Friday, February 26, 2010

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread! Super food Rich!



1/4 cups shredded zucchini (1/2 a zuke)
1 2/3 cups turbinado (raw) sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened natural applesauce
1 15oz can Organic Pumpkin Puree
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 Egglands Best Organic eggs
1 1/2 cups organic oat flour
1 1/2 cups organic flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup raisins, if desired

1. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8x4-inch) loaf pans or 1 (9x5-inch) loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, stir zucchini, pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, butter, vanilla and eggs until well mixed. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and raisins. Stir in nuts and raisins. Divide batter evenly between 8-inch pans or pour into 9-inch pan.

3. Bake 8-inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on cooling rack 10 minutes.

4. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on cooling rack.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Highly Recommended Read




The ultimate go-to guide for all things superfoods is SuperFoods Rx by Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews. My mom and I revisit this book often because it's filled with information on the fourteen most nutritious, delicious whole foods that are crucial to a healthy diet. This is a great book because it explains how important these foods are and how you can incorporate them in your diet (organized as a convenient reference book). The fourteen superfoods (and their "sidekicks") have a large list of benefits from preventing chronic diseases in the future (such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease...) to boosting your immune system to improving your eyes, skin, and even mood. It's very educational, even if you don't use every part of the book. A lot of the foods we eat and meals we make are "superfoods"-inspired.

At only $7.19 (for paperback) at Barnes N Noble (bn.com), this book is well worth the money. ($21.33 for hardcover-- we have hardcover)

More information can be found about the growing list of superfoods on SuperfoodsRx.com (although I prefer the book!). Also, you can find some excellent recipes containing superfoods on this blog.