Allergy-Friendly Pumpkin Bread

That one time I share a recipe.

A Young Family Breakfast Solution

I’m choosing to share a recipe, because, while we women love to talk, write, think, and read about the deep things of life, we still have the noble calling of nourishing our households. So, in honor of the kitchen work, I’m sending out a recipe. (If we went to each other’s homes to eat, we would swap recipes, wouldn’t we?)

This recipe is something that has helped me feed my children.

Well, of course, it helped, you say, because it contains food and that’s what recipes are for.

But let me explain:

I’ve had certain phases of motherhood in which mornings are consistently disastrous. Usually it’s the severe sickness of the first half of pregnancy, or the early postpartum days. Sometimes, feeding young children breakfast is just way more of a chore than I ever imagined it could be. Additionally, one of my children is severely allergic to multiple foods.

This recipe came about after the birth of my fifth, who was also the third child in three years. I wondered, in my postpartum haze, whether there was any way I could get the older siblings to manage feeding everyone a safe, semi-nutritious, yummy, and fairly-tidy breakfast when I needed a few more minutes to prepare myself for the day?

Oatmeal¹ Breakfast bread was the solution.

I baked this “breakfast bread” a couple of evenings per week for about five months before some of the little ones tired of it, so I feel pretty confident in calling it a winner for our family. (You know that’s a really long time for anything to work on a consistent basis when you have young children, don’t you?)

In addition, it’s something that anyone can enjoy without feeling like it’s a weird allergy-friendly recipe.

It’s simple enough that my 7-year-old daughter took over the task of preparing it. Also a win.

Here it is for anyone looking for a recipe that can accommodate various allergies. No dairy, no eggs, and I’m assuming you could substitute for gluten-free flour - please comment if you’re a gluten-free baker with tips on that!

I modified it from this recipe by Beat Bake Eat.

Recipe: Banana Pumpkin Bread

Makes (2) 8x8 cakes or (1) 9x13 cake.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup oil (vegetable, melted coconut, avocado)

• 1/3 cup applesauce

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp cloves

• 3 cups flour - I use a combination of 1 c whole wheat and 2 c bread flour to please the refined palettes of my breakfast guests

• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips - *check allergens* I use Enjoy Life brand

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare (2) 8x8 pans or (1) 9x13 pan.

2. Mash bananas in large mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

3. Add dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. (If you’re doing this to follow the rules of quick bread, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then mix into liquids bowl. If you’re doing this to simplify your life, do it my way.)

4. Pour into prepared pan(s). The batter is thick; don’t worry, just spread it as evenly as possible.

5. Bake times:
   8x8: 35 min
   9x13: 45 min

6. Allow to cool before slicing. Comforting when eaten fresh.
   As a close second, really excellent when your young children all serve themselves independently the next morning. Meanwhile, you get to scarf down a quick snack to stave off the nausea or breastfeeding-induced feelings of starvation.

Hope you enjoy!

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1. lol no, have you ever had to clean up after a toddler who fed himself oatmeal? Or, even better, one toddler feeding another toddler his oatmeal? Oatmeal had been our breakfast before this breakthrough, and it’s the real reason why I’m sending you this recipe today.