I love bread. I always have and no doubt, I always will. I’m not sure if it’s the simplicity of it, the texture or the taste; I just love bread. 

I love how versatile bread can be too – smashed avo? Nut butter? Dipped in a whole load of hummus? The options are endless… and that’s just the toppings.

However, I, like many others, tend to avoid a lot of highly processed loaves so sadly, my love for bread has had to take a back seat. I think in general, many of us have become scared of beautiful baked goods. We’ve become scared of carbs and we’ve totally demonised them. We’ve been taught that we need to live a bread-free life in order to be healthy.

This, my friends, is pure baloney.

We don’t need to deprive ourselves simply because we want to live a healthier lifestyle. You’re not a ticking time bomb if you’re eating bread; you’re a normal human being!

I want to show you a way that you can enjoy bread and make it your friend again. If we could all enjoy bread again, we’d have a much friendlier and happier world... (Take note, If I ever get elected for president, this will definitely be in my election speech).

This is where my Golden Gut Pumpkin and Nut Loaf comes in. It's a recipe that you and your tummy will salivate over. 

I know what you're probably thinking... people who make their own bread have too much time on their hands and are the ultimate hippies. I mean, how do people spend hours cooking bread? Don't they have things to do?

I had these thoughts too until I started out for myself.  I've made bread-making easy. Don't believe me? Check out my hearty Chia and Flaxseed Loaf, my scrumptious Spinach Loaf and my delicious Coconut Banana Bread.

My goal in recipe creation has always been to create simple and delicious recipes that will make people fall in loaf with food again (see what I did there?!). This recipe in particular, will undoubtedly make you fall head over heels in love with food. I just know that every single person will fall in love with it. This is the best loaf I’ve ever made and I’m not loafing around here.

This bread contains pumpkin which is a great source of antioxidants and omega-3 rich fatty acids, meaning it’s an anti-inflammatory bread recipe! Does anyone else find this cool? 
Okay… just me.

I’ve also used buckwheat flour because it’s wonderfully nutty, gluten-free, low GI and high in amino acids, including tryptophan which increases serotonin – our happy hormone! Of course we're going to be happy if we're enjoying bread! It’s also high in fibre and many minerals.

Naturally, no golden recipe can be completed without my Golden Gut Blend. This versatile and delicious blend is the perfect way to give you, your taste buds and your gut some love! It's a raw whole-food blend that's rich in iron, many other minerals and a whole heap of anti-inflammatory properties. It's vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, paleo, sugar-free, dairy-free and down right delicious.

This bread can be enjoyed with my Bohemian Baked Vegetable Bowl for lunch, my Anti-Inflammatory Spring Pea Soup for dinner, my Sardine Mash Pot for a snack or just on its own.

It's absolutely delicious. It’s perfect for all my friends with gut issues, and even the ones without. Bread-making doesn’t need to be complicated or take hours. It just needs to be made with love... or should I say loaf? 

Golden Gut Pumpkin and Nut Loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 100 gms butter or use ½ cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup raw honey (or sweetener of choice)
• 2 TBS flaxseed meal
• 2 cups almond meal
• 60 gms buckwheat flour
• 2 TBS Golden Gut Blend
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp bicarb of soda
• 100 gms chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds plus extra for topping
• 200 gms pumpkin (steamed and mashed well)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160 Celsius
• Place eggs, butter, honey, flax, almond and buckwheat flour into blender and blend for a few seconds.
• Now add golden gut blend, salt, vanilla essence, lemon juice and bicarb of soda and blend again slowly until mixture resembles a smooth consistency.
• Using a spatula remove the mixture from the blender into a medium sized bowl.
• Add nuts and seeds and mashed pumpkin, stir carefully then let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile grease a loaf tin and spoon in batter smoothing it over to fill in any gaps.
• Bake in the oven for 55 to 60 mins until cooked and a skewer comes out clean.
• 15 minutes before ready, top with extra seeds if using.
• Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
• Can be stored in the fridge then sliced when need.
• It’s also nice toasted or warmed in the oven.

Source: Lee Holmes - Naturopath/Author.

Founder of Supercharged Food.