Zucchini mini muffins

It happens every night around 9:30.

Me: What should I make for Scrunches' lunch tomorrow?
Tubby: Umm...

Me: I could do pasta...

Tubby: Again?

Me: Umm...

Tubby: What about quesedillas?

Me: She had that today.

Tubby: Umm...

Me: Umm...

And then we try looking up toddler lunch ideas on the internet and usually end up failing to come up with something creative, healthy, and likely to go over well.  I end up with one of the staple lunch ideas we know Scrunches will eat and call it a night.

Well the other night I had an idea.  I had some zucchini I bought at our amazing farmers market on the weekend.  It was sitting in my fridge waiting to be made into chocolate zucchini bread, but it was HUGE.  I knew it would give me way more than the 1.5 cups of shredded zucchini I would need.  So I thought, well why not make a healthy zucchini bread for Scrunches to take in her lunch?  I mean it might not be a main dish, but its something different from a bagel or toast.

I found this recipe for zucchini muffins and they went over amazingly well.  They are a little on the sweet side, so next time I may try making them with less sugar.  However, they would make a great breakfast on the go for sure.  This is also a great afternoon snack idea (the hubby and I have been having them with tea all week while feeding Scrunches her dinner since its way to early for us to eat dinner and we like the idea of a family meal).

So lets get to it and lets get baking!

Zucchini Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 2/3 cup shredded zucchini
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and allspice in a large bowl.

In a second bowl, combine zucchini, oil,  butter, milk and vanilla extract.  Add in the egg, mixing the combination thoroughly.

Add the wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and combine well.  Spoon the mixture evenly into each of the cups of the prepared muffin pan.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins in the middle of the pan comes out clean.

Source: Cooking Light