
Zucchini muffins
Do not be scared!
Just to explain up front I am not a fan of ‘hiding’. I do however, believe that making things easier for children (or anyone) is a great strategy.
I will apologise in advance that zucchini are coming to the end of the season here in NZ, but it was a recipe I have been meaning to test for a while!
I have cooked other ones and not been super enthused. In fact, my chief tester (teen) saw what I was cooking and asked “how dodgy is this going to be?”.
However, he took one bite and said “can I have 2?”.
The muffins are so MOIST. OMG they are amazing. I am not a huge muffin fan but these were awesome.
Perfect for lunchboxes too.
I peeled the zucchini but didn’t do it really carefully. For children who find green a challenge you could take more of the ‘colour’ away.
Although you won’t notice the texture once cooked, you could also chop the zucchini very finely so it isn’t as noticeable in the finished muffin. Again, this is more to make it psychologically easier rather than ‘hiding’.
I have used dates in this one and that is the overriding flavour. As both myself and my son love dates that really helped. You can however, substitute these and I have a list of options.
Recipe
(small test amount)
1 egg
1/8 cup oil
1/8 cup yoghurt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp lemon juice
¾ cup flour (I used wholemeal)
½ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
½ heaped & packed cup grated zucchini (I added the salt to this and pressed and squeezed to drain)
¾ cup chopped dates (could subsitute for sultanas or other dried fruit, blueberries or other berries). If using berries I would double the sugar as they don’t have the same sweetness.
Method
Heat oven to 180˚
Whiz together egg, oil, yoghurt, sugar, vanilla and lemon.
Stir through the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the zucchini and salt mixture.
Pour into muffin cases.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
Judith, MA Cantab (Cambridge University), Post Grad Dip Psychology (Massey University), is an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.
She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child is able to approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.
Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/