Chocolate Chip Zucchini Kale Muffins

This may sound a little strange, or even "gross" at first, but don't let the healthy veggies scare you ;)

I was trying to come up with a muffin that not only tasted good, but was good for you too!  We all know how hard it is to get most little ones to eat their veggies, this recipe may just solve that problem. You absolutely can not taste the veggies in these at all!

They have a nice subtle spiced chocolate flavor, but not too sweet. 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Kale Muffins

(adapted from Pastry Affair)

1/2 cup sunflower oil 

1/2 cup organic brown cane sugar 

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1/4 cup sourdough starter 

(you do not have to add this, and you do NOT have to substitute more flour if you don't, but I would add an extra TBS of sunflower oil if you don't add the SD starter. 

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup finely grated zucchini 

1/4 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup kale (leaves) remove the stems, and finally mince. The smaller the better.

 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 TBS cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I used freshly grated)

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 good pinches of sea salt

1/2 cup (heaping) of good quality dark chocolate chips. I used the big Ghiradeli 65% cocoa chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

-Preheat your oven to 350*F.

-In a large bowl, whisk together sunflower oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, egg and vanilla until the mixture is thick and smooth. With a wooden spoon, stir in grated zucchini, carrots, and kale.

-In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry mixture to wet mixture. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

-Prep your muffin baking pan with paper liners and fill the cups 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 10-15 minutes until your muffins are set and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. 

-Enjoy!

Village Green Marketplace- Love this site! Great resources!

I stumbled upon this, and what a great resource if you are trying to find/buy healthy products for your family!

So happy to share:

Village Green Marketplace

Chia Strawberry Banana Carrot Smoothie

Now that's a mouthful!

Your day is bound to be good if you start out with this!

Omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants from the chia seeds, potassium and fiber from the banana, vitamin C, manganese and antioxidants from the strawberries, and lots of B vitamins from the carrots.

 

Ingredients

1 cup milk

1/2 cup apple juice

1 cup fresh strawberries

1/2 large carrot shredded

1/2 large banana

1 tsp chia seeds

1/2-1 cup ice

-Blend all ingredients until smooth. 

-Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

If you think that eating 2 cups of zucchini squash and a half a cup of carrots is pretty boring, your probably right......but.....but, what if you disguised it in a decadent rich chocolate cake. 

The true test was my 3 year old. I can't sneak anything by him. As far as he knows, mama let him have chocolate cake for breakfast. Yummy!!!

This is the first time I have made this, I would probably use a milder flavor honey next time, or even a light maple syrup. I used my raw honey, and it is a very strong flavored honey.   I adapted this recipe from a King Arthur recipe, added the carrots, extra melted dark chocolate in the batter and some sourdough starter. 

Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

1 cup of All-purpose flour

2/3 cup sourdough starter 

(if you do not have this, that's ok, just add an extra 2/3 cup of flour instead.I do think that this adds a great depth of flavor, and moistness to the loaf.)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

½ cup sunflower or safflower  oil (you could use any vegetable oil)

½ cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup honey (use a mild flavor honey, or a light color maple syrup)

2 ounces of good quality dark chocolate melted. 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8x4-inch loaf pan; set aside.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.

- Melt the 2 ounces of chocolate in the microwave. I do 30 sec on 50% power. Stir, 30 more sec on 50% power, stir until smooth. You so not want to over heat the chocolate. Set aside. 

- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sunflower oil, sourdough starter, brown sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Add about a cup of the above mixture to the bowl of melted chocolate GRADUALLY. you want to temper the chocolate because you don't want it to scramble the eggs. Once you add the mixture to the chocolate. Dump the chocolate mixture back into the wet ingredients and whisk everything until smooth. 

- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold the batter together until almost no flour remains. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips, making sure they are evenly distributed.

-  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick (or thin knife) inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers at room temperature, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

(Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)

 

Sourdough Pancakes

These are so yummy. They have all the sourdough tang and depth of flavor, in the form of a pancake.

If you are not familiar with all the benefits of sourdough, please read my earlier blog on Sourdough English Muffins.  I talk about the benefits of sourdough and where you can get sourdough starter. Once you have a starter it regenerates itself. So, if you take care of it, you can have it forever and never have to buy another one.
 Click HERE for link to Sourdough English Muffins

Sourdough Pancakes 

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 1/2 tsp baking POWDER

1 TBS raw sugar

1 egg

- Combine the starter, milk and flour the night before. Let it proof covered in a bowl on the counter top. 

- In the morning, stir in the remaining ingredients. I like to give it a good whisk to mix everything up. 

- Set your  greased pan to medium heat (you may need to adjust the temperature up or down as you go). 

-Cook each side until golden brown

- Serve with butter and maple syrup

-enjoy!

Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie

Do you notice a trend haha!  I get obsessed with things and can't stop!  I'm on a smoothie kick again, and I am even more excited about it this time because my youngest son A loves them!  It's such a great way to get some extra vitamins and nutrients in him.  Also, since I use raw milk and kefir, it has lots of great living enzymes and probiotics too. The raw milk kefir and that alone is a miraculous super food!

This is very creamy and tart. Reminded me of blueberry cheesecake for sure....well a healthier version!  I think using the wild blueberries gives it a superior blueberry flavor. 

Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie

Serves 2

1/2 cup raw milk kefir

1/2 cup raw milk

1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice or apple cider

1/2 cup frozen organic strawberries

1/2 cup of frozen organic wild blueberries

1 tsp lemon zest (optional, but I prefer it)

-Add all ingredients and blend until smooth.  About a minute of so. I find the longer it blends, the creamier it tastes.  Enjoy!!

Strawberry Peach Kefir Smoothie

I made mine with raw milk kefir and raw milk, but you can substitute pasteurized products as well. 

Strawberry Peach Kefir Smoothie

makes 2 servings

1/2 cup raw milk kefir or any unflavored milk kefir

1/2 cup raw milk

1/2 cup of apple juice 

1 very ripe peach peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries. I used about a 1/2 cup of fresh (because that's all I had :) and 1/2 cup frozen

1-2 TBS raw honey or light maple syrup (this is optional) Depending on how sweet your fruit is you can cut this out. I will probably always add it because I have a bit of a sweet tooth!

1/2-1 cup of ice, depending on how much ice you like 

-Blend it all together and that's it!!

Enjoy :)

Add Ins

You could also throw in some chia or flax seeds for a little extra boost of Omega 3 Fatty Acids and protein.