Awesome Zucchini, Apple, Carrot, Banana Muffins

What’s a girl to do when she has tons of zucchini coming in her garden? Get creative of course!  Zucchini can be frozen by the way! Just slice into one inch thick pieces and store in freezer bags.  I personally don’t like the texture of canned vegetables, so I am going to have to get inspired this year on how to store and use my veggies along the way.

Following is the recipe for my “new and awesome” muffins as my son said.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups of shredded zucchini (about half of a large zucchini or two small)-shred zucchini and use a cheesecloth to squeeze out excess moisture

Can you believe all of the water that came out of just about a quarter of a zucchini???  If you haven’t used this method yet, this is why your bread has been soggy in the past.

1 cup of organic shredded carrots-also use the cheesecloth here to squeeze out excess moisture.  Carrots wont excrete as much but there will still be a good amount!

1 organic apple, cored, peeled, and cut into small cubes.

2 medium organic bananas-the darker the better!

2 cups of whole wheat white flour

1 tsp.  Baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs, lightly beaten

4 Tbsp. butter with olive oil

1 tsp. baking soda

1 pinch of sea salt

1 Tbsp.honey

Directions–

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Gently toss together carrots, zucchini, and apples.  Melt one Tbsp. butter and pour over veggies.  Mix in one Tbsp. honey.  Set aside.

3.  In a separate bowl, mash two bananas.  Before mashing, add the cinnamon and nut meg and mash in with the banana to spread the flavor evenly.  Leave a few small chunks of bananas in mixture.

4.  Add baking soda, pinch of salt, eggs, vanilla, and 3 remaining Tbsp. of melted butter to banana mixture.

5.  Mix in flour, one cup at a time until dry ingredients are blended well.

6.  Fold in carrot mixture.  Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full.

7.  Bake at 375 until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out from the center of the muffin clean.  Cool in pan for about ten minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Make about 12 muffins.

I prefer to keep my muffins and breads as healthy as possible so I don’t add any extra sugar and limit the butter.  For me, the muffins are sweet enough with the bit of honey and natural sugar from the fruit.  You could add more honey if you would like a sweeter muffin.

You could also substitute coconut oil for the butter.  I just don’t like the taste of coconut! But this would be a healthy replacement and can be substituted 1:1.  If you prefer a moister bread, you can add more.  Four tablespoons is equal to a quarter cup.  You could use up to 3/4 cup coconut oil if you prefer this choice.

Applesauce is yet another healthy substitution for oils and butter in bread! It can also be substituted 1:1 and will definitely make your bread moist.  You can also make your recipe vegan by substituting 1/4 cup of applesauce for every egg a recipe requires.

These muffins really turned out delicious!!   Perfect for breakfast or just a healthy snack.  Let me know if you try this recipe and what variations you made if any.  I thought about adding blueberries and might try next time.  Yum!