Pumpkin Loaf

As soon as the leaves start changing I start craving pumpkin!  I love love LOVE pumpkin loaf but my traditional recipe had way too much sugar and fat per slice to ever even be a possibility.  I made some adaptations to my recipe and it turned out fantastic!  This is still quite high in calories and such but it's much better than before - I can actually eat it as a treat now and then.

Pumpkin Loaf

1 cup stoneground soft whole wheat flour
3/4 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup all bran (soaked in 1/2 cup boiling water)
5 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

-Soak the All Bran in the water and set aside
-Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices together and set aside
-In another bowl cream the margarine and sugar with electric mixer
-Add eggs, beat well
-Add pumpkin, apple sauce, and soaked All Bran and mix well.
-Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
-Add the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds
-Bake in a large loaf pan at 350'F for 60-70 minutes (start checking for doneness with a toothpick inserted in the middle at about 50 minutes)

Nutrition information (based on 1/10 of the loaf)
286 cal | 14g fat | 37g carbs (5g fibre, 16g sugar) | 8g protein

You could save yourself quite a bit of calories, fat, and sugars if you left the chocolate chips out - I left them in because my hubby loves the chocolate chips in this (and I tend to agree).