Low Calorie Gingerbread: Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!
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I’ve recently shared a number of different ways to enjoy healthy low calorie snacks. Today I have a low calorie gingerbread TREAT for you to make. Snacks provide you with a healthy source of some extra calories when you really need it along with valuable nutrients. This can be especially important on a low calorie diet. A treat, on the other hand, may or may not add to your overall nutritional balance but it can go a long way in satisfying a desire for “something else”. Just keep in mind that if you want to succeed with your low calorie healthy diet, you will need to restrict how often you have treats and keep the portion size small. The original recipe for Blueberry Gingerbread comes from the American Institute for Cancer Research. It is an example of how you can have your cake and eat it too! This gingerbread is as sweet and tasty as a treat might be. Yet one small piece will cost you only 90 calories. Made with whole wheat flour, low calorie buttermilk, unsulfured molasses, and blueberries it actually provides some important nutrients as well. I bake the gingerbread in a 9 X 9 x 2″ square baking pan. When the cake has cooled after baking, I cut it into 18 pieces. Then I freeze these pieces, each separated with a small piece of wax paper, in a large Ziploc freezer bag. One small piece of cake can be just what I need when nothing else will do! It’s easy to defrost/microwave a small preportioned 90-calorie treat. I eat it slowly and enjoy every bite! Blueberry Gingerbread (makes 18 pieces) Ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour 3/4-cup sugar, plus 1 Tbsp., divided 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus 1/4 tsp. 1 tsp. ground ginger 1/8 grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup light buttermilk 1/4-cup canola oil 1 large egg 3 tbsp. unsulfured molasses 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 9 x 2″ baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together whole wheat and all purpose flours, 3/4-cup sugar, baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until blended. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, and molasses, until well combined and creamy. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and whisk enough to mix; leaving some lumps is better than over mixing, which makes the gingerbread tough. (If using frozen blueberries, spread in one layer on paper towels and blot dry.) Add blueberries to the batter, folding gently. Spread batter in prepared pan. In small bowl, combine remaining tbsp. of sugar with remaining cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake gingerbread 35-45 minutes until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool, then cut the cake into 18 pieces. Freeze pieces in a freezer safe container or bag with each piece separated by a small piece of waxed paper. Nutrition based on 18 pieces: 90 calories/piece 3 grams total fat 15 grams carbohydrates 1.5 grams protein 1 gram dietary fiber 110 mg sodium (Source for the original recipe: The American Institute for Cancer Research.) All I did to the original recipe is change the portion size so it would work well with a low calorie diet. If gingerbread does not appeal to you, maybe you have another cake recipe or other treat you could prepare and save in small low calorie portions. You might be surprised at how much it can help to keep you on track and not feel so deprived! Hope you give the low calorie gingerbread a try. It’s good! Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food (well, at least most of the time)!! calories weight loss calories, weight lossgingerbread blueberries low calorie weight loss treat snack whole wheat dietary fiber
