Zucchini and Banana Muffins

When making baked treats for the boys, I like to include a fruit or vegetable in the recipe. They way, their morning or afternoon snack adds just a little to their daily fruit and vegetable intake. These Zucchini and Banana Muffins contain both a fruit and a vegetable. They also happen to be moist and sweet and you don’t even notice the zucchini flavor, which is great if your little one is a picky eater like mine. You can simply sell them as Banana Muffins, because you can see a banana chunk here and there and kids love bananas, right?!

In preparation for the Zucchini and Banana Muffins, I boiled 2 Zucchini’s until they were soft and then blended them in my Mini Food Processor. I used half the pureed Zucchini for this recipe and mixed the other half with avocado to make a richly nutritious Zucchini and Avocado Spread, in the same way at the Spinach and Avocado Spread I shared last week. Just as with last week, he happily ate a number of Zucchini and Avocado Sandwiches.

You could just grate 1 Zucchini needed for the recipe if you know your kids will eat it that way. I just knew I had the greatest chance of Mr 3 consuming the muffins if there weren’t green specks in them!

These muffins last really well for a few days. In fact after 24 hours I found it MUCH easier to remove the muffin liners and the flavor had developed somewhat. Of course the day they were made we ate over half of them. Well, the kids helped me bake the muffins, so were waiting near the oven and the moment they were cool enough they each wanted one and another… so yes, it’s a little challenging for muffins to last more than a couple of days anyways.

Zucchini and Banana Muffins
1 and 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1/4 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Banana, Mashed
1 Zucchini, Cooked and Pureed or Grated Raw

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place muffin liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats and sugar until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and milk.
4. Mix the banana and zucchini into the egg mixture.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the dry, flour mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over-mix or your muffins will become stiff.
6. Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin tin and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and cooked through,
7. Allow to cool in the muffin tin and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 Muffins