Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Its a new year and you know what that means, right?

New resolutions to help better ourselves, our lives, and our families.

This is my first ‘official’ post for this year (the few previous were written late in December!). I think most would agree that many resolutions are focused around improving health – whether that is increasing physical activity or eating more healthy foods. Making it a goal to live a healthier lifestyle is great but I think it’s even more important to do what makes you happy. Love this quote.

Dance, as though no one is watching,
Love, as though you’ve never been hurt before,
Sing, as though no one can hear you,
Work, as though you don’t need the money,
Live, as though heaven is on earth.

Back to the recipe! When I was explaining this recipe to C, I told him that it was packed with a ton of good stuff – mainly fruit, veggies, and a lot of fiber. He then translated it into “veggie bread” – I found this hilarious for some reason because I was listing off all the ‘good’ ingredients and that’s what he came up with!

This recipe was adapted from the original. The following recipe makes one (large) loaf – I used a 9 1/4 x 5 1/4 pan. Alternatively, you could also divide this recipe into two smaller loaf pans or muffins (keep in mind that baking times will vary).

• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp flax seed + 3 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp hemp hearts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 C Splenda or other sugar substitute
• 1/2 cup brown sugar; lightly packed
• 2 C zucchini, grated
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt or sour cream
• 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1 1/4 C WW flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping

• 3 tbsp rolled oats
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter or margarine, cold

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat together egg, flax seed + water, oil, hemp hearts, vanilla, Splenda, and brown sugar. Stir in the zucchini.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients to incorporate. Gently fold in blueberries until no streaks of flour remain. Transfer to prepared loaf pan.
4. Streusel Topping: Cut margarine or butter in the oats and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter and gently flatten.
5. Bake for 60-65 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 20 mins in the pan, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

The streusel topping was so good fresh out of the oven – crumbly, brown sugar goodness! The bread itself was extremely tasty as well – it stayed very moist, presumably from all the zucchini, and still tasted like regular blueberry loaf. One suggestion that I might add for next time would be to reduce the sugar in the loaf just slightly. The bread itself wasn’t overly sweet, but because the streusel topping adds some sweetness, you could probably take out a bit of brown sugar from the loaf.

If you’ve made some resolutions for this new year, I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below!