I used to make zucchini bread when I lived on the East coast. Unfortunately, zucchini doesn’t grow well (at least for us) here in wet Hawaii. But Costco has organic ones every once in a while so I get them to augment my garden veggie harvest. The recipe for zucchini bread my step-mom and I used to make called for 1/2 of the amount of usual oil in applesauce. It also called for a fair amount of zucchini as we always had a bumping harvest in CT. (I hate those veggie muffin recipes that call for 1/2 cups!)
I adapted this recipe for muffins and replaced all the oil with applesauce as an experiment. Why? Because I’m really trying to hone in on my diet. I get a lot of healthy fat from avocados, nuts, and coconut. So I figured not all my muffins need to add refined oils. Super moist muffins that are reminiscent of the taste of zucchini bread but with texture of moist banana bread. These are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber with whole wheat flour, oats and omega-3 rich walnuts. Perfect as an addition to a whole-foods well balanced diet.
Healthy Zuchinni Muffins with Walnuts (oil free, dairy-free, vegan option)
Ingredients
- 4 small apples cooked and blended to make 1 cup applesauce
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened, or other milk of choice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2⅔ cups whole wheat flour
- ⅔ cup coconut flour
- 1 ⅓ cup quick oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 4 cups shredded zuchinni
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- mix the wet ingredients in medium bowl (eggs, apple sauce, maple syrup, vanilla, milk)
- mix dry ingredients in large bowl (flours, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and soda)
- mix wet into dry, without over mixing
- fold in zucchini and nuts
- bake in an oven preheated to 375° F for 30-40 minutes, and let it cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy warm but my favorite is cold.
