Best Zucchini Bread or Muffins

Yield: 1 loaf or 12 muffins

This is not necessarily "good for you" but I would consider it "less bad" for you than other zucchini bread recipes. It does have sugar in it but I cut out most of the fat and replaced it with nut cream instead. Every once in a while we indulge in a little sugar, but not all the time.

I've found that one large zucchini can produce anywhere from 4 to 6 cups of shredded zucchini. I like to double or triple this recipe to make more loaves as this recipe will yield one loaf. Any leftover shredded zucchini can be frozen and added to soups in the fall.

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or you can do half white flour if desired)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more)
1 teaspoon allspice

Other Ingredients:

2 egg replacers (For each egg I used 1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoons water, blended & placed in refrigerator for 15 minutes to set up. I have also just mixed flax seed and water with the rest of the wet ingredients and it turns out just fine)
1/4 cup pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup water
1-1/2 cups shredded fresh zucchini
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chunks (or chips)

Preheat oven to 350 for bread loaf or 375 for muffins. Place dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In high speed blender place the egg replacers, nuts, water, zucchini, sugar, lemon juice, coconut oil & vanilla. Blend until smooth. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and mix in the chocolate chunks.

Pour into loaf pans lined with parchment paper or greased with coconut oil or lined muffin pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes for bread loaf or 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes for muffins. Cool and then remove from pans. This bread freezes well and can be placed in freezer bags after completely cooled.

Variations:
Lemon Poppyseed - eliminate the cinnamon, allspice & chocolate chips and add the zest of 1 lemon and the juice of one lemon, change the vanilla to almond extract and add 2 tablespoons of poppyseeds after mixing the dry & wet ingredients.

Lemon Strawberry - eliminate the cinnamon, allspice & chocolate chips and add the zest of 1 lemon and the juice of one lemon, add one small package of freeze dried strawberries smashed up a bit.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip - substitute one 15 oz. can of canned pumpkin or 1-1/2 cups of butternut or other cooked winter squash for the zucchini.