I feel as if I am beating a dead horse when I say my toddler is the pickiest eater. And I know I am not alone in that. Before becoming a mom, I would hear things from my mom friends about the trials and tribulations of feeding their kids. Then when I was health coaching, the amount of resistance and push-back I would get from my clients when we discussed serving more nutritious meals at dinner…I completely understand now. It’s tough, especially with the prevalence of highly palatable food. Why would my two-year-old choose an apple slice when he could have an air snack?
For about the tenth school day in a row, his Sunbutter sandwich came home untouched. He clearly did not inherit my love of nut and seed butter between two slices of bread, so I started to wonder what could take the place of the lunch food so many moms fall back on. It was then that I realized, he may not eat a PB&J, but he will eat a muffin.
The best thing about a muffin, is that it offers the perfect vehicle for hiding various fruits and vegetables. It’s not like you can make a peanut butter and zucchini sandwich, but you can bake grated zucchini in a muffin.
What are the Healthified ingredients used in these muffins?
This recipe outlines my new favorite blend for the base of gluten-free muffins: 2 cups oat flour + 1 cup brown rice flour + 1 cup coconut sugar. For a muffin, there is something so hearty and grounding about oat flour. It might not work in a Healthified cupcake, but it’s ideal for a breakfast baked good.
Coconut sugar is my favorite granulated sweetener to bake with. It offers a nutty sweetness, but it is lower glycemic than white sugar. Additionally, it also contains some vitamins and minerals. Conversely, the metabolism of white sugar depletes vitamins and minerals, making it an anti-nutrient. If you have yet to upgrade to a more nutritious granulated sweetener in your baking pantry, I strongly suggest you choose one that is more beneficial for your body.
Mashed banana is also a healthy way to add a natural source of sweetness to any baked good. While the zucchini might not add sweetness per se, it does add to the nutrition, moisture, volume, and texture of these muffins.
Planning and prep
I will admit, sometimes when I see grated vegetables in a recipe, I run the other direction. It’s more of a mental block, because it really doesn’t take that long. Don’t forget to squeeze the grated zucchini completely dry as denoted in the directions. This will prevent extra moisture from making your muffins too soggy. All in all, prep for this recipe takes 15 minutes – 20 minutes tops. If you are accustomed to baking with ground flax instead of eggs, you might notice I don’t ask that you “bloom” the flax in water before combining it with the other wet ingredients. All you need to do is whisk it with some of the other wet ingredients before setting this mixture aside. This step creates a blooming effect with multiple ingredients rather than with just water. You will also have to mash a couple of bananas, but if you use my tip, that also takes two seconds.
The last thing to know is the directions will ask that you let the batter rest before transferring it to the muffin tin. This will help with rise to result in a fuller muffin shape when you take them out of the oven. I was even impressed to see that rounded muffin top we all know and love in a muffin that doesn’t contain eggs!
Zucchini Banana Muffins {Gluten-Free, Vegan}
Equipment
- box grater
- Mixing bowls
- Hand beater or stand mixer
- whisk
- muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1 cup dairy-free milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup mashed banana from about 2 medium ripe bananas
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free oat flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ to 2 cups grated zucchini from about 1 medium zucchini, squeezed dry
- ½ cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dairy-free milk, mashed banana, coconut oil, ground flax and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and creamy and set aside.
- In another large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gluten-free oat flour, brown rice flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry mixture. Beat until a muffin batter is formed. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes
- Transfer the batter to the cups of the muffin tin, filling each one all of the way to the top. Bake 22 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or the internal temperature reaches at least 180 degrees F (between 180-200 degrees).Allow the muffins to slightly cool in the muffin tin (10 minutes), before transferring to a cooling rack for about an hour.
