Breakfast items are where a good portion of my money goes - the milk, the cereal - the waste!! I don’t know about your house, but my boys overfill their bowls with both cereal and milk and without fail - always dump most down the drain! It seriously just angers me to think about it. YES, I have tried to put a measuring cup in with the cereal and tell them to use that -- they come back for more or ignore it all together and still waste! I am not the mom to wake up at 7 am - my boys are old enough to wake up and get themselves breakfast! That is the non negotiable for me -- I do not sleep easily, add a toddler, a baby, and a husband then it’s a night of snoring, blanket tug of war, kicks in the face, kicks in the bum etc -- on top of my inability to fall asleep until 2 am on the regular -- I am not up until closer to 9 and then I lay there for 30 minutes nursing, checking my finances on my phone, and skimming emails -- see no room to wake up and play warden of the Wheaties!
One day when all the cereal was gone the husband said “we are not buying cereal anymore! It not even healthy and it’s always wasted!” To buy the really healthy stuff I'd have to take out a second mortgage based on the way we're going - and that's buying store brand! Fast forward 2 weeks and I need to find what to make for breakfast for the next few days so I looked around and - I HAVE SO MUCH ZUCCHINI!! And I’m sure a lot of you reading this right now at the unwind of summer do too! SO I hit up my best friend - Google and I scroll the images to find something that resonates with me. I came across this recipe and realized I have most of the ingredients, frozen blueberries from when we went blueberry picking, almond milk that really was on its last leg, and a bag of walnuts were my only substitutions, so I can make this work! It's healthy and the kids and husband would find it delicious and I can finally use up some of these giant zucchinis that have been begging me to use them- home run!
Now with most recipes, you HAVE TO READ THE REVIEWS! Take stock in what people are saying and decide how you feel and adjust to suit you. Many subbed the olive oil for applesauce - I know I am not a fan of applesauce baked goods, and wanted the depth of flavor the olive oil adds- and many claim that substituting EVOO for butter can be healthier as well. This had me curious and so I dug deeper and came across some information shared by this site - “olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, which if used instead of a saturated fat like butter, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and ease inflammation. furthermore, EVOO has high levels of protective antioxidants called polyphenols, as well as vitamin E. Those antioxidants and vitamin E are lost when oil is processed, so keep in mind that extra-virgin oil, which is minimally processed, has the most protective power. Virgin olive oil retains some, but oil labeled simply “olive oil” has little to none.”
So - Without Further ADO -- I give you this beautiful muffin recipe - even my picky eater said he would eat them for breakfast!
P.S - Remember this food processor? - I will be using this a lot!! Because I want to be frugal with my time as well, it really saves me! I removed the chopping blade and put in the shredder disc attachment and shredded that entire jumbo zucchini in about a minute WITH my 4 year old helping me AND I had to stop halfway through to dump the bucket cause that zucchini made about 12 cups of shredded zucchini! After grabbing out what is needed for the recipe, you can sprinkle the remaining with some salt and let it sit for a few hours, then ring it out in a tea towel to remove as much moisture as humanly possible and make ZUCCHINI TOTS!
I am a family of 6 so to make breakfast for the next 3 mornings for everyone plus some snacking in between this makes a lot of muffins - feel free to halve the recipe if you wish.
Let me know how yours turn out in the comments and any substitutions you may have made!
Blueberry Zucchini Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients
24 servings
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (can sub regular milk!)
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cup shredded zucchini - personally I cut in half & scrape out the seeds before shredding
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup chopped walnuts (can sub any nut you prefer!)
Directions
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Ready In 35 minutes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 24 muffin cups or 2 pans of mini muffin cups and set aside - no need for paper liners!
Combine flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Whisk olive oil, milk, egg, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth; stir into flour mixture until batter is just moistened. Fold zucchini, blueberries, and walnuts into batter. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove and let rest 5 minutes, then pop them out with a spoon. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days - freeze any muffins still there on day 3 and thaw for another day! ENJOY!
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