Healthy Zucchini Bread

Howdy hey everybody! Who is loving these beautiful, warm, crisp autumn days?  The midwest is absolutely stunning this time of year in my opinion.  I just returned from a beautiful day hike with my handsome man the other day and wow, does a hike in nature make me realize how great and magnificent God is! It’s amazing to me how a simple hike or just being outdoors in some silence can give such a beautiful perspective on life.

Ok- Before I fall into the rabbit hole of the details of our trip I will start talking about why the heck I am really writing this specific blog. Second thought.. maybe when the depths of winter hit I may need to go into more detail about summer and autumn adventures.  Sometimes reminiscing about those things in winter can help it feel warmer don't you think?  Okay, wow.. squirrel! Just kidding. Onto Zucchini Bread!  Weren’t expecting that one were ya? 

Loaf recipes I got online.

( I know.. I can be a random person sometimes. Some say it’s part of my charm and others.. well nobody cares what they think anyway.😛)

So with this recipe I originally started with one off of the net and they came out pretty flat… I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of flat bread.  So I altered the recipe quite a bit and I am now very happy with it.  It turned out to be a moist, well risen, tasty breakfast loaf.. or an anytime loaf! This loaf is also very easy to make as a vegan loaf.. I will put in some simple adjustments.
 (Some of you may know my oldest daughter has some pretty serious allergies: egg, dairy, and peanuts. I know.."what do you feed that kid?" Trust me we make due and it has forced me to be creative so it may just have been a blessing in disguise)😉

Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar 
• 1/8 cup of white sugar (if you don’t want add so much sugar skip it! To make it healthier and still sweet add 2-3 blended dates, or drizzle in some honey)
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon (i usually don’t measure.. I just pour in a descent amount)
• 3/4 cup raisins 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 egg -OR- 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce 
• 1/4 cup of milk (regular or nut milk)
• 1 cup of shredded zucchini (I usually add a bit more.. about 1/2 cup.. up to you)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions

 Ok, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan or muffin tray, whichever you fancy. My favorite for greasing is to use avocado oil spray (I get a 2 pack from Costco). In a medium sized bowl mix together all of your dry ingredients except the raisins.  In a separate smaller bowl mix together the wet. Next combine the wet ingredients with the dry and fold it all together. Lastly, fold in your raisins.  If you have not added in an egg feel free to taste test this! Pour it into your loaf pan or muffin tin and cook for about 30 minutes. When you pull out your loaf a toothpick if inserted should come out clean, if it doesn’t put it back in for about 5-10 minutes more. 

HINT: If you have a ripe banana like I usually do laying around you can also add one to this recipe! If you do just add in another 1/4 cup of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

Okay! That will do it! I never meant to make this into a cooking blog but apparently it keeps going in that direction. I promise I will have other posts as well but this has been very enjoyable thus far writing and taking pictures of yummy food creations.  

I hope you all enjoy this one!

XOXO,

-Lauren ;)