Thrifty Thursday: Make Pumpkin Butter, Give It As a Gift!

The holidays are here, and it's time to start thinking about gifts.  Not about gifts for you, but gifts that you will be giving to others!  Last year I gave out several jars of pumpkin butter with fresh loaves of whole grain bread.  I think it was a real hit, so I'll share the recipe with you for today's "Thrifty Thursday" post (because everyone has gifts to give this holiday season, and it's always thrifty to make your own gifts!).

 Pumpkin Butter
Source: FitnessAndSpice

Makes ~ 32 servings

(1 T is a serving)

2 cups pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup honey, 2 T apple cider vinegar, 2 T cinnamon, 1 T pumpkin spice, 1/2 t nutmeg, 1/4 t salt. 

MIX TOGETHER!

 

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1 T

Not only will you be giving a tasty treat to your friends and family, but you'll also be giving them some vitamin A.   

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Any fun plans for the day, or the weekend?  Today at work I am doing a vegetarian demo with the chef from our local Cancer Support Community.  We're making goat cheese stuffed eggplant, and zucchini fries.  I'll be making apple confit in the slow cooker this morning, to hand out for dessert.  Fun times.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Gluten Free, Whole Grain, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!

"Whatever Wednesday" is the theme on Wednesdays.  This means I can post whatever I want.  Some days it might be a random thought that I have to get off my chest, other days it might be an article I read that I want to discuss, but most Wednesdays I will post recipes.

Today, in honor of the election being OVER, I'm posting a favorite pumpkin recipe of mine (yes, living in Ohio I couldn't be more excited for other commercials to be on TV instead of political ones, WAHOO!!  Bring on the holidays!!).  I'll admit I have an obsession for pumpkin.  I really didn't discover the goodness of pumpkin until I started blogging several years ago, and saw all the wonderful things you could do with pumpkin.  Growing up I thought pumpkins were good for two things only; carving, and pies.  I was wrong.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

(Gluten Free, Whole Grain)

Modified from a Cooking Light recipe

Serves: 32

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

4 large egg whites

3 cups brown rice flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups dark chocolate chips 

Cooking spray

Directions

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a medium bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients, and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and stir well.  Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and blend well.

3.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.  Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray, and pour even amounts of the batter into each pan.  Bake for ~1 hour, or more if needed (insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean before you take the loaves out of the oven).  Cool the loaves on a wire rack for ~10 minutes.

If you can help it, don't use two different types of loaf pans!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/32 of recipe

Nutrition Highlights:  Low Sodium, Excellent Source of Vitamin A

Looking to reduce the calories? Omit the chocolate chips!  It would still taste fantastic.  Another option would be to use a natural or artificial non-nutritive sweetener, instead of sugar.  These can be found at any grocery store. Make sure you read the label and buy one that is meant for baking.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Grand Opening and a WINNER!

There are many rules about blogging when you work in the corporate world. Because of those rules, I wasn't allowed to post about the opening of the first Market District in Ohio until after it opened. Well, it's October 16th, and the newest Market District has now been open to the public since Thursday!

I can't show you pictures from the inside, but I will show you my dietitian sign;


This is displayed right over my head so that all customers know where to find me. And look, it's spelled correctly! Not that I would expect anything less from Market District. If you want to go on a virtual tour of the Market District in Pittsburgh, which is very similar to the one in Ohio, check out their website.


Here are some pictures from outside;


Most of these pictures were taken while construction was still underway.



Did I mention that I am now neighbors with Nick? Yep, he opened a new restaurant right next door!

Yes, the dietitian is dating the manager of Burgers, Dogs, and Fries. But don't fret. They also sell locally made veggie burgers, which are apparently amazing. Why don't I know firsthand? They contain onion and garlic, which as you all know causes me mad bloating and gas. I think I'll pass. They also sell turkey dogs and turkey burgers, and may even start selling whole wheat buns soon!


Nick and I both happen to work less than a mile from our home. We both plan on riding our bikes to work on most days, but as of now we only have one bike, so he's been riding it and I've been driving. I hope to buy him a bike of his own for Christmas.



On opening day the place was PACKED! I made about 700 of these....

I called it a pumpkin and yogurt parfait:

- 1 layer pumpkin (pureed pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg)

- 1 layer Stonyfield Banilla yogurt (banana and vanilla!)

- Sprinkling of walnuts

- Squirt of whipped cream

At home you could make this parfait in a pretty parfait dish. This was a HUGE hit!!

I'm loving my job so far, and everyone with whom I work. Yes, it's a TON of work (even on my days off...) but overall it's a job I hope to have for a very long time. Please come visit soon!




And by the way....the winner of my giveaway is...... KIMMY J!!! Please e-mail me your address at GCsmiler19@yahoo.com.



Now I'm off to get ready for the big OSU game tonight against Wisconsin. Nick and I are planning on watching the game in the privacy of our own home, while sipping on some Oktoberfest beer :) Have a fatastic and healthy weekend everyone!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread (Wheat Free!)

It's October and I'm in heaven. I have my never-ending stash of pureed pumpkin and I'm a happy girl. The only bad thing is that I found out, despite having read something different, pumpkin doesn't freeze well. In fact, I had to throw away three pounds of my pumpkin because it was ruined after I froze it. Sad.

Now I must go through my six pound cans of pumpkin within a week, because it really shouldn't be in the fridge for longer. I wanted to make a new pumpkin bread with all of my canned pumpkin, so I found this recipe and went to work. But of course, I didn't follow the recipe 100%, I never do. Here are my modifications:

3 cups of sugar ----> 1.5 cups of Splenda for baking

1 can pureed pumpkin ----> No change
4 eggs ----> No change
1 cup vegetable oil ----> 1 chose Smart Balance canola oil
3/4 cup water ----> vitamin water. HA! JK
2/3 cup peanut butter ----> SoyNut butter

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour ----> brown rice flour (wheat free and gluten free)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg


I also added walnuts on top.



It's a good sign that your final product will taste amazing when you find yourself licking the batter bowl clean.....

And of course, the final product did taste amazing.

I could have very easily made more modifications, but I wanted this to be extremely moist. After all, I haven't had bread in a very long time and I was ready for some heaven in my mouth.

Last night Nick said, "It's the best bread I've ever had". Wow, really Nick?! I'm flattered!

Some Nutrition Info.
(Serving size; 1/18 slice)

180 calories, 3 grams fiber



Other Modifications I Could Have Made

- 1 cup of egg beaters instead of 4 eggs

- 4 T ground flaxseed + 3/4 cups water instead of 4 eggs

- 1 1/2 cups Splenda sugar for baking, instead of 3 cups sugar

- 1 cup applesauce instead of 1 cup canola oil


Question: Can you think of any other possible modifications? Do you like pumpkin bread?

Previous Fall Recipes


Butternut Squash and Duxelles

Pumpkin Soup

Gina's Psuedo Apple Cobbler

Last year's Pumpkin Bread

My first attempt at pumpkin fro yo

Before pumpkin season ends I plan on making Anthony's pumpkin bars, pumpkin ravioli (wheat free), and also some pumpkin custard (idea from Melinda). And after that? I plan on turning into a pumpkin.

The Summer of SQUASH

The last time I posted an update on our garden we were getting ready to harvest some squash. Since then we have consumed about six homegrown squash and are anticipating enjoying many, many more throughout the next few months.

Right now we have summer squash and acorn squash. This (below) is the yellow squash.


Here's the boring way to prepare yellow squash (cut it up and throw it in the steamer!).



The exciting way is to sautee the squash in a pan with some olive oil and some vidalia onions.


When the onions and squash are nice and soft (and still hot) sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top and watch it melt into a bowl of deliciousness.



I also tested this Squash Souffle recipe, but it didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. I guess I wasn't too surprised, as I had to use flaxseed for the eggs, and I didn't use bread crumbs like it suggested (since I don't eat wheat I used corn meal). In addition, I didn't have eight ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, only five ounces.

This was what it looked like prior to baking.


I left it in the oven for about 30 minutes longer than the recipe suggested. I wanted a crispy outer layer! It was definitely good, just not amazing like I had hoped. It actually reminded me a lot of my polenta recipe.


And what about the acorn squash? I haven't done anything creative with the acorn squash, because both Nick and I love it just baked and jazzed up a bit.


I simply throw it into the oven at 370 degrees, for about 30 minutes. Then I take it out and cut it in half. I then place it back on the baking sheet, seed side facing down, for another 30 minutes.


Then I sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top (I use the Splenda brown sugar), and about 1-2 T Smart Balance margarine.


Then serve it with something delicious, OR just have it by itself! On this particular day we made soft tacos with wheat-free tortillas, ground turkey, tomatoes, wild rice, and lots of spinach.


Pretty soon I'll be posting about my pumpkin. Check it out! I can imagine this pureed and in my oats already :)

Question: What's your favorite way to eat SQUASH?!

Veggies, Veggies, Everywhere!

I thought I was the person in the house who was most excited about having a garden, but I thought wrong. Nick has become the "garden guru" and I swear he's spent more money on our garden than he has on anything, ever, in his life. When I came home from Pittsburgh I was happy to see he had purchased a compost bin (I think this was money well spent).


He also moved our water bucket closer to our garden. When it rains the water will go through the gutters and drop into the bucket, which will then be used by us to water our garden! The compost will be used for fertilizer the next time we plant a round of seeds.


Check out our pumpkin and squash plants! They are taking over the entire garden.



Who needs canned pumpkin when you can grow your own? Hmmm...actually I DO! While this little guy (below) really excites me, and I can't wait to puree it and add it to my oats, I still miss Libby's canned pumpkin :(


Nick has estimated that we will be producing over 50 squash. Some are yellow squash.


And some are acorn squash (our favorite!).


I saw a commercial for V8 juice the other day, which claimed "Drink one serving of V8 for three servings of vegetables!" Why would I drink V8 for three servings of veggies when I can enjoy them fresh and whole from the market or my garden?! Not to mention the fact that V8 is FIBER FREE.

This kale is from our garden. I added it to the skillet with some EVOO and roasted tomatoes.


Final product, over some egg whites, and sprinkled with some nutritional yeast. Perfect.

QUESTION: What's your favorite vegetable?

Popsicles, Salad, and PUMPKIN!!!

Yesterday was the most difficult day I have had in a very long time. I was hoping to hear about my job, but I didn't. I sat by the phone and my computer all day, literally (because I had nothing else to do.....) and nothing happened. No call, no e-mail. I was told I would hear by today, but it's just not looking good for me. I'm assuming I didn't get the job, so I'm back on the hunt for another :(


Despite my long, torturous day yesterday, one good thing did happen. Check it out! I scored 4 large cans of PUMPKIN!! I met up with someone yesterday who reads my blog and she brought these to me because she had read my sad posts about missing my canned pumpkin (she had some left over from when they actually existed in stores!). Thanks Meloni!! I will be enjoying these for at least the next month, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm planning on making some pumpkin oats right after I hit "Publish".



In more food news, I've been making a lot of popsicles lately (you may have noticed....). I think I really like these because they are already portioned and ready to be served and consumed. Two nights ago I made my simple vanilla fro yo recipe, and added unsweetened cocoa powder, crushed graham crackers, and chunks of chocolate. Before putting the batch in the freezer to harden, I added some to my popsicle molds.




As you can see I didn't even fill the molds. I thought I would make smaller ones! I had also added frozen blueberries to the bottom (see below).

Final product: DELICIOUS

Here's the fro yo. Check out the chunks of graham cracker and chocolate! All I need to do next is add some marshmallows and make S'more fro yo.



Aside from my serious fro yo addiction (actually our serious fro yo addiction) I've been making a lot of salads lately. I tend to go through a salad faze during this time of the year (soup in winter, salad in spring/summer). I first marinated some salmon in low sodium soy sauce and raspberry vinaigrette. Then I cooked the salmon on a skillet on top of the stove. Next I created my very simple salad; romaine lettuce and slices of kiwi.

I then added the salmon on top and topped the salad with even more raspberry vinaigrette. On top of that I crushed some black pepper (a must on all of my salads). Perfection!

Coming Up

Monday I will post another video blog. This time I will be talking about how to choose a good granola! Hopefully I will also have a job update for you. It may be sad :(

Is anyone going to graduation parties this weekend? We have one tonight. It should take my mind off of this whole job thing for a couple hours. Hopefully.

Have a great weekend everyone!