Hold Back On The Grease To Produce Low-Fat Foods

Reducing the fat and calories in holiday quick breads doesn’t take magic or mirrors. It just takes a stingy hand with oil and knowing how to substitute a few easy ingredients.

For example, you can reduce the amount of oil called for in many quick bread recipes by half without affecting the flavor. This technique is most effective in quick breads that are flavored with fruit purees or grated vegetables, because those ingredients keep the loaf moist and tender. Pumpkin, banana, apple and zucchini breads all are excellent candidates.

In the following pumpkin bread, we slashed calories and fat by more than half by reducing the oil from 1 cup in the original recipe to 1/4 cup.

Fat was further lowered and cholesterol eliminated by using fat-free egg substitutes in place of real eggs. These two changes alone reduced the fat to 2 grams per slice, from 9 grams in the original recipe. It also cut 54 calories per slice.

Using apple or pineapple juice in place of water helps retain a tender texture and rich flavor. For an unusual taste, we added dried pineapple chunks to the recipe; you could substitute an equal amount of raisins.

The new low-fat Pineapple Pumpkin Bread gets just 11 percent of calories from fat, compared to 34 percent in the original recipe.

One warning: Don’t leave out the oil completely; you’ll end up with spongy bread. You can eliminate all but about 2 tablespoons of oil per loaf (or 1/4 cup in a two-loaf recipe) without making drastic changes in the texture.

Pineapple Pumpkin Bread

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup fat-free liquid egg substitutes

1 cup apple or pineapple juice

2 cups canned natural pumpkin

3 ounces dried pineapple chunks, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle a small amount of flour in each pan and tap to dust bottoms and sides evenly with a thin coating. Set aside.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate container, stir together the oil, egg substitutes, apple or pineapple juice and pumpkin. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a thick batter. Stir in the chopped pineapple chunks.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until a pick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in the pans. Remove from pans and cool completely on a rack. For best flavor, allow to rest for 1 day before cutting.

Yield: 2 loaves (28 slices).

Nutrition information per slice: 172 calories, 2 grams fat (10 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 205 milligrams sodium.

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