Fall is just around the corner and that is ever more apparent when scrolling through the food & drink section of Pinterest.

It was pretty much an overnight phenomena. Suddenly... there's pumpkin being pinned here and there and everywhere! 

I frequent Pinterest for inspiration in nearly every facet of my life. As I think we all do these days.

Recently I kept seeing this recipe floating around boasting a 500 calorie loaf of cream cheese pumpkin bread.  And while the idea sounded appealing, I was skeptical to say the least.

While the recipe sounded well enough, I had to add some more spice to kick mine up a bit and made a few changes to reduce the sugar and calories down even more.

That being said... I still didn't get anywhere near 1000 calories for the entire shebang. In fact, I calculated out a whopping 773.6 calories more than the original 1000 that was claimed. And that's with my fat free, less sugar substitutions. Yikes! 

Either way, this still makes for quite a skinny pumpkin bread with 110 calories in 1/8 of a loaf.

Skinny Pumpkin Spice & Cream Cheese Bread
 TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 Wedge/Slice • Calories: 110.8 • Fat: 0.7 g • Carb: 20 g • Fiber: 2.8 g • Protein: 5.6 g • Sugar: 8.4 g • Sodium: 196.5 mg

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Batter:
1 1/2 C. Pumpkin Puree
1/2 C. Apple Sauce, Unsweetened
1 Large Egg
2 Large Egg Whites
1 2/3 C. Whole Wheat White Flour
1/2 C. Sweetener (Stevia or other cup for cup preference.)
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp. Ground Ginger

Cream Cheese Ribbon: 
8 Oz. Fat Free Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp. Sweetener
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Whole Wheat White Flour
2 Large Egg Whites
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly spray the inside of two 9x5 loaf pans or a bunt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the puree, applesauce, egg and egg whites until well blended.  Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the remaining dry ingredients for the pumpkin batter.

Slowly add the dry ingredients in to the wet until it is all well combined. 

In a medium bowl, mix up the ingredients for the cream cheese ribbon until smooth and creamy.

Add about a third of the pumpkin batter to the bottom of the pan(s).

Top with about half of the cream cheese mixture. 

Spoon another third pumpkin batter atop the cream cheese mixture. 

Finish it off with the remaining cream cheese and pumpkin. 

If you're feeling spunky you can swirl it together with a knife. 

Mine ended up on the bottom and wasn't visible, but I knew it was there and pretty... and that's all that matters, right? 

Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes for loafs or 55-60 for a bunt, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Once done, remove from the oven to cool slightly and remove from pan(s).

Cut to divide the bunt cake into 16 wedges (or 8 slices per loaf, if using 2 loaf pans instead.)

Serve warm and enjoy! 

Store an leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge!