Most carrot breads are cakes in disguise, but these low sugar versions really are nutritious breads that you can eat for breakfast. The breads do have sugar in them from applesauce and date puree (don't worry, it's just mashed dates, so you don't have to buy something weird), but no added white or brown sugar. The breads also include protein and fiber, meaning that the effect on your blood sugar will be slower than with many traditional carrot breads. How do the breads taste? They are really good. No, they don't taste like cakes, which they aren't. The breads are moist, and they taste of carrots and spices with a subtle apple undertone. Walnuts add a nice crunch. You can make mini loaves in your air fryer in about 15 minutes. In addition to making a great breakfast accompaniment, slices of the bread are nice alongside a cup of tea or coffee for a snack or not-so-sweet dessert. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Low Sugar, Diabetic Friendly Carrot Breads -- Makes 4 Mini Loaves
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt (fat free is fine)
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of date puree (see below for how to make)
1 1/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons of flax seed meal (ground/milled flax seeds)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 cup of chopped/broken walnuts, plus extra to top the breads (optional)
1 cup of shredded carrots
Spritz 4 mini loaf pans well with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk together well the oil, egg, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, and date puree. Stir in the flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt, spices, and 1/2 cup of walnuts until just blended. Stir in the carrots until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the loaf pans. Sprinkle the top of the batter in each pan with some walnuts, if you'd like. Put two filled pans in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the breads at 320 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and a pick inserted in the middle of a loaf comes out with no wet batter attached. Remove the loaves to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining unbaked batter. Let the cooked loaves sit in their pans for 5-10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely.
* Date puree is available commercially, but I make my own because it's cheaper and really easy. If you want a large batch of puree (date puree is good to make a variety of baked goods and as a "healthier" sugar substitute because of the fiber, vitamins, and minerals in dates), simply cover 24 ounces of dried dates with 2 cups of boiling water and let the mixture sit until it cools and the dates are fairly soft (you can let the mixture cool and refrigerate it overnight, if you want). Put the dates/water (the dates will absorb a lot/most of the water) in a food processor or blender and process them/puree them for a few minutes. You should have a thick, dark caramel-colored paste. You can add a little more water to the paste, if it's too thick for your liking. If you refrigerate the paste, it should keep indefinitely. If you want just enough puree for this recipe, cover half a cup of dates with boiling water and let them sit for about 10 minutes or until soft. Pour off the water and mash the dates well with a fork or puree them in a mini-chopper (I go the fork route, because I don't want to wash the chopper).
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