Whole Grain Zucchini Bread

With the 8 zillion zucchinis I have overtaking my garden, the obvious next step was to take my tried and true family recipe and healthify it to be presented on the blog….and to my kids!  Rather than try to sneak the tiny green shreds of goodness past them, I figured I could incorporate their help instead.  Besides, being a good role model is only so good when the kids are oblivious to what you are modeling, right?

This recipe incorporates two of my favorite healhy alternatives to traditional baking ingredients:  whole white wheat flour and agave nectar.  Using the whole wheat flour stunts the growth of quick bread, and I have to wonder if I used some baking soda in place of the baking powder, would the loaf risen more?  I suppose next time I will expirement and