Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread

While I may not be his target demographic, I adore Jake Cohen and his IG feed. And his Jew-ish cookbook intrigues me. I took his concept of re-inventing recipes and came up with Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread. It’s a take on my banana bread, but uses up my end-of-season zucchini.

With only a few ingredients, it’s a snap to make during a busy time. 

When you combine great taste and a mitzvah (using leftovers) in one recipe, that’s a win in my book. The spices and nuts give the bread a rich not-too-sweet taste. And the whole wheat flour and nuts make the texture substantial but not heavy. 

Add to that a simple process and you’ve got me and many others who want a snack without fuss. Mixing dry ingredients and wet ones, then combining them into a loaf. What could be easier?

Tips for Making Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread

• How to grate and chop. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment for this recipe. A food processor might make the grating and chopping go faster. But you can use a box grater for the zucchini and an old-fashioned bowl and chopping blade for the nuts if you prefer.

• Leave the grated zucchini moist. Resist the temptation to press the water out of the zucchini. You’ll want that moisture in the bread because we’ve eliminated the water that gives the banana bread its super-moist texture. 
• Get creative.  Turn the bread into a morning glory loaf by substituting grated apple or carrot or a combination. You could even use half raisins and half nuts instead of the full complement of walnuts or pecans. Maybe make muffins instead of a loaf? Just as I made this Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread as a rif on banana bread, get creative and use this as a template. 

Although this year’s High Holy Days are not a time when we’re comfortable getting together with friends, this bread is a reminder that there are sweeter times to come. And so, you can celebrate by making this treat part of your break fast meal after the Yom Kippur fast. 

This zucchini bread freezes well (tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or foil) so you can serve it  at more than one meal. Or, do as I did and refrigerate what remains of the loaf, and eat it over the course of a few days. Of course, if you have a nibbler-in-chief at your house, then you may not get to enjoy the leftovers. I searched for mine in the refrigerator yesterday, only to find out that a certain someone found them first. But that didn’t bother me. I just found another zucchini hiding in the vegetable bin, so I can make more Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread.

Happy New Year and have an easy fast to those who celebrate. Whether or not you follow Jewish traditions, I wish you a year filled with good health, friendship, love, joy, and good, homemade food.

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Healthy-ish Zucchini Bread

A take on my banana bread recipe that uses both whole wheat and white flour with zucchini, nuts and spices. It's simple, delicious, and freezes well. A great snack or end to a meal.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword bread, pecans, walnuts, zucchini

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Author Laura

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour 4 oz/113 g
• 1 cup all purpose flour 4.25 oz/120 g
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg preferably freshly ground
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) 4 oz/113 g
• 1 cup granulated sugar 7 oz/198 g
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups grated zucchini about 12.5oz/365g
• 1 heaping cup chopped walnuts or pecans 4.5 oz/130 g

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.

2. Whisk together the whole wheat and all purpose flours, the baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in the microwave on a medium setting or in a pot on the stovetop. (See note.) Add the sugar and mix until well combined.

4. Mix the eggs, into the butter and sugar, then add the grated zucchini and mix again, until well combined.

5. In 2-3 batches, mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar/egg/zucchini (wet) mixture, mixing after each batch. Finally add the nuts and spoon the batter into the loaf pan.

6. Bake the loaf for about 60-70 minutes. Test for doneness by making sure a toothpick or small skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack before removing from loaf pan and slicing.

Recipe Notes

It's better to melt the butter slowly than to splatter it in the microwave or burn it on the stove. If using a microwave, do it in 30 -60 second bursts on a medium setting, checking after each one and stirring it to help with the melting process.