Zucchini and banana bread…with chocolate chips? Are you sold at that? Because I was.
Some form of carb with Greek yogurt and/or fresh fruit is my go-to on-the-go breakfast. Therefore, breads, muffins and things of that nature are great for a busy week of work.
Luckily, zucchini has one of the longer seasons as far as fresh summer veggies are concerned, making them relatively cheap year-round. On a side note, zucchini are one of the easier veggies to grow. They’re very tolerant to both heat, cold, and water variations and tend to produce more than plants of equal size.
Now might be a good time to mention that bugs ate my zucchini plant this year…but not before I harvested nearly 10 zucchini or so! 😀 I was committed to organic gardening.
If sneaking veggies into recipes were a hobby, it would be one of mine. Or maybe it is? I don’t know, but I enjoy it regardless. Finding ways to disguise veggies in various recipes not only adds nutrition, but it bulks up portion while decreasing caloric content. All good things.
After halving the number of chocolate chips in this recipe (1/2 cup is PLENTY, I assure you), this bread was a decent nutritional start to my every morning last week. As for taste, well…no complaints here. It was good til the last crumb.
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Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Bread adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice and Eats Well with Others
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 cup mashed banana, about 3 small bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a standard-sized loaf pan.
Beat together the eggs, honey, banana, brown sugar, and vanilla until well-combined.
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix into the egg/banana mixture just until combined.
Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips, just until combined.
Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let rest for 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 10 slices.
Nutrition Information (per slice): 226 calories; 3.9 g. fat; 43 mg. cholesterol; 353 mg. sodium; 46.1 g. carbohydrate; 3.0 g. fiber; 3.4 g. protein
Result: It’s a blend of every good thing about baked breakfast items. The zucchini is less prominent in this bread vs. a zucchini bread which may appeal to most people. I think the brown sugar could be reduced to just 1/4 cup as the bread is plenty sweet (I also cut back to 1/2 cup chocolate chips from 1 cup as the recipe suggested). Simple to make and is the perfect sweet treat to start, or finish, a day. Enjoy!
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TGIF!
I am actually “off” today and my business partner and I are going to get get our suits on and go around to LOTS of internists offices in the area to drum up new business. It should be a productive day, let’s hope!
Question: What are you looking forward to this weekend?
P.S. If you didn’t weigh in yesterday (where was everyone?!) on what you would like to see more of on Prevention RD, please do so! 😀 Thanks in advance!
TGIF,
I’m with you… love me some Greek Yogurt + Fruit + healthy baked good. We’d be good breakfast friends 😉
I’m sold! Yum! I just made zucchini brownies and pancakes. Ah-mazing! This is my next to-try zucchini recipe. Mmm…
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Zucchini pancakes are on my list for this weekend 🙂 Hope you enjoy this bread, as well! 🙂
I’m sold. I’d want to try it with a bit more zucchini flavor though. Not sure if that might make it too watery if more zucchini were added. Looks awesome though! Cute photos.
I am looking forward to seeing my boyfriend. He moved 2.5 hours away for his job :-(.
Looks amazing…sounds amazing! Oh…I love to sneak veggies in places that they aren’t normally…esp zucchini…so easy to sneak! Good luck to day, Nicole!!! and have a wonderful weekend!
Zucchini AND banana AND chocolate chips, yes please! My mom had a few random Zucchini plants pop up in her compost pile. We’ve harvested 1 zuc so far but I know there will be a ton! And I’m all about sneaking veggies in too… Posted those beet muffins this AM!
That bread is beautiful! I love zucchini bread but don’t think I have ever made it – might have to add it to the list!
Looks yummy!! I’m looking forward to relaxing this weekend. I can’t wait!
I have a bit of an unfair dislike for zucchini bread and I blame my mom. Its not that it doesnt taste good, because it does, and I like it. Its because my mom used to make it when my brother and I were little, and tell us it was banana bread. She’s tricky that one.
These look amazing! I am all for sneaking in veggies.
Good luck today!
I made zucchini bread last night too. My secret to getting it SUPER moist is using a shit tonne of zucchini. I think I used about 2 cups, at least, with only 1 cup of flour.
The first time I made banana bread for my husband I added chocolate chips and he thought I was crazy! Love the idea of mixing banana and zucchini together!
Good luck on drumming up some bizness!
Good luck getting those new clients Nicole!!!! and thanks for such a great recipe. Hope you get this comment. Tried yesterday but my comments (on a number of blogs) just “vanished”. Weird….
I have a recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip zucchini bread that I love – I bet banana would be a great addition!
I already have one loaf of it in my freezer and I bet I will have 1 more before the summer is over.
I love the polka dot bow… adorable! I love zucchini anything… bread.. muffins.. brownies 🙂
Hmmm I always seem to have ripe bananas around, and since I have a huge zucchini that my grandma gave me, I might just need to make this bread this weekend! Mmm thanks!
Doctor Detailing is my least favorite thing to do for work, but I bet it’s more fun with someone else!
The bead sounds fantastic. It’s been way too long since I’ve had zucchini bread. I’m starting to get a craving for my chocolate chip pumpkin bread 🙂
I would like to see more posts like your old blog, with nutrition information and your opinions!