*Almost Paleo* Butternut Squash Bread

I bought 3 butternut squashes for a recipe that only required 1. Don't ask me how or why, but it happened, okay!? So, I had 2 extra ones and I had no idea what to do with them. I had never cooked with them, and, to be honest, I wasn't totally psyched about their flavor.

Then I remembered my love for baking and how amazing a sweet dessert sounded. It has been four and a half weeks since I have had dessert, people. But, as I was telling my mom over the phone today, I'm really not craving anything like cake or ice-cream or all that good stuff that used to sound ~amazing~.

It hit me. Bam. Butternut. Squash. Bread. I looked up some recipes, and I was like, "Yep, I'm totally gonna do this."

Well, I punched in some ingredients and numbers to a recipe calorie calculator found here and decided there were just too many calories and the recipe didn't follow my paleo diet. But I was determined, people. I wasn't going to give up. I'm doing this for you, so you're welcome. After searching through Pinterest for 10 minutes with no luck, I decided to create my own Paleo Butternut Squash Bread.

Well, I didn't have enough coconut flour. And I wasn't waiting to go to the store. So I decided to play around with the ingredients a bit and did a little experimenting. The result was pretty tasty! It isn't quite as sweet as pumpkin bread, but the same basic flavors are there. Also, it is a bit of a crumbly critter, lovelies. I won't lie to you, thought-- coconut flour makes everything crumbly. It is not dry, I promise--very moist, delicious, healthy snack! So, without further adieu, I present to you *Almost Paleo* Butternut Squash Bread!

Tools You'll Need

Loaf pan, baking sheet, aluminum foil, whisk, wooden spoon, mixing bowls, blender/food processor (I recommend a food processor), oven, mixer (optional) *faith, trust, pixie dust*

Yields: One loaf, 8-10 servings (about 300-350 calories a slice)

Time: 1 hour prep (if making homemade puree), +/- 1 hour bake time.

Ingredients

1 cup Homemade Butternut Squash Puree (don't worry, I'll show you how!)

2 eggs

1 cup honey

1/2 cup coconut oil*, melted

1/2 cup water

1 cup coconut flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

*Additional coconut oil to grease the loaf pan

How to Make Homemade Butternut Squash Puree

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees (F).

2. Simply take your butternut squash, kiss it goodbye, and slice that sucker in half lengthwise.

3. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon or melon-baller. This step is my least favorite because those slimy little seeds are hanging on for dear life in there.

4. Place each half on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. You might consider melting some coconut oil and basting it onto the squash in order to keep it moist, but this is optional. Place them in the oven to bake for 45-50 minutes, until tender (think sweet potatoes, ready to eat. Nice and soft!)

5. After you pull the squash out of the oven (don't turn it off yet!) and it has cooled for a few minutes, scoop all of the liquidy-fleshy parts (everything but the skin) out and place it in your blender or food processor.

6. Destroy your squash with the blades of the Ninja (blend it up in the blender or food processor).

That's it!

How to Make Butternut Squash Bread

1. Make sure your oven is still on 350 degrees (F). Gather your ingredients.

2. Whisk coconut flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

3. In a larger bowl, combine squash puree, eggs, coconut oil, water, and honey.

4. Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and you have a nice, thick liquid batter. It might be a little chunky, and that's okay!

5. Lightly grease your loaf pan with coconut oil.

6. Pour batter evenly into the loaf pan--you might want to even out the top with the back of a spatula.

7. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. The bread is done when you can stick a toothpick in the middle of the loaf and it comes out clean.

8. Once the bread is done, pull it out of the oven (remember to shut the oven off, babes!), and let it cool for 10-15 minutes or so. Then, enjoy!!