts, or even as a breakfast side, but it all depends on your recipe….
What oils to use?
You’ll find that many recipes of the sweeter kind will call for an oil to be used. However, more often than not, vegetable oils such as corn, canola, or soy are the most common, but should you really be using these?
During the refining process, these oils are exposed to a plethora of chemicals that strip them of all their vitamins, minerals, and natural antioxidants. What’s left behind is a slurry of PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids), which in abundance on the regular can cause inflammation and disrupts the signaling of hormones. This imbalance has been proven to have a direct link to the rise in most modern diseases such as…
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
- Obesity
- Infertility
- Mood Disorders
- Neurodegenerative disorders
Thankfully, not hope is lost. Choosing less refined oils that preserve their natural nutrients is a small, but very health beneficial step for you and those you’re feeding. The most common that you’ll find are…
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Sesame Oil
- Safflower Oil
What about the Sweet stuff?
Similar in how the mass refining process of oils can heighten the risk of a plethora of diseases and complications, sugars and sweeteners also undergo an unfortunate stripping of their natural health benefits and are often exposed to a variety of chemicals. Although an over abundance of any sugar or sweetener isn’t encouraged, being more mindful of the kinds we bake with and ingest is still a change for the better. Some alternatives to table sugars are…
- Monk Fruit
- Agave
- Coconut Sugar
- Date Sugar
- Honey
- Pure Maple Syrup
You can’t make bread without flour can you?
Well, no you can’t, but you can pick the right kinds of flour! This refining process has weaseled its way into just about all the foods that we eat, and although it may seem scary or even disheartening at times, thankfully this awareness has given light to many alternative ingredients and this also includes flours. Some alternatives to bleached flour are…
- Whole Wheat Flours
- Coconut Flour
- Almond Flour
- Quinoa Flour
The bottom line is that with the ever spreading availability to these more health conscious ingredients, we have the power to take our well being and those we cook for, into our own hands! See below for our favorite summertime Applesauce bread recipe!
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ▢ 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ▢ 2 large eggs
- ▢ 2/3 cup olive oil
- ▢ 1 cup white monk fruit sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- ▢ 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Garnish:
- 2 tbsp. light brown sugar, 1 tbsp. white sugar, 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch pan with olive oil.
- Allow all wet ingredients to come to room temperature beforehand (about 45 min). Whisk together in a large bowl until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, which together all dry ingredients until evenly combined.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until a smooth batter is formed.
- In a small bowl combine garnish ingredients.
- Pour batter evenly into a greased pan and dust with garnish.
- Bake for 60-75 min until fully cooked or until a knife when inserted into the center comes out clean
- Let cool for at least 15 min and serve!
