Honey Yogurt Orange Bread

Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to cut out sweets entirely.

According to Livestrong.com, you can still include dessert in your weight loss diet plan, as long as you make wise choices that provide extra nutrition with a minimal amount of calories.

At about 248 calories a slice, this Honey Yogurt Orange Bread is just the answer to satisfy a craving for a little sweetness at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Honey makes a healthy substitute for sugar and typically makes baked goods more moist, flavorful, chewy and darker. It also offers some antioxidant benefits that give it a step up on table sugar.

Flour: Whole-wheat vs. All-purpose

Using one cup of white whole-wheat flour, rather than two cups all-purpose white flour, adds more fiber. White whole-wheat flour, milled from hard spring wheat, is lighter in color than traditional red whole wheat, and gives dough and baked goods a lighter taste and texture than whole-wheat flour.

The original recipe called for 5 Tablespoons of butter. Substituting 3 Tablespoons with unsweetened applesauce eliminated extra fat and calories. Unsalted butter helped lower the overall amount of sodium (3.1 milligrams compared to 163.6 milligrams in salted butter).

Finally, plain low fat yogurt has only 154 calories and 3.8 grams of fat, compared to reduced fat sour cream with 326 calories and 29 grams of fat.

Enjoy making this easy recipe. All you need to do is whisk the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into a pan to bake. No electric mixer needed.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup plain low fat yogurt
• 1 cup golden raisins

Optional Glaze

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange juice (from the orange that was used for zest)
• ½ cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 5x9 loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. Beat together the “wet” ingredients: butter, applesauce, honey and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the orange zest.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the “dry” ingredients: flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
4. Now, add the yogurt and dry ingredients by thirds, starting with the yogurt, into the “wet” ingredients, alternating the additions. Do not over beat, just enough to incorporated the ingredients. Mix in the golden raisins and pour batter into loaf pan.
5. Place in middle rack of oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool for 5 minutes. Slide knife around edges of bread, remove from pan and place on serving dish. Cool another 15 minutes or so.
7. Prepare glaze by whisking together the lemon and orange juices and powdered sugar until smooth and sugar has dissolved. Taking a toothpick, poke numerous holes all over top of bread. With a spoon, slowly spread glaze over bread, allowing the glaze to sink into loaf. Sprinkle top with more orange zest.
8. Yields one loaf with 10 servings. Note: To use recipe for muffins, bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutritional Information (does not include optional glaze)
Per one slice serving: 248 calories; 3.9g total fat (2.0g saturated, 0.1g polyunsaturated and 0.8g monounsaturated); 218mg sodium; 50.7mg cholesterol; 47.9g carbohydrate (27.3g sugars) 2.9g fiber; 5.9g protein; 206.8mg potassium.

Health Benefits of Eating Whole Grains

According to the American Heart Association, many whole grains are good or excellent sources of dietary fiber, while most refined grains contain little fiber. Dietary fiber from whole grains, as part of an overall healthy diet, may:

• Help improve blood cholesterol levels, and lower risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• Help make you feel full, so you may eat fewer calories.
• Help you reach or manage a healthy weight.