It’s not that I don’t like baking, I just can’t stand having sweets around the house. The minute I start eating foods with lots of sugar, I find that I am hungry all the time, or at least find myself thinking about eating more. If I start eating sweets over the course of a couple of days, I find that I am more hungry overall, and then I start gaining weight. I always lose weight in the fall when school starts, but as soon as the Halloween candy comes, the weight starts finding a home again. It feels like a vicious circle, so I try to not even start with sugary things. I find if I keep them totally out of my life, my eating habits can stay in check.
Today when I set out to make zucchini bread, my guilty brain influenced the recipe. “Can’t you take some of that sugar out? Can’t you add something a little more healthy?” the brain asked. Luckily, like many one-pot dishes, sweet breads have a built in slush factor. They are kind of like my friend Kate’s “Garbage Curry.” Anything can go into them and they’ll turn out pretty tasty. I swapped out cane sugar for agave nectar and instead of all white flour, I added some whole wheat, chickpea flour and flax bran. My adaptation lowers the glycemic index, adds protein, fibre and omega 3s.
I looked over many zucchini bread recipes and ultimately used as my base Smitten Kitchen’s adapted recipe. I wanted to keep it pretty simple with the hopes that Maximillian would at least try it! This one is deliciously moist and you’ll notice right away that it’s not too sweet.
Zucchini Bread From Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from several sources
Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins
3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)
Vegetarian Perspective’s Rearrangement of the Zucchini Bread Recipe
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups agave nectar – lower glycemic level
1 large grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup organic all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour – adds protein
1/2 cup chickpea flour – adds protein
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (Bob’s Red Mill brand) – adds fibre, and Omega-3s
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Note: I baked this zucchini bread as cake in a 9 x 13 inch cake pan and it only took 35 minutes to bake.
Vegetarian Perspective 