Not going to lie, when I put this recipe together and mixed these ingredients up I thought there was no way this was going to work, let alone be tasty.  I thought it would be something to go off of for the next time I try to get it right.  The reason I doubted it?  I mean, it hardly has any sweetener at all.  Like literally 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and THATS IT.  I added the banana to the recipe in hopes that it would work as a sweetener without being able to taste too much of the actual banana flavor…I wanted zucchini bread,  not banana bread, but i doubted this was possible.  To sum it up…when I put this recipe together my goal was to utilize the beautiful and plentiful zucchini available by making a bread that was just the right texture, truly healthy and, most importantly, tasted sweet and comforting.  

As I have shared with you before, I am not too much of a baker.  Coming up with recipes for baked goods is a toughy for me.  It takes me try after try to get one right because making baked goods nutritional is just not easy.  And because baking requires a whole lot of science that I prefer to leave to test kitchens such as Cooks Illustrated.  So, for lack of better terms, I’m feeling the need to be a little boastful, folks.  This zucchini bread recipe?  I did it.  When my daughter and I tasted it I couldnt believe how much we enjoyed it, it was so so yummy.  But I thought maybe it was just us.  I mean, after all, I am pregnant and she eats paint so maybe we weren’t the best critics; the true test would be when Nick got home from work.  The minute he had his first bite he said, “this is healthy?”.  Want to know what he said next?  “You should sell this”.  And that, my friends, was my cue to share this recipe with you.  It’s genuinely healthy and packed with nutrients and the best part?  It tastes so good its sellable 🙂  

Nourished Zucchini Bread

Note:  The bread looks a little dark because of the buckwheat flour.  I chose to use buckwheat flour because of its protein, fiber, antioxidants and potential ability to lower blood sugar.  If you do not have buckwheat flour or would prefer not to use it you can replace it with oat flour in this recipe.  

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cup Oat Flour

1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup Butter or Coconut Oil, melted

1/2 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana

1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup (no sugar added)

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 Cups Grated Zucchini (grated with a box grater)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 X 5 loaf pan.  If you do not have oat flour its very simple to create a flour from old fashioned oats.  Simply place the 1 1/4 cups of oats in the food processor and process until they become a flour-like texture.  

In a medium bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  In a large bowl whisk together butter or coconut oil, banana, maple syrup and egg until combined; stir in zucchini.  Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting.  Makes 1 loaf.