Lightened Up Zucchini Bread

I love breads so much. Banana bread, pumpkin bread, blueberry bread..you name it, I’ll eat it. I’ve had zucchini bread in the past and think it’s great, but I’ve actually never made it before. I happened to pick up a couple zucchinis at the store the other day so I decided to give it a shot yesterday. It was kinda cold and cloudy here so what better way to warm up then with fresh, warm bread?

I used a recipe off AllRecipes.com but tweaked it a little to make it healthier. Here are the ingredients I used:

Lightened Up Zucchini Bread

• 3 cups all purpose flour- I used 1 1/2 cup all purpose and 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tsp of cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of vegetable oil- I used 1 cup of applesauce instead
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar– I used 2 cups of  sugar-1 brown sugar, 1 white sugar
• 3 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini. I only need 1 zucchini…it may have been on the big side.
• 1 cup chopped walnuts-optional. I didn’t have any so I didn’t use any.

First, I grated the zucchini. I used a cheese grater and grated using the largest holes.

Once the zucchini was grated, I mixed the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.

Then I mixed the wet ingredients in a large bowl: applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and sugars. Once that was mixed thoroughly, I slowly added the flour to it.

Finally, I folded in the zucchini. I love the green color-makes it look so pretty!

It is so tempting to stick my fingers in raw batter…I have no idea why! Maybe even more so now because I know I can’t (raw egg and baby=no no)…but man that’s tempting!

I heated the oven to 325 degrees and greased and floured a loaf pan. I cooked the bread for about an hour, but make sure to start checking your bread around 40 minutes since all ovens are different.

Mmmm it turned out great!! Smelled amazing too…of course…like all baked goods :).

I tried so hard to wait until it cooled..but we all know I can’t wait that long. Luckily I didn’t destroy the bread in the process of cutting it up, but I had 2 slices with cream cheese on top. So good!

I’ll say it again: I love breads!! I can start carbo loading for the marathon today right…? It might be 2 weeks off…but still. Or carbo loading for baby delivery…? I’m sure that takes a lot of endurance….guess I’ll have to make more breads!

 

What’s your favorite kind of bread?