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Healthier Zucchini Bread

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I didn’t get out of bed until 10am this morning. That is unprecedented. Mr. Prevention’s parents are in town and he got up early, so I basked in the glory of being off Lily morning duty and having the bed to myself 😀 Glorious!

I stumble down to the kitchen for my morning iced coffee and found donuts littering the kitchen island. And some seedless green grapes (good call, hubby). Apparently Mr. Prevention had also taken a donut run this morning. And you know…me + donuts. Dangerous.

I cut a donut in half and piled some fruit onto my breakfast plate. I took a bite of the donut and immediately thought, 1) I can make better than this…baked, 2) zucchini bread trumps donuts, and 3) tack on another 1/2 mile to your run today, Nicole.

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Between Mr. Prevention’s work travel and my insane hours and lacking desire to cook, our CSA veggies have been a struggle at times to get through. Even though Mr. Prevention has “expanded his horizons” (per the dinner talk last night, I think my mother-in-law is very happy to see he married someone who got him to the point of eating something outside his staple food groups of pizza, buffalo wings, peanut butter and jelly, and candy), he’s still warming up to things like cabbage and collard greens. If you were to ask him what I make at home it would be “tofu” and “quinoa”…all the time.

*eye roll*

Our CSA has also been bringing zucchini that are HUGE. Several pounds each huge.

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When found with an abundance of zucchini…make zucchini bread.

I quickly searched my recipe archives for a recipe and this one caught my eye. I love that it uses a 2:1 applesauce to oil ratio, as well as walnuts for the omega 3 fatty acids…and that added crunch! This recipe uses all whole wheat pastry flour (sub in white whole wheat flour if you can’t find the pastry flour), packing in additional fiber and nutrients.

I also love the portion size…1/8th of a loaf vs the standard 1/10th of a loaf. 😉

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Healthier Zucchini Bread adapted from The Sweets Life and Southern Living Yankee

2 1/2 cups zucchini (~ 2 medium), shredded
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two (8-in x 4-in) loaf pans with cooking spray.

Mix zucchini, applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except the walnuts until well blended. Fold in walnuts.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake 50-60 min until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing loaves and cooling completely on wire racks.

Yield: 2 loaves (8 servings/loaf).

Nutrition Information (per slice, 1/8th loaf): 228 calories; 10.4 g. fat; 35 mg. cholesterol; 242 mg. sodium; 30.5 g. carbohydrate; 2.8 g. fiber; 1.9 g. protein

Result: Just as good as any zucchini bread I’ve had while being whole wheat and full of healthier fats from the canola oil and walnuts. Quick breads like this are easy to make and perfect for a quick on-the-go breakfast or snack. Mr. Prevention devoured a loaf on his own and never questioned if it was “real” zucchini bread. Delicious!

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 It’s a pretty one here in southwest Michigan. I do believe it’ll be off to the beach in just a bit. Outside of that, I haven’t a clue what’s on the agenda, but I do plan to get in a run at some point.

Happy weekend!

Be well,

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23 Comments

  1. Sue
    July 28, 2012 / 10:54 am

    I second the struggle with keeping up with CSA veggies. I still have some kohlrabi I’m scratching my head over. Though I must say the cabbage and carrots have been used in your cole slaw with bacon recipe, and it has been a huge hit!

  2. Deneene @ Southern Living Yankee
    July 28, 2012 / 11:29 am

    This is such an easy and delicious recipe. So glad you tried and liked it!

  3. Kate
    July 29, 2012 / 1:07 am

    I am so jealous of your sleeping in!

  4. Jani
    July 29, 2012 / 1:40 am

    So glad to see this recipe – I stumbled across another z-bread recipe on the Food Network site that had 3 cups of sugar and 2 cups of zucchini . . . it should’ve been called sugar bread, instead!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      July 29, 2012 / 10:18 am

      Ew. Sugar bread, indeed!

  5. Gina (The Candid RD)
    July 29, 2012 / 8:30 am

    Sounds, and looks, wonderful! I haven’t made zucchini bread in so long. Every time I buy zucchini my mind goes straight to savory, not sweet, but…..I think I may have to change that!

    Slept in until 10am?! I already feel like an old lady when I say; my body won’t let me sleep past 7! It’s pathetic.

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      July 29, 2012 / 10:19 am

      That never happens…it was GLORIOUS!!! I’m normally up by 7, if not by 6!

  6. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
    July 29, 2012 / 9:28 am

    I thought for a minute you made a cherry zucchini bread, wouldn’t that be good??

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      July 29, 2012 / 10:18 am

      I think you’re on to something…I could puree cherries to get 1 cup and use in place of the applesauce!!

      • Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
        July 29, 2012 / 11:24 am

        I like it!

  7. Levi
    July 29, 2012 / 1:48 pm

    Thanks for this post, I completely forgot how much I love zucchini bread! Hmm… there are cherries stocked in the freezer and we might even have a zucchini on the counter right now waiting to be used!

  8. Jane
    July 29, 2012 / 4:27 pm

    I LOVE Zucchini Bread! Thanks for a healthier version! Love your pics as always! ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. Kristen (swanky dietitian)
    July 29, 2012 / 8:09 pm

    I love CSAs but sometimes it can be hard to go through all of them too. Usually it’s a struggle on busy weeks where I don’t get around to cooking enough.
    This bread looks amazing!!
    Glad you got to sleep in! I am sure you needed it!

  10. Heidi @ Food Doodles
    July 30, 2012 / 6:45 pm

    Yum! Love this ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m going to be needing this recipe soon. I’ll never learn – I keep planting too many zucchini. Sadly too many just means two plants, lol. Oh well.

  11. Kerstin
    July 30, 2012 / 8:44 pm

    Mmmm, zucchini bread – looks delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

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  14. Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner
    August 6, 2012 / 9:39 pm

    I love zucchini bread SO much! I never would have thought to use walnuts in it though. I will have to try that once I get my hands on some walnuts again (I ran out :(). Have you ever tried it with raisins? My mom loves it that way. ๐Ÿ™‚

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  16. Beate
    July 31, 2013 / 10:56 am

    Best zucchini bread ever! I will be making this again and again. Love the maple syrup, apple sauce and lemon zest flavor.

    • Beate
      July 31, 2013 / 7:33 pm

      Sorry, wrong recipe — this is NOT the bread I baked this morning. way too much sugar.

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  18. Shannon L.
    September 11, 2016 / 12:46 pm

    This recipe was simple and easy to put together in no time. Those who have eaten the bread said it was good but a little dry. The only thing different was I added some dried cranberries to my bread. The next time I make the bread I think it may need to only bake for 50 minutes and not the full 60 minutes. Iโ€™m unable to eat due to having cancer and having my tongue removed in June 2014; however that hasnโ€™t stopped my LOVE for being in the kitchen and cooking/baking for family and friends!! #cancersurvivor

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