MJ's Wholemeal Freshest Ever Carrot Bread

It's still raining here AND it's cold!  I was looking out the window this morning while eye-ing up the two fresh oranges in my fruit bowl. I also remembered that I had 2 bags of grated carrots in the fridge that were due to expire today. I bought them at Waitrose thinking I would make a carrot&raisin salad should we be invited to an impromptu BBQ for bank holiday weekend. With no invites and no BBQs in sight, I felt inspired to take matters into my own hands. I wanted to bake something nice for afternoon tea, BUT I wanted it to be healthy, fresh, and light. Here's what I came up with. It's easy, fresh, and best of all, you need NO MIXER and you prepare it in ONE BOWL! Toward the end of the recipe, I say to let it cool for at least 15 minutes, but within 8 minutes, my family were slicing away. They thoroughly enjoyed it and I think yours will, too. Have fun and peace be with you!

MJ’s Wholemeal Freshest Ever Carrot Bread

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 23-cm spring form pan or 9-inch cake tin

Moist and delicious, this is a sweet bread or a hearty cake. I used orange pulp/flesh (scooping it out with a small spoon)and juice from fresh oranges. This kicks up the vitamin content, but it also serves to decrease the sugar and fat ingredients, which, in turn, makes the bread lower in kcalories, carbohydrate, and fat AND higher in fiber, than other carrot cakes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup wholewheat flour
1 cup self-rising flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar, granulated -- can be brown or white
¼ cup  sugar, dark brown
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice (can use nutmeg if you don’t have allspice)
½ teaspoon salt

4 eggs
½ cup corn, safflower, sunflower, or vegetable oil
2 fresh oranges, cut in half
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated raw carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Sift all flours, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt together into large mixing bowl. Add sugars.  Add eggs, the juice of  the 2 oranges and the pulp/flesh of the 2 oranges, as well, the oil, and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until dry ingredients JUST moistened. Then fold in carrots and nuts.  Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-40 minutes or until bread springs back to the touch and/or butter knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

NUTRIENT TOTALS per serving

Calories:   306.2
Protein:   6.369 g
Carbohydrate:   39.4 g
Dietary Fiber:   3.372 g
Total Sugars:   17.2 g
Total Fat:   14.6 g
Saturated Fat:   1.639 g
Monounsaturated Fat:   6.573 g
Polyunsaturated Fat:   5.383 g
Cholesterol:   70.5 mg
Trans Fatty Acids:   .031 g
Trans-monoenoic FA:   0 g
Total Omega-3 FA:   1.535 g
Total Omega-6 FA:   2.145 g
Alcohol:   .12 g
Calcium:   79.1 mg
Copper:   .179 mg
Iron:   1.802 mg
Magnesium:   33.3 mg
Manganese:   .316 mg
Phosphorus:   164.8 mg
Potassium:   245.7 mg
Selenium:   18.7 mcg
Sodium:   180.4 mg
Zinc:   .839 mg
Vitamin A (RE):   902.3 RE
Vitamin A (IU):   5368 IU
Vitamin A (RAE):   292.2 mcg
Retinol:   23.2 mcg
Vitamin C:   9.421 mg