Carrot Raisin Bread

On "Live with Regis and Kelly" this morning, they were talking about Pepperidge Farm's Raisin Bread, and then a little bit later reading The Naughty Secretary's blog, she was talking about carrot raisin bread - but didn't post a recipe. So I Googled "Carrot Raisin Bread" and found this recipe from Unity Health, provided by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutions of Health. A long way to get a slice around here, and you know it has to be healthy coming from these sources. I gave it a try this morning and give it an A!

I divied the batter into my three 3 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 loaf pans, and rotated them in the oven every 10 minutes for a total of 30 minutes. An extra pan to wash, but I saved 20 minutes in the oven. I used regular raisins instead of golden raisins, and figured it wouldn't make that much difference. It didn't and next time I may add a little bit more, maybe 1/3 cup. Trying to measure 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots proved messy and daunting, so I just went with two regular sized carrots in the Cuisinart Little Chopper. Chopped, shredded - it looked good to me. I also used Penzeys Ceylon cinnamon. I think the cinnamon and the allspice helped make it not only smell wonderful while baking, but taste better, too. And I loved the chopped pecans for a little extra crunch. Normally I don't repost the recipes from online sources, but nowadays, you don't know who or what companies - especially insurance - may still be around when all said and done.

CARROT RAISIN BREAD

1½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground allspice
1 egg, beaten
½ cup water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cup finely shredded carrots
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Stir together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Make a well in center of dry mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients and add this mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir just enough to moisten and evenly distribute carrots. Turn into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the pan. Remove the loaves from the pans and complete cooling on a wire rack before slicing. One serving size is a ½ inch slice.
Calories = 99 Fat = 3 g Cholesterol = 12 mg Sodium = 97 mg