Pumpkin Gingerbread with Dark Chocolate Chips

Good Morning!! Welcome to the MIDDLE of the week- you’re half way there! You can DO it!

Remember when I was telling you about all of that pumpkin stuff the other day? Well, I hope you aren’t sick of it. You’re not?? Oh good, because I have another pumpkin recipe to share with you.

First a little background on this recipe. When I was growing up, every Saturday my parents would drop me off at practice (cross country or track) & then head to Bob Evan’s for breakfast. They would enjoy a nice big breakfast of pancakes, eggs and coffee while their daughter was poor daughter was out there pounding out some miles & then a crazy workout. Just kidding I LOVED Saturday morning practices, and was grateful that my parents were willing to get up with me at the crack of dawn to drop my butt off. Practice usually lasted a few hours & when I was done I was DEAD. I usually didn’t want to do anything besides sit on the couch, (unless my Mom mentioned she wanted to go shopping, then I suddenly got a burst of energy ) watch tv & eat slices of pumpkin bread. This wasn’t just any pumpkin bread, this was pumpkin bread from Bob Evans.
(source)

My Mom would ALWAYS get me a loaf of this bread when they went to Bob Evan’s. I swear half of the reason that I busted my butt so much at practice was because I knew as soon as I jumped in the car to go home, she would have this loaf just waiting for me. She also knew that this loaf would last me about 1.5 days..and that’s pushing it. Sometimes I would eat the ENTIRE loaf in one day…that’s what running miles & miles will do to you. Let me also remind you that while I was in high school I was also battling anorexia..which was not a good point in my life. (Lesson learned. Lesson learned.) So to tell you that I ate an ENTIRE loaf WHILE I was dealing with an eating disorder is pretty crazy, right?! But it’s true. This bread was probably part of my recovery. I didn’t even care one bit how many calories or grams of fat were in this bread, I just LOVED it that much.

Well, as years have gone on & I haven’t lived at home for over 6 years, I no longer get my beloved pumpkin bread from Bob Evan’s. Although my parents have surprised me on occasion when they had this waiting for me. I remember one time I went up & they actually had a loaf in the freezer for me. They really never go out to breakfast any more, but they happened to randomly go one morning & they remembered how much I loved this stuff so they picked me up a loaf.

Since the closest Bob Evan’s from our house is about 40 minutes away, I have been on a mission to re-create this bread…only a bit ‘healthified.’ I have made many loaves of pumpkin bread before, but nothing has really compared to Bob Evan’s, UNTIL recently. Yep, I think I may have finally hit the jackpot of ALL pumpkin bread recipes! The BEST part about it is that it is low in fat & calories- I didn’t use any oil or butter. I did add some dark chocolate chips in the batter, but that was just because Craig likes any bread with chocolate in it & because I just found these chocolate morsels at the store:

Craig &I were eating these by the handful while the bread was baking…they are addicting. Don’t say I didn’t warn you
Dad: You HAVE to get these. You will love them! As soon as I tried one, I immediately thought of you. They are the perfect dark chocolate, that you like- none of that ‘fake’ dark chocolate flavor.

Although the bread is JUST as good without the chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Gingerbread with Dark Chocolate Chips
(based on my Pumpkin Gingerbread recipe)
12 servings

Ingredients:
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup nonfat vanilla Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)
-2 egg whites
-1 cup canned pumpkin
-1 tsp. ginger
-1/2 tsp. allspice
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. ground cloves
-1/2 cup white flour
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-3/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (you could also use milk chocolate chips)

Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, greek yogurt, egg whites, pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, & ground cloves.
3. Add both flours, baking soda, salt & baking powder to the pumpkin mixture. Mix until well combined, and the batter is free of any lumps.
4. Pour batter into a greased 9×5 inch bread pan.
5. Bake for about 50 minutes- 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in middle of bread comes out clean.

Nutrition Facts WITHOUT chocolate chips:
Calories:  140
Fat: .3 grams
Carbs: 31.8g
Fiber: 1.2g
Sugar: 18.4
Protein: 3.2

Nutrition Facts WITH Chocolate chips:
Calories: 163
Fat: 1.6 g
Carbs: 35.1 g
Fiber: 1.2
Sugar: 21.1
Protein: 3.6

I just made this bread on Sunday & we are done with it. DONE. D-O-N-E. Seriously. Normally I freeze half of a loaf bread when I bake it, but it wasn’t necessary with this bread. I can’t wait to make another loaf actually, maybe this time I will leave the chocolate chips out. That way I will have it ALL to myself. No, I’m just kidding…I guess I will let Craig have some. A bite.

And if you’re REALLY feeling like you need a special treat, you could always top it with some pumpkin ice cream.

You work hard at the gym, so you deserve it! Or maybe you just had a bad day…nothing like a little (or a LOT) of pumpkin to cheer you right up!

Well, looks like I need to get my butt in gear- time to get this show on the road. Hope you enjoy this Wednesday…& you KNOW I’m looking forward to those awesome Wednesday shows tonight! Anyone else loving the show ‘Suburgatory??’ I think it’s HILARIOUS..not quite as funny as Modern Family, but pretty close.

Questions:
1. Ever have a meal at a restaurant that you just can’t wait to re-create perfectly?
2. Do you ever go out for breakfast? We never do, unless we are on vacation/ on a road trip.

Posted by Holly at Holly on the Run on October 12, 2011

https://greekyogurtandappleslices.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/pumpkin-gingerbread-with-dark-chocolate-chips/