Keto Pumpkin Loaf
“Inflammation ages you from the inside out by eating away at your telomeres, the caps protecting the ends of your chromosomes. Every time a chromosome divides, its telomere shortens. So telomere length is not only a sign of how old you are, but also a measure of how well your body is aging. Think of telomeres like the tips on the ends of your shoelaces; if they break the chromosomes fray. That’s bad because the shorter the telomere, the less proficient the chromosome. If your telomeres are short, you lose your ability to restore your organs.”
― Maria Emmerich, Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism
Looking for a great recipe that ticks all the boxes and is right in season?
This Keto pumpkin spice loaf is my go to at this time of year as our pumpkin patch is producing and we simply cannot keep up with natures gifts.
If you know Keto you will be smiling already because you also know that finding these types of recipes help curb the cravings that sometimes come just from remembering the time you used to eat bread. I know, I get it. It seems many of us grow up with the idea of that crusty loaf of fresh bread being good for us where it is actually one of the most damaging foods available in the supermarket today. Bread these days isn’t like it is meant to be and no matter how much you try and convince yourself that bread is okay, nobody’s gut is grateful for grains.
“A high carbohydrate diet blocks your ability to employ fat to fuel your brain, and to some degree, your muscles as well.”
― Jeff S. Volek, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable
Today an average supermarket loaf has all sorts of preservative, additives and fillers in it to keep it ‘feeling fresher’ on the shelf for longer and wheat is so genetically modified all over the World that it simply is not digestible by anyone. If you don’t suffer from eating bread yet you eventually will or you will need to spend a lot of energy in denial. So, if bread is so bad for us what are the symptoms of grain intolerance?
Inflammation
Digestive issues
Reflux
Headaches
Itchy skin
Arthritis
Auto-immune diseases
Coughs
Sneezes
Tiredness
Irregular menstruation cycle
Bloating
Poor sleep patterns
Grogginess/brain fog
Poor memory
Haemorrhoids
Candida
Did I miss anything? When I say bread, I mean all grainy substances including pasta, breads, grains and for many people this may include pulses and legumes. But don’t take my word for it. Seek out a traditional practitioner who can do blood tests to find out what grains you can and can’t live with. Traditional practices that may help you learn more about food include Naturopaths, herbalists, Traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, Ayurveda. The main difference between traditional and modern medicine is that traditional practice treats the individual, is not attached to suppressing symptoms but seeks to find the root cause and heal from there. Traditional health practices are like Pilates, seeing your body as a whole system – emotional, physical, spiritual, biological and your health is a glimpse of a symbiotic relationship within.
For most of us eating these dense carbohydrates might not make us keel over immediately. The effects are usually accumulative so if you detox from grains you may find that you can then eat them every now and then. Maybe a sneaky croissant every couple of months or a mouthful of gnocchi once in a blue moon. But, once you go off grains you will realise just how damaging they are for your gut, your brain and your emotional state and how much clarity a good clean diet can offer.
So what’s Keto?
Put simply Keto is all about eating higher amounts of healthy fats, moderating protein intake and restricting carbohydrate consumption. Keto is all about you consuming good fat that is used directly as energy and encourages you to eat only when you’re hungry, at times when your body will be nourished by the food and not just store it for later.
What does good fat look like?
Avocados
Lard
Raw cacao butter
Grass fed meats
Organic, pastured eggs
Raw, grass fed butter
Coconut oil
Olives and olive oil
Ghee
Omega 3 fats – wild caught salmon, sardines, anchovies
Raw activated nuts & seeds – macadamia, almond, pecans, sesame and hemp
Low carb, high fibre vegetables – spinach, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, pumpkin
MCT oil
And what do bad foods look like?
Sugars and starches – cakes, bread, rice
Processed food – anything pre packaged
Highly refined polyunsaturated vegetable oils
Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats
Soy
Dairy
Fizzy drinks, fruit juice and other sugar drinks
High fructose fruits
Meats and other products from high density animal lots (mass produced antibiotic loaded meat)
How does a Keto diet optimise health?
The benefits of keto are far reaching and go way beyond body image. As with anything worth doing, a Keto lifestyle can take a while to pay off but some things can be noticed almost immediately.
Weight loss
Decreased inflammation
Lower risk of cancer
Improved muscle mass
Reduced appetite
Lowered insulin
Improved mental clarity
Increased longevity
Personally learning about food as a medicine has been fun and empowering. It has taught me to truly appreciate the power of mother nature and it has expanded my understanding of the human body, how capable and resilient we are and what a role our intuition plays in our health. Learning to listen to your body not only gives you the keys to better health but can truly set you on a path to a life free from debilitating pain and disease. Where to start? As with most truths, anything mainstream is touting is most probably false narrative so I would turn off the TV, throw away the newspaper and pick up a good, solid book.
My go to book list for a low carb lifestyle:
Primal Body, Primal Mind1.3 – Nora T. Gedgaudas
Keto-Adapted: Your Guide to Accelerated Weight Loss and Healthy Healing – Maria Emmerich
Go to websites:
Why wasn’t pumpkin on the ‘good fat list’? Pumpkin is not a high fat vegetable. It is Keto friendly because it is low in carbohydrate, especially when compared to similar vegetables like potato, corn, peas and parsnips. Realistically pumpkin loaf is a treat and should be treated as such. When it comes to eating keto it’s all about finding the best substitute to fit the bill. A cup of raw pumpkin has 7.5 grams of carbohydrates and .6 grams of fiber in that cup of pumpkin, so we subtract to find that 1 cup of pumpkin contains 6.9 grams of net carbs compared to 25 grams for potato!
“In the end, you’ll be able to look in the mirror and see a brand new twinkle in your eye that tells you your single most important life foundation is in place: Your health. With your health operating on-line everything else becomes possible. You can take on the world and create an incredible new life for yourself. You won’t have to work at feeling good because it will simply come naturally.”
— Nora T. Gedgaudas
Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup (185 g) cooked pumpkin puree or raw grated pumpkin
3 large eggs or 2 flax eggs
1/4 cup low carb sweetener (I use Lakanto or Erythritol)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons protein powder ( I use Noway powder by ATP)
2 teaspoons bicarb powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
Instructions:
Preheat fan forced oven to 180C. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and gently mix together. Add wet ingredients and stir to a thick, dough like consistency. If the mixture is too dry add a couple tablespoons of water. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Bake in a pre greased loaf tin (grease with coconut oil) for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Check with a clean knife that the inside is cooked (your knife will slide in and out easily with no residue). Leave on bench for 5 minutes before turning on to a cooling rack. Slice pumpkin loaf and store in fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 1 month. Serve with loads of grass fed butter or home made macadamia butter.
Want to know more about inflammation and how to beat it? Read this article on inflammation and alcohol or send me an email and I will be happy to answer your Q’s.
Enjoy and stay tuned for more fun, nourishing recipes for the whole family.