Tangy + Sweet Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

This easy, sweet lemon citrus bread is perfect for an afternoon treat or when company is coming. Made lighter with greek yogurt, applesauce and zucchini, it's texture is moist and soft while leaving your with that ever-so-subtle sweet flavor.

All the flavor with less sugar and saturated fat!

Bread in any form will always and forever be my comfort food of choice. However, it is often loaded with excess sugar and unnecessary fats and certainly not very macro-friendly (if care about that stuff.)

So I set out to recreate one of my favorite treats Lemon Pound Cake, but without the junk and crud. I made a few simple (healthier) swaps and landed on this moist and flavorful Lemon Poppy Seed Bread!

Super easy to make and ready in less than 1 hour (including bake time!) I can't help but nibble on some for breakfast, snack time or dress it up with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert!

And the best part....

Two thin slices of this cake are only 85 calories! So feel free to enjoy with a side of butter or whipped cream and strawberries!

Because why not?!

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Quick bread baking tips

Quick breads are so popular because their ingredients are simply stirred together (no mixer required). But there are still a handful of tips to follow to make sure your Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is the best it can be: 

• Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until combined. The batter will look lumpy and that’s OK. If you over mix everything, you’ll develop the gluten in the flour and toughen up the bread.

• Use a metal pan. It might be tempting to reach for a glass pan but I prefer metal when making quick breads. Glass pans take longer to heat up, but once they do, they retain their heat for longer than metal pans. This is advantageous if you want to keep a casserole warm after you’ve removed it from the oven but not when you are trying to prevent your quick bread from being over baked.

Note: This is loaf pan I used for this recipe!

• Check your bread five minutes before the recipe’s suggested baking time. Why? Ovens temperatures are notoriously fickle. The perfect baking time in my oven might be just a few minutes too long in yours. You can always add more baking time but you can’t take it away. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean when the bread is done. 

• Use a sawing motion to slice quick bread. This prevents it from being smooshed by using too much force. A serrated knife best for this job. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Loaf

Makes 2 mini loafs (18 slices)

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 c All-purpose flour (204g)

1/4tsp baking soda Powdered Peanut Butter (PBFit or PB2)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

1 TBS lemon zest

Wet Ingredients:

3 TBS unsweetened applesauce (50g)

1/4 c xyiltol sugar

1/4 c coconut sugar

3 TBS organic butter (melted)

2 eggs

3 TBS egg whites

1/2c 0 % Fage Greek yogurt (113g)

1 TBS lemon juice

Add last: 1/2 c shredded zucchini (liquid squeezed out)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 and grease 2 sections of mini loaf pan or 9X9 square baking dish.

1. Mix dry ingredients together in small bowl and set aside.

2. In separate bowl mix all wet ingredients together (melted butter, eggs, egg whites, applesauce, sugars, lemon juice and greek yogurt.)

3. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just incorporated. Add in shredded zucchini and mix again a few times. Do NOT over mix or your bread will be tough.

4. Scoop 1/2 of the batter into each metal mini loaf section.

4. Bake at 375 for the first 15min and then lower oven temp to 350 and cook for the remaining 15min (30 total minutes.)

NOTE *Please check your loaf along the way to make sure it's not getting too brown. If so, you can place a piece of tin foil over the top to prevent it from getting too dark.

5. Check with toothpick to make sure fully cooked. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10min before removing. Slice into 9 equal parts per min loaf!

6. Store in airtight container for up to 3 days/ 5 days in fridge!

MACROS FOR 2 SLICES: 85 cals |2f | 12c| 2p

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If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @wellfedfitcoach on Instagram and use the hashtag #wellfedfitcoach so I can see it and feature you!