Lunch: Sweet Potato-Streusel Quick Bread

To make this quick bread even quicker, we used the microwave to cook the potato and soften the butter for the streusel topping. Use an electric knife to get clean slices. Serve with the Chicken-Apple Crunch Salad (page 95) for an easy lunch.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Sweet Potato-Streusel Quick Bread

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces)
2 teaspoons butter
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °.
Pierce potato with a fork; place on a paper towel in microwave oven. Microwave at high 7 minutes, turning after 4 minutes. Wrap potato in paper towel; let stand 5 minutes. Peel potato; mash to measure 1 cup.
Place butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium 20 seconds or until soft. Stir in pecans and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine all-purpose flour and next 6 ingredients (all-purpose flour through nutmeg) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add mashed sweet potato, juice, oil, and egg, stirring until well blended.
Spoon batter into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drop pecan mixture by spoonfuls over top of loaf; gently press into batter.
Bake at 350 ° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.