Sugar Free Dessert: Applesauce Cake

Image via: Averie Cooks

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Yields: 1 loaf pan

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups applesauce, unsweetened

¾ cup brown artificial sweetener

2 eggs

½ cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure

Image via: Blissfully Delicious

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.  Use cooking spray to grease an 8*4 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy, and add artificial sweetener. Add applesauce and vanilla.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in the raisins.
5. Pour batter into the loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve it whipped topping.

Holidays or not, you don’t have to suffer without sweetness when going sugar-free. Instead, you can indulge in delicious treats, feel good, lose weight, and maintain health all at the same time.

For more healthy recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Thanksgiving Bread: Vegan Corn Bread

Image via: Blog.Free People

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Yields: 6 muffins or 1 pan – 8 slices

Total Time: 5 minutes preparation time + 15 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons egg substitute (egg replacer)

1 tablespoons water

1 cup yellow cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup water

Pinch of salt

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F or 230 degrees C. Properly grease six muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg and water together. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add egg mixture, oil and water. Stir until smooth. Put batter into prepared muffin cups using approximately ½ cup for each muffin.
3. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Crispy outside and moist inside, these vegan corn muffins are great during autumn and winter holidays. Feel free to dress up your muffins with pecans, almonds, walnuts, or any other nut of your choice. For a healthier version, use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. And we bet you’ll still be in shape after eating this delicious bread.

For more Thanksgiving recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Fall Baking: Quick Pumpkin Bread

Image via: Southern Living

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Total time: Preparation 15 minutes + Baking 50 minutes +Cooling

Yields: 32 servings

Ingredients

1 cup applesauce

1 cup canned pumpkin

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup molasses, or black treacle

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup pecans, chopped

Topping

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

¼ cup pecans, chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Image via: Life Made Simple Bakes

Procedure

1. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, canned pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs, milk, molasses, and vanillas extract. Mix well. In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gradually add it to the pumpkin mixture and blend well. Stir in pecans and dates. Pour the mixture into two properly greased 9*5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pans.

This delicious pumpkin bread is great for brunch or as a snack served with whipped cream cheese. It has an incredible texture that remains moist for days. In fact, just like wine, it gets better with age, of course, if it lasts that long! You can also pack them in beautiful fall themed tea towels to give as a gift to your loved ones.

Dips are perfect for setting an appetizers for your favorite party or get together with friends and family. Instead of preparing a number of appetizers, simply put several dips along with a collection of cocktail breads, crackers and chips and you are done. If you are looking to make a crowd pleasing appetizer with little effort and time, whip up a batch of this hot spinach dip.

Appetizer Favorite: Hot Spinach Dip

Image via: Recipes Quick and Easy

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Preparation time: 20 minutes

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

10 ounces chopped spinach, frozen and thawed

4 ounces cream cheese, preferably fat free

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup sour cream (reduced fat)

1 teaspoon crumbled garlic

1 tablespoon brown mustard, spicy

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Pinch of salt

Assorted fresh vegetables

Image via: Louisiana Bride Blog

Procedure

1. In a saucepan, mix spinach, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, mustard, garlic, pepper sauce, and salt.

2. Over medium heat, bring to boil.

3. Reduce heat, simmer without lid for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir occasionally.

4. Serve warm with fresh vegetables, crackers or your favorite bite-sized breads.

Although this hot spinach dip recipe makes for a perfect crowd pleasing appetizer, don’t fear to put your spin on this delicious hot spinach dip recipe.

For more appetizer ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baking bread? Banana bread is a great source of potassium. It’s a great option for people who wanted to maintain a healthy lifestyle and it can be eaten anytime of the day.  The popularity of the banana bread is not only because of its nutrition but its delicious taste as well. It’s so hard to resist the sweet and soft texture of the banana bread.

But not all banana bread recipes can be considered guilt-free. Too much sweetener like the white sugar is not good when you’re on a diet. However, you can do something about this.

Image via: Cannella-vita

Check out this guilt-free banana bread recipe tips that you can do when baking:

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Choose natural sugar

Instead of white sugar, you can use unprocessed sugar as an alternative. This is far better than the white sugar without compromising the sweetness. Also, you can experiment with using honey or even molasses as sweeteners. You may not get the desired taste after a couple of tries but it will be all worth it after getting it right.

Put in yogurt or buttermilk

If you need some oil, try half yogurt, apple sauce or buttermilk. This should be a wonderful addition for your banana bread. But this may not work on other recipes other than banana bread which is a bit flexible. Swap half of the amount of your choice with the oil for better results.

Go nuts!

Just sprinkle your banana bread with nut crumbs and you’ll definitely go nuts about it! It’s like hemp seeds or flax. The nuts will provide you with protein, amino acid and fiber. These are essential nutrients that your body needs. Of course, nuts give a toasty crunch and nutty flavor of your usual banana bread.

Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

Image via: Sweet Little Details

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups white granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup plain soy milk or almond milk
1 t. apple cider vinegar
2 cups mashed banana, from about 4 large very ripe bananas
1/4 cup canola oil
2 T. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
Walnuts

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9″x5″ loaf pan and set aside.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy milk and cider vinegar and let stand for 2 minutes. Add the mashed banana, canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, whisking until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined. Fold in the walnuts if using and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Allow the bread to cool on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Choose being healthy without compromising the taste of your favorite banana bread. Take note of the tips and implement it in your next baking plan. These healthy tips are definitely worth a try.

For more recipes on Stagetecture, click here.