We are just a few, short days away from Christmas and I can feel the anticipation and excitement rising.
Just the other day, Blake and I were reminiscing about our Christmas experiences as children. For me, I could hardly sleep the night of Christmas Eve. As a little girl, you bet I was awake and jumping down the stairs by 5:00 am. It wasn’t until my teenage years that I managed sleep until 7:00 am, maybe 8:00.
My brother and I weren’t allowed to wake up my parents until 7:00-7:30 am, so we just sat in the family room, staring at the Christmas tree. We would eat my momma’s homemade coffee cake, as we watched the clock and anticipated the day ahead. It was such a magical time. Don’t you miss those years? I sure do!
Although, now that I am older and the anticipation of Christmas presents has dwindled slightly (not completely), I can enjoy a whole new season of anticipation. I now understand the meaning of the Advent season much more clearly. I can wait, expectantly, for the return of Jesus Christ, my Savior. What a blessing that is! It’s certainly a reason for anticipation and excitement.
Anyways, back to today’s recipe. I am taking full advantage of the last, few days of this Christmas season. Hot cocoa, peppermint, gingerbread, eggnog, all the flavors of the holidays. In effort to stick with my Paleo-style diet, I wanted to make a healthy, gingerbread treat that was Paleo-friendly. Well, I’d say it was a successful attempt. On the first try, too! *high five*
Out of curiosity, I looked up the calories in Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf. Any guesses? Here’s the breakdown, straight from starbucks.com:
| Calories 400 | Calories from Fat 110 |
| % Daily Value* | |
|---|---|
| Total Fat 12g | 18% |
| Saturated Fat 7g | 35% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 85mg | 28% |
| Sodium 320mg | 13% |
| Total Carbohydrate 70g | 23% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Sugars 49g | |
| Protein 5g | |
My Lightened-Up Gingerbread Loaf recipe contains close to half the amount of calories, and way less carbs and sugar. Here’s the breakdown:
| Calories 250 | Calories from Fat 162 |
| Total Fat 18g | |
| Saturated Fat 11g | |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 37mg | |
| Sodium 54mg | |
| Total Carbohydrate 19g | |
| Dietary Fiber 3g | |
| Sugars 14g | |
| Protein 5g | |
Not only is this recipe much more macro nutrient-friendly, it’s filled with healthy, nutritious ingredients. It’s moist, light, and packed with the season’s spices! A slice of this gingerbread loaf pairs wonderfully with a hot cup of coffee in the morning, or as an afternoon pick-me-up snack. Either way, it’s pretty darn tasty!
What I used to make this recipe:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- dash of sea salt
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- 1/5 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted**
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbs vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, molasses, and coconut oil. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
- Slowly pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Add buttermilk and mix well.
- Pour the batter into your loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Once removed from the oven, let cool.
- *I like to make my own buttermilk from almond milk. Simply, add 2 tbs apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of almond milk (or another nut milk) and let sit for 10 minutes.
- **Just barely melt your coconut oil and be sure to let it cool before mixing it in with your eggs. We don't want scrambled eggs in our gingerbread, do we?
