My kids love to cook! Or maybe it’s the huge mess they make while doing it. Probably both! I’m preparing for our earlier mornings by exploring make ahead breakfast recipes. Last night we made healthy chocolate zucchini bread and served it this morning with some fresh fruit and cheese for a super quick breakfast. The results were yummy enough for me to share! Plus I had to learn some new baking vocabulary in Chinese.
I try to cut out as much sugar as I can for the kids. Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite because I eat a tube of ice cream after they go to bed. But hey, I’m just doing what’s best for them! To cut out most of the processed sugar, this recipe uses over-ripe bananas for their natural sweetness and a little honey. Cutting sugar and oil changes the texture of the bread. You can add in 1/4 cup of white sugar to improve the texture. Zucchini adds some extra fiber. Don’t worry, your kids won’t taste it over the chocolate.
Mash the bananas 把香蕉搗爛
Grate the zucchini 把夏南瓜擦絲
Wet and dry ingredients
Mix the wet ingredients 拌一拌
Mix in the dry ingredients 拌在一起
Pour batter in the pans 面糊放进烤模
Baking Vocabulary
Zucchini
夏南瓜
Xià nánguā
(This translation varies depending on region/country)
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
巧克力夏南瓜麵包
Qiǎokèlì xià nánguā miànbāo
Grater
擦絲器
Cā sī qì
Grate the zucchini
把夏南瓜擦絲
Bǎ xià nánguā cā sī
Mash the bananas
把香蕉搗爛
Bǎ xiāngjiāo dǎo làn
Mash the bananas
把香蕉搗爛
Bǎ xiāngjiāo dǎo làn
Mix together
拌在一起
bàn zài yīqǐ
(You can also say 拌一拌 Bàn yī bàn)
Batter
面糊
miànhú
Baking Pan
烤模
kǎo mó
Put the batter into the baking pan
把面糊放进烤模裡
Bǎ miànhú fàng jìn kǎo mó lǐ
Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe
Start to finish: 45 minutes (20 minutes active, 25 minutes baking)
Servings: 6-9
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 small zucchini, grated
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil* (or any other cooking oil, )
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I prefer full fat)
- 1 cup all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Pour into baking pans.
- Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
Notes
Keep in mind when you omit sugar and substitute bananas and Greek yogurt for most of the oil, it affects the texture. This zucchini bread will be denser, very moist, slightly chewy, and mildly sweet. Adding the extra sugar will improve the texture.
You can make muffins too but I prefer these mini loaf pans by Wilton. No need to create waste with muffin/cupcake liners. Plus, they make the perfect size loaves for sharing with friends and neighbors.
Of course they had to lick the batter from the spoon and whisk!
