Here in Chattanooga, the kids are back in school and summer is over! Well, I should say summer break is officially over, but summer is not. Where I live in the South, the days are still very hot (and humid), the pool is still full of kids (after school now) and my garden is still producing lots of zucchini (thus these Healthy Zucchini Muffins)! All sure signs that summer is still going strong!
One day, I realized that I had so much zucchini piling up in the my kitchen that I HAD to figure out ways to use it, pronto! My first thought was this zucchini bread (recipe found here) that my boys absolutely LOVE. It is SO good, but with lots of sugar, it is more like a dessert, and I really wanted to make something that was more healthy and hearty, and would be good to fuel my boys for breakfast before school.
I ended up making this wonderful recipe for Healthy Zucchini Muffins and not only are they delicious, they are full of good nutritious ingredients too! These muffins are only slightly sweet, but you could add a bit more sweetener if you want to. My family loved them as is, served with a smear of peanut butter! I have served this breakfast with a green smoothie (here are our favorite recipes) and on different days, I have packed one in my boys lunches, instead of a sandwich.
I made mini ones (with out nuts), regular sized ones (with nuts) and a batch of Gluten Free ones (using my favorite GF flour blend). All the varieties freeze beautifully! It has been such a great way to use my excess of garden zucchini and be prepared for school friendly breakfasts and lunches!
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup melted butter (or try coconut oil–works great!)
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (or ⅔ cup milk of choice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar, allow to rest for 5 minutes before using)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour (or Gluten free flour blend for GF)
- ¾ cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees .
- If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or cooking spray (I prefer to use a silicone one that does not require any greasing)
- Toast the nuts in a pan on the stovetop for a few minutes until fragrant (if using)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter (or coconut oil) and honey. Beat them with a whisk until they are combined.
- Next, add the eggs and beat well. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.)
- Add the buttermilk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and vanilla extract, and whisk to blend. Switch to a big spoon and stir in the zucchini, then add the flour and stir just until combined. A few lumps are ok–you do not want to overmix muffins batter (it iiil make them tough).
- Gently fold in the toasted nuts now, if using.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 16 to 19 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool.
- Freeze muffins for up to 3 months.
Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Cookie and Kate
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