Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Zucchini Carrot Apple Muffins

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Moving back from Italy with a toddler, we were awe-struck by the snack culture of kids in the United States.  Even "healthy" grocery stores are filled with shelves of portable organic kid-friendly snacks in flashy containers.  Bite size rabbit crackers, pureed vegetables kids can eat on-the-go, juice boxes complete with Sesame Street characters.  In Italy, none of this was available so I had been making Roman small pancakes with pureed fruits and vegetables for a healthy snack on the way to the park. (We got a lot of strange looks.)  This summer, Roman tried some of the packaged stuff.  Some of it's OK in a pinch, but in truth it's all heavily processed, complete with cane sugar and other filler ingredients lurking inside the fancy marketing.  So it was back to the kitchen for me. 

Delicious with sun butter

This is not a case of hiding vegetables - Roman knows they're there because he helped me make them.  Plus he likes to practice the word "zucchini".  I came up with this recipe last week on a mission when it felt like Roman could use some extra vitamins.  I added ground flax seed, almond meal, coarse bran, and none of that stopped these muffins from having a nice cake-like quality.

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I've said before that I am kind of a health nut.  Not the kind that subscribes to a certain diet or fad.  I've just always felt passionate about feeding myself and my family a healthy diet.  It feels like an insurance policy.  So a quick muffin recipe that all three of us love is like a gift.  Then suddenly he's refueled and off with the tambourine and a song.  Another gift.

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Zucchini Carrot Apple Muffin
Makes 12
Delicious on their own or with a smear of sun butter (sunflower seeds) or peanut butter.  

1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 apple
1 cup (145 g) white flour
3/4 cup (95 g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (27 g) ground almonds or ground hazelnut (Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup (10 g) coarse bran or wheat germ
2 tablespoons (2 soup spoons) ground flax seed
1/2 cup (70 g) brown sugar 
1/4 cup (59 ml) canola oil (you could use olive oil)
2 eggs
3/4 cup (177 ml) milk (you could substitute almond or soy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, grate the zucchini, carrot and peeled apple.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground almonds, coarse bran, flax and brown sugar.  Combine your liquids, then add them to the flour mixture, stirring to combine.  Fold in the grated fruits and vegetables.  Spoon the batter into 12 muffin tins and bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 F (180 C) degrees.  

24 comments:

  1. These look really yummy! Can I substitute the canola oil for olive?

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    1. Moomser: I would definitely try it with olive oil. That's what I usually bake with. I just happened to have canola and ran out of olive this time!

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  2. When my children were young, one of my greatest pleasures was watching them eat healthy, homemade food. They are now all great eaters, aware of what they put in their mouths and what their bodies need (and DON'T need!) to be healthy. Kudos to you!

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    1. Tracy, I certainly hope this will happen when Roman grows up. It's so important!!

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  3. I like seeing the green and orange in these, and is that a smear of peanut butter up there? Excellent idea.

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    1. Denise- it's actually sun butter (made from sunflower seeds) but I have also eaten them with peanut butter. Delicious.

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    2. Sun butter sounds so much nicer than peanut butter : )

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  4. delicious looking combination lovely pictures

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  5. You are what you eat, and I always believe that a healthy diet can help to keep you healthy, and to help children grow well.
    Being in another Western civilization (Australia), it is rather shocking how huge the snacking trend is, and how horrific some of the snacks that target children are (some of the commercials even go as far as to tell the kids that their mums are only good and that they'll only be popular if they buy their treats for them.)
    As much as I am trying to cut down on the amount of snacking I do I don't think I could ever not snack, so instead, like you have done, it's better to find healthy snacks that do the body good and are therefore not a bad thing. That being said, these looks delicious and satisfying.

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    1. Roman and I both snack several times a day. With a fast metabolism, there's no way around it, and I think it's a good thing. It's just that like you, I'm concerned about the choices available. I won't pretend that I never buy the cute little (whole wheat) rabbit crackers but we do try to minimize his consumption of them!

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  6. And topped with peanut butter...I'm all over it.

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    1. I actually knew you were going to be all over that....

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  7. Sun butter?? I have never heard of that before!
    I love that you feed your little boy healthy snacks such as these muffins.
    Roman looks so happy with his tambourine! :)

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    1. Magda, you can make it yourself! I wish I had googled this earlier. I feel silly for buying it because it's quite expensive!
      http://prudentbaby.com/2011/08/entertaining-food/how-to-make-sunbutter-the-best-sunflower-butter-recipe-2/

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  8. Nicole: the "merenda" culture is quite different than the "snack" culture! I like that you are a "health nut"...fits my philosophy (I do everything from scratch for my kids too, including all their snack and lunches for school). Zucchini are a great vegetable to hide. You have quite a musician here!

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    1. It's funny, Amelia in Italy I always saw kids eating their pizza bianca after school (I rarely let Roman have 100% white flour based baked goods) and parents didn't seem very in tune to "health food" like some of us are... that said- their kids still seemed pretty healthy!
      Roman is very passionate about singing and drumming!

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  9. all the right stuff in that muffin; I'll have to try a smear of "sun butter"--and make it myself. recently had pine nut butter that was delicious too.

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  10. Hiding vegetables and fruit in snacks to get your kids to eat healthy is not teaching them to eat healthy, so it turns out to be pretty useless. I can't deny I have told a white lie or two at the table to get my daughter to eat something (even kids who eat everything as toddlers suddenly get really picky around five or six, such a downer), but I always told her the truth at the end of the meal and reminded her if she hadn't tasted it (had she known what it was) she wouldn't have discovered a new ingredient she loves. Or that it is always worthwhile tasting an ingredient you don't like cooked in a new way, because it can change so much (look at fennel). So I love your insistence on feeding you family a healthy diet and I love seeing Roman enjoying it as much as he does.

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  11. Those muffins look delicious! And those vegetables must make them even better!

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  12. These muffins look delicious as well as healthy.I loved making homemade snacks such as these when my son was young. Now in his twenties, he loves good food!

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  13. wow an epic muffin. this past 30mins i saw a muffin its looks like this but its chocolate. i think this is much better to make coz its nutritious good for my kids. thanks for sharing.

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  14. Love the flavor of it :)
    I wonder what it taste like :c Too bad I dun know how to bake that muffin I only know is to eat .

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