Home ยป Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple Bread with Pecans and Chocolate Chips + Weekly Menu

Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple Bread with Pecans and Chocolate Chips + Weekly Menu

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Donna’s visit was amazing. No work on Friday and I got to spend the day biking a stunning trail until my tush could handle my bike seat no longer. While that was only 20 miles at a fairly pokey pace, it was a workout. We even followed it up with a 2 hour walk in downtown. A sweaty, long walk.

On our walk, we stopped in a local kitchenware store that sells lots of cookbooks. I was curious to see whether or not they would have my book stocked. To be honest, I was not expecting to see my book, but imagine the joy and excitement I felt when I did! It was there! On display! Several copies!

Naturally, I had to take a picture. Naturally, this was taken post-biking and mid-walk on a sunny, muggy day in my “most attractive” (ha) outfit ever. I don’t even care, though…I was stoked.

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So while Friday was incredible active and exciting, Saturday was not. Unless you share in my excitement over the Illini’s win versus Cincinnati. It’s always a blast to be the underdog and come out on top. As an Illini fan, we’re usually the underdog. However, we’re also the team that typically does not end up on top.

I held down the over-sized sofa in the basement for most of the afternoon, still in my pajamas. After the game, I spent a solid 30 minutes dozing before finally deciding that I could do that until bed time and seeing as it was only 4pm, I desperately needed to get up. But apparently not out…because I never left the house.

Nope, I baked some and didn’t change out of my PJ’s until the doorbell rang at 7:30pm and it was our friends coming over with a pizza to watch the Michigan vs. Notre Dame game. I jetted upstairs to try and pull myself together some and I’m very sure I failed miserably. Oh well!

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Yes, yesterday was just an off day. A very atypical day for me on all accounts.

When I made a scone recipe for the cookbook, the scones had been baking for 20 minutes before I remembered that I was supposed to CUT the scones before baking them. I’ve only made scones a dozen or so times before, but I was just off my game yesterday (duh! duh! duh!). I laughed it off and will end up remaking the recipe today at some point.

This bread recipe was followed pretty closely. I wasn’t so sure about the zucchini AND the carrots AND the apple AND the pecans AND the chocolate chips…but ya know, it made for a DARN good bread. Darn good. The mini loaves baked perfectly and froze perfectly, too. Eating 1/4 of a loaf of bread (albeit mini) for under 250 calories is so satisfying…especially on days where you don’t even leave the house and your calories burned for the day was undoubtedly way too low 😉

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4.8 from 4 reviews
Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple Bread with Pecans and Chocolate Chips
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 16
 
This bread has everything but the kitchen sink and I love it! Whole wheat, fruits, veggies, and fiber. Breakfast made simple and nutritious.
Ingredients
  • 2⅔ cups whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp all-spice
  • ⅛ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • ⅓ cup canola oil
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups zucchini, grated (about 2)
  • ¾ cup carrot, grated (about 2 carrots)
  • ¾ cup apple, cored and grated (about 1 large)
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • ½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mist 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, all-spice, and nutmeg; set aside. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the sugars, oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix to combine. Fold in the zucchini, carrot, apple, chocolate chips, and pecans. Evenly distribute the batter between each of the loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until tops of loaves are slightly browned and an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Baker's Daughter
This recipe can also make 2 standard loaves. Increase baking time to 60-75 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ loaf (1/16 of recipe) Calories: 236 Fat: 10.8 Carbohydrates: 35.4 Sugar: 13.8 Sodium: 183 Fiber: 3.6 Protein: 3.9 Cholesterol: 49.0

Weekly Menu: September 8th – 12th

Today will be more productive than yesterday 😉 Cookbooking and hockey tryouts.

Be well,

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27 Comments

  1. Biz
    September 8, 2013 / 11:16 am

    That looks delicious! And good for you staying in your PJ’s all day – love that you took some time off just to relax – you deserve it!

    I actually have a pad thai soup on my lunch menu this week – I’ll let you know how it turns out!

    http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/01/pad-thai-soup.html

  2. Cookin' Canuck
    September 8, 2013 / 11:42 am

    It sounds as though you had a fun weekend. Staying in PJs all day sounds blissful!

    I love that you’ve made zucchini (and carrot & apple) bread so healthy, taking out the pounds of sugar and fat you usually see.

  3. Dara @How_to_eat
    September 8, 2013 / 5:23 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious! I love how it’s loaded with just about everything you can find in your cupboard.
    I’m also so curious to see how the vegan tamales turn out so please post a review. Thanks!

