I'm on a huge baking kick lately, madly trying to stock our freezer with school-safe snacks so that I'm not scrambling at the last minute (or packing my son's lunch with processed, packaged snacks all of the time). What motivated me even more was the fact that I had an insane amount of zucchini to use up — it's in season and I received a mammoth zucchini from a friend of mine.
Zucchini is so versatile that I haven't struggled to find ways to use it. Zucchini wedges, zucchini chips, grilled zucchini, spiralized zucchini — you name it, zucchini can do it! I also love baking with zucchini because it not only adds moisture to muffins, loafs and cookies, but it also boosts the nutritional profile of any baked snack, adding a healthy dose of Vitamin A, Potassium, Folate, and antioxidants.
I had just made a huge batch of these lentil chocolate muffins, so decided to make a zucchini loaf (instead of muffins) using some ingredients that I had on hand such as oats, chocolate (of course), coconut oil and ripe bananas. This makes for a great addition to a school lunch, as part of breakfast or as an after-school snack.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour one loaf pan.
Combine Greek yogurt, maple syrup, egg mashed banana and vanilla in a medium bowl
In another small bowl place 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Melt the coconut oil and measure the oil AFTER being melted. Pour the coconut oil over the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly and then add to the Greek yogurt mixture.
In a separate bowl, stir together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch.
Stir the dry ingredients together.
Add the dry to the wet and mix until just combined. Over-mixing will result in dense bread or a sunk in center.
Stir in the grated zucchini as well as the remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the bread has begun to slightly pull away from the sides. It's ok to slightly under-cook--this will yield a softer bread, moist bread.
If needed tent some tin foil over the top to keep the top from over-cooking.
Allow to completely cool before cutting into the bread. Cut with a sharp knife.
Cover and enjoy within 3 days, or freeze for up to one month.
*Adapted from Chelsea's Healthy Apron's Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread
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If you liked this, you may also enjoy my Chocolate Lentil Lunchbox Muffins.
It's almost that time of year again — back to school! And to be honest, I don't know whether to jump for joy or burst into tears. This year, my son starts grade one, which means that he'll be in school all day. This is a big change from the half-day kindergarten days last year. Full time school days mean a lot of school-lunch and snack packing for me. So I'm doing my best to stock my freezer with nutritious homemade snacks to add to his lunch box.
A variation of this delicious recipe was first introduced to me by my friend Natalie, and not surprisingly, it was a big hit with the whole family. These muffins just as delicious as they are nutritious. They are soft, fluffy and chocolatey, yet boast nutritional powerhouse ingredients like lentils, eggs, and bananas. High in protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, these muffins are the perfect snack to add to your child's lunch box. They will keep your kids satisfied and energized during the day and give you some peace of mind knowing that you've sent a healthy nutrient-packed (and tasty) snack that your kids will actually eat.
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Prepare 12 muffin cups by lining with muffin papers
Place lentils, eggs, honey, cocoa powder, baking soda, coconut oil, and vanilla extract into blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full
Sprinkle each muffin with a few chocolate chips
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely and enjoy!
Inspired by: Beach Body's Flourless Chocolate Brownie Muffins
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