Tag Archives: healthy cooking

Sugar-Free Zucchini Banana Blender Bread

Our weekly CSA order has been full of zucchini lately. It’s delicious when simply sliced and steamed with a little sea salt and pepper, but I wanted to use some of it in a different way.

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Since I already have my plate full (pun intended) with cooking the meals for our family, I knew it shouldn’t take too much time, but I still wanted stray from the norm. Hmmm, something different, something fast, and something zucchini; what to do…..

I quickly decided to make use of my favorite kitchen tool, the Vitamix! Then I’d really turn that zucchini into squash. Yes, pun intended once more.

Bananas are usually always around our home since Avery loves them and they are an easy and healthy breakfast. Especially when on the go since they have their own “built-in” wrapper.

Thus, this sugar-free zucchini banana blender bread was born baked. If you don’t have or want to use oats, try protein powder or peanut flour instead. The taste and texture will be different, but I think equally delicious. Actually, I might make a protein version soon.

Zucchini Banana Blender Bread

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: bake bread gluten-free sugar-free

Ingredients (1 Loaf)

Instructions

Grease a 9×5 loaf pan making sure to get all the up the sides and corners. I used coconut oil.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Put the oats and coconut flour in your blender and blend until you see a fine powder.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the rack for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temp. This allows the bread to retract from the sides as it cools which makes it MUCH easier to remove.

Go around the sides with a thin rubber spatula or butter knife and turn upside down to remove from loaf pan.

Slice as thick or thin as you’d like and enjoy your healthy bread plain or with a pat of grass-fed butter. Better yet, smother it in NuttZo!

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Have your kiddos help by throwing the ingredients in the blender and turning it on. Parenting tip: never actually use the word “throw” when asking your kids to do anything in the kitchen. Now that I’m at that point with Avery, kinda, this is an easy way to get her cooking healthy food with me in the kitchen.

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When and if you give this recipe a try, come back and let me know how you like it.

Healthy Cooking With Daddy

Finally, the time has come to teach our little girl the ways of healthy cooking! In our house, pants are optional….

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I’ve thought of this before she was even born, and it warms my heart now that it’s becoming a reality. Oh, wait, that’s my shirt on fire!!

Okay, all better. So she’s not exactly ready to start slicing and dicing ingredients, but with a little help, she can add spices pretty well.

healthy cooking with daddy, toddler, kids, teaching, food

This was us making a lunch for Mommy to bring to work. Now if she calls sweating from a little too much cayenne, I can blame Avery. She knows that we add fresh ground black pepper to all of our meals and made sure she had a “hand” in that part too.

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I had to hold the dish lower since her new non-slip Froggie Step Stool is not quite high enough for her to reach the counter. It’s called the Mommy’s Helper Step Up Froggie Stool, but looks like we just changed that to Daddy’s Helper, huh? Time for a product name change!

Product naming conventions aside, our growing toddler is using her stool for potty training and cooking training. Yes, we use a butter knife to stir in this house, but don’t worry, I was supervising.

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I usually tackle several meal preps at a time, so I took the time to get her dinner plate ready as she posed for the camera. Or maybe she was watching the cat walk by….

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Either way, she gets so excited if I ask her to help me, and even though she has a way’s to go before I can really trust her to do a few simple things, this is how it starts. For anyone who has cooked with kids, I’m sure you know they are more likely to eat the healthy food if they have a roll in helping prepare/cook it. This includes quality control of whatever we make.

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And the verdict?

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It’s an underwear-iffic win for dinner tonight!

Avery continues to put a smile on our face every day, and she seems to learn/grow more faster than we can keep up with. Soon, she’ll be stating things to us that we never knew. To those with older kids, when should we expect this?

When time allows, get your kids in the kitchen and explore a new food/recipe together. It will pay dividends well into the future in the form of bonding, healthy eating, and cooking skills.

Sugar Free Chocolate NuttZo Protein Brownies

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a few cents if you make a purchase using the links. There’s no extra cost to you, so please make a purchase! 🙂

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Do you like brownies nice and gooey in the center or fluffy like a cake? I prefer the gooey version, making me feel like I’m indulging in something that packs 500 calories into each tiny square. That’s not hard to find, just go to Starbucks or any place selling brownies and their uber-rich baked goods are sure to all be around 500 calories for one serving. Luckily, these brownies offer all of the tastebud pleasing flavor with lower calories.

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Maybe calories are what you’re after, but it’s best to get them from more nutritive sources like fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein. The gobs of refined sugar and oil used for most baked goods won’t do much for your body besides put you on the fast track to diabetes-ville.

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Instead, satisfy your sweet tooth and support a healthy body with these decadent and guilt-free brownies.

Sugar Free Chocolate NuttZo Protein Brownies

Ingredients:

 The easiest directions ever:

  • Add all ingredients to large bowl, blender, or food processor and blend well.
  • Pour into 7x11in brownie pan lined with parchment or greased with coconut oil
  • Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Stick a butter knife in the center to see if it comes out clean. If not, let bake another 5 minutes but watch it closely!

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Include your kids by having them mash the bananas and help measure ingredients. When kids participate with healthy food prep in the kitchen it’s almost a guarantee that they will want to eat that healthy food!

Do you avoid turning on the oven when it’s hot outside?

How do you like your brownies; moist in the middle or crumbly and baked through?