  4. Amy
    September 8, 2013 / 8:01 pm

    PJ days are my absolute favorites!! And I always forget to cut scones into wedges too… So I just started making “drop” scones where each one is an individual circle. The tend to bake more evenly in my temperamental oven too!

    I’d love to eat an entire mini loaf! Apples, carrots, and zucchini sounds like a sweet combination. And chocolate chips too? I’m definitely sold!

  5. Gail H.
    September 9, 2013 / 6:28 am

    Bread looks amazing…I think I just pinned your whole week ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Samantha Angela
    September 11, 2013 / 12:48 pm

    That sounds like an awesome Friday. I don’t even like riding a bike, but it’s nice to spend the whole day being active…and then spending the whole next day watching sports.

    And that must have been so cool to see your cookbook at the bookstore.

  7. Kacie
    September 22, 2013 / 3:50 pm

    Hii! I found your recipe on pinterest and tried it today. My batter came out really thick. Is this supposed to happen? It still tasted decent, although it deal feel like it was missing something. I didn’t add the chocolate chips, as my daughter can’t have them due to an allergy, but I wasn’t sure about the thickness. Any suggestions? Thanks!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      September 22, 2013 / 4:29 pm

      Hi Kacie! The batter was thick, but not abnormally thick for quick breads. Did you use regular whole wheat flour in place of pastry of white wheat? I find that the standard wheat flour can create drier, denser baked goods. The bread was definitely very moist, especially with all the zucchini, carrots, and apple in there…the chocolate chips added some moisture, too. I hope that helps some. ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Julianne
    October 7, 2013 / 12:50 pm

    I found the batter to be thick, also, until I realized the instructions don’t include adding the oil. I added it after all the other ingredients and it’s in the oven as I type. Will let you know how it turns out! Smells wonderful!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      October 7, 2013 / 2:03 pm

      Julianne: Thanks, I just updated the directions – glad you caught that! I hope the bread turned out! We loved it!

      • Julianne
        October 8, 2013 / 7:57 pm

        It came out perfectly! We all loved it. I used two regular loaf pans and it only needed 50 min in my oven. Will definitely make again!

  9. Kate
    October 22, 2013 / 4:21 am

    Sooooo yummy. Easy to make and lends itself well to slight variations of ingredients. Big hit with the hubby and toddler so that’s a thumbs up from me ๐Ÿ™‚

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  11. Caro
    April 23, 2014 / 3:32 pm

    Made this, without the chocolate chips and I love it. Instead of 4 mini loaf, I made 2 regular size loaf. The baking time needed to be adjusted though, 60 minutes minimum. It’s perfect for snack before going to the gym or for breakfast on the go. Will do this recipe again!!

  12. CheewyBrooke
    July 2, 2014 / 11:07 am

    Looks delish! Currently in the oven, with a few adjustments. I’ll let ya know how it is!
    Thank you!

  13. di Larson
    August 18, 2014 / 11:44 am

    I made the recipe this weekend and followed the directions precisely. It made 2 regular loaves, which was great. I would not recommend using ALL pastry flour, however, as the texture was a little “off” and a bit crumbly. I would recommend combining it with the white wheat flour – half and half. Thank you for posting a very lovely recipe.

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  15. Diana
    April 29, 2017 / 12:52 am

    This was really good and a hit at my house. I substituted a cup of flour with a cup of rolled oats and used raisins instead of chocolate chips. It didn’t rise as much as I’m sure a full flour loaf would have but it was really fillings It was the perfect breakfast during the week on the go.

  16. Susan
    August 16, 2017 / 11:54 am

    I halved the recipe using 2 eggs no chocolate or nuts. Very good! I will make again it made 10 decent size muffins. I will make again using 1 egg as it was plenty moist.

    • Nicole Morrissey
      Author
      August 16, 2017 / 9:38 pm

      Susan, thanks for your feedback! Glad you enjoyed the bread!

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  21. Jennifer
    October 6, 2019 / 10:36 am

    I usually make your Healthier Zucchini Bread recipe as muffuins (which my family loves) but, decided to switch it up this time. This recipe appealed to me due to it’s addition of more fruits and veggies. My kids and I had eaten the entire batch (I made muffins again) in two days! I’m about the make the recipe again, as a double batch (I’ve found that the zucchini bread freezes well so, I’m going to try and freeze some of these as well).

    • Nicole Morrissey
      Author
      October 8, 2019 / 7:29 am

      Thanks, Jennifer! <3 So glad you guys enjoy!!

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