Healthy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread Recipe

You won't even know the difference!

Swirls of Cinnamon!

I have been on a recent mission to make as many of my families foods as I can from scratch. When I began on my mission, I found that most recipes called for pounds of butter, tons of sugar, lard, and many of other items that I was trying to eliminate from my diet. So, I buckled down and began altering recipes to make them what I was looking for- Healthy variations of my favorites.

So many people think that eating healthy or all-natural has to be boring and that is entirely not true! There is nothing boring about this Cinnamon Bread Recipe!

I have made a few alterations to the recipe that allow it to be healthful AND tasty at the same time:

• Whole Wheat Flour instead of White - This is beneficial because when white flour is refined, it loses the most nutritious parts of the grain -the fiber. It also loses essential fatty acids and most of the vitamins and minerals that were in the grain to begin with. About 30 nutrients are lost during refinement and they only add back or "enrich" white bread with 5 nutrients. Theres so little fiber left after processing that you would have to eat around eight pieces of white bread to get the fiber in just one piece of whole wheat bread.
• Vanilla Soy Milk in place of heavy Buttermilk- Soy is naturally high in essential fatty acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals. It also is way less fat than cow's milk and helps to promote weight loss, can help prevent post menopausal symptoms, and is noted to prevent osteoporosis and prostate cancer - along with a host of other benefits.
• Eliminated the Eggs- Reduced cholesterol
• Reduced the Sugar and even have replaced it with Stevia on occasion - If you go the Stevia route it has no calories, no carbs, no artificial ingredients, and no effect on blood sugar!

Take as many liberties as you can with this recipe! Add almonds, raising, apple pieces, etc! If you choose to use the traditional ingredients, feel free! It is still a great recipe and better than the pre-baked and packaged cinnamon breads on the store shelves.

It is a quick recipe, easy for kids to help with, and so worth the time!

Enjoy!

Cook Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 45 min

Ready in: 55 min

Yields: 1 loaf pan

Ingredients

• 2 cups wheat flour
  
• 3/4 cup sugar, (or substitute) if you use Stevia you may want to use a bit less!
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Milk, (I used vanilla soy milk)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• FOR THE CINNAMON SWIRL ------
• 2 teaspoons margarine
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar, (or substitute)

1. Spray your 9x5 loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl add 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, salt, oil, and soy milk.Mix batter for 2 minutes and pour half of the batter into loaf pan.
3. In separate bowl mix 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and butter. It will make a crumbly streusel looking mixture.
4. Sprinkle 3/4 of the topping over the batter in the loaf pan.
5. Layer the remaining batter in the loaf pan and use a knife to make a swirl design in the pan. This will get your "swirl" effect in the bread!
6. Top with remaining cinnamon/sugar topping.
7. Place pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Depending on the oven, I would check it with a fork around 38-40 minutes.