Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins

 

Do you have picky eaters?  Oh boy! I do.  I struggle to get my boys to eat vegetables.  My oldest will eat raw carrots and spinach with out much fuss.  I use to be able to get him to eat some broccoli but it has been more than a year since I have been able to get him to eat any.  He will eat mild baby lettuce like romaine but I most just give him raw spinach instead because it has more good stuff in it.  My youngest will eat raw spinach and broccoli and some times cauliflower.  For a short time he was really into Baby Bella Mushrooms until he ate one that he didn’t like and that was it. 

 

So you can see how I have to get creative in getting them their vegetables.  Oh did I mention that they won’t eat mixed foods like stir fry or fried rice or casseroles?  My oldest will eat lasagna and that is only because Garfield likes it.  Other than that they don’t like sauces so I can’t hide vegetables in there.  That leaves me with baked goods. 

 

We make banana muffins usually for Saturday or Sunday morning breakfasts.  They are easy to make.  I make them small so that they can be eaten in 2-3 bits for the kids….this is less wasteful.   Regular muffins usually get put aside after they eat the tops.  They also leave crumbs all over the place, unlike mini muffins.  Right now I have a lovely garden going and I am growing my own zucchini, among other things.  Zucchini has a nice mild flavor and even a touch of sweetness to it.  Have you ever grilled it?  You really should try it.

 

I made these this weekend with my modification and the boys loved them.  They didn’t even seem to notice the change.  Which is surprising for my boys cause they notice most slight changes in taste and texture.  They don’t like to try new foods very often.

 

Ok on with the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas

1 medium zucchini
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, margarine or (shortening)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
a dash of lemon or lime juice if freezing (optional just keeps the bananas from browning)

To prepare the zucchini you will need to grate it.  I peeled mine to get rid of the tell tale green that screams “THERE’S VEGETABLE IN THERE!  DON’T EAT THEM! SHE IS TRICKING YOU!”  Then I used my trusty micro grater to basically make a fine pulp.  If you have a food processor (which I don't), you can just put the zucchini in with the bananas and process them till it is smooth.  Since I have  a stand mixer  I blend the bananas, grated zucchini, sugar, butter,eggs and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients and process/mix till smooth.  Note: depending on the water content of the zucchini you may need to add a touch more flour.  It should turn out about the consistency of  brownie batter.

Pour into desired baking pans and bake at 350 degrees until firm. Mini muffins: 6 minutes, regular tins: 10-15 minutes, mini loaves: 15 minutes, bread loaf: about 60 minutes (I have a mini muffin maker (kind of like a waffle iron for muffins) and I usually leave them in for 5 minutes)

You can add an extra banana and omit the eggs, you can omit the sugar and add 1/4 cup honey, you can omit the nuts. You can also find egg replacer at a health food store. Love having it around for times when I am low on eggs and want to bake something.

 

These muffins are also good to travel with but I recommend putting them in a container rather than a plastic bag (so they don’t get crushed).  I like to make these when we are going on a trip or camping.  The mini muffins are handy for on the go because they don’t make much mess.  When I make them I put them on a plate on the table and they slowly disappear.  There is no fussing over my kids to make them eat something when I do this. 

 

My feeding responsibility lies in making sure they have opportunity to eat something healthy.  Their responsibility is to eat it when they are hungry and stop when they are satisfied.  I think we put way to much emphasis that they need to eat everything on their plate.  However, I do get after them for eating everything but their vegetables.  I think if more people worried more about if they eat their vegetables and less about “cleaning their plate” then we wouldn’t have over weight kids.  They wouldn’t learn to over eat.  Kids naturally want to stop eating when they are satisfied.  Aren’t they promoting these days that it is better to eat more smaller meals than 3 large meals?  Just food for thought.