Low Fat Pumpkin-Banana Bread Recipe

I wanted to make a rustic-looking, fall bread that would be really healthy - using ingredients that are nutritious, low-fat, fresh and which would look great on a breakfast table, an afternoon tea table or for Halloween.

• This recipe for pumpkin-banana bread calls for honey; has no sugar.
• It is made with spelt flour, not processed white flour.
• It doesn't have butter or margarine or their substitutes; it is made with pure extra virgin olive oil which makes it very low fat.

I used one of our favorite spelt bread recipes as the base recipe and to this I mixed in very ripe bananas, some fresh, roasted pumpkin. I garnished with honey, pumpkin slices and spices for color, for richness and for pure, unadulterated sweetness.

Whilst Autumn colored leaves fall outdoors, the first fires are being lit - and it's just great to be eating home-baked food straight from the oven especially when it's low-fat, a little spicy and good for you - tasting like Halloween!

Just beware how much butter you spread on your sliced low fat pumpkin-banana bread!

Carbohydrates 15.9% (excluding 9.2% fibre)

Protein 17.0%

Fat 3%

Nutritional Value per 100 grams (3.5%) of dietary minerals and vitamins ( 3.5 oz)

Thiamine (vit B1 - 32%)

Riboflavin (vit B2 - 9%)

Niacin (vit B3 -46%)

Vit B6 (18%)

Vit E (5%)

Folate (vit B9 11%)

Iron (34%)

Magnesium (38%)

Phosphorus (57%)

Zinc (35%)

Spelt flour is a wheat species, nutty flavored flour from an ancient grain that you can buy today in a lot of stores round the world, or order online. Like so many grains, it is coming back into fashion.

It grows in Tuscany where I live, (and has grown here for centuries) so it's easy for me to find it both as a flour, or as a grain - and I use it as much as I can - in both forms. (I use the grains in soups or salad dishes).

Although it isn't gluten free it does have more protein than wheat flour, and more nutritional value (see table on the right) and lends itself very well to pastas, baking breads and cakes, waffles and pancakes as long as you don't mix it too much. (The gluten in spelt flour breaks down easily).

This 'low fat pumpkin banana bread' recipe calls for mixing for one minute, so that's all it needs.

I prefer to mix by fork in a big bowl.

Spelt Flour - miscellaneous information:

• You use the same amount of spelt flour as you would any other flour.
• Spelt flour is best grown organically (to keep all its nutritional values).
• It costs about $5 a packet in USA, about $3 in Tuscany, about £2 in UK.

The health benefits of using extra virgin olive oil are many but look at the following short table of nutritional information for:

1 tablespoon of EVOO

• Calories 119
• Fat 13.50
• Carbs 0

Extra virgin olive oil creates a healthy balance between omega-6 fats and omega-3 fats. It controls the 'bad levels' of cholesterol (LDL) and raises the 'good levels' of cholesterol (HDL).

It has more monounsaturated fatty acids. These monounsaturated fatty acids actually help clear blood vessels of cholesterol.

EVOO has a high melting point and so it helps the loaf to rise in the oven.

It tastes nutty - so it helps to make a rustic, fruity, nutty bread taste more nutty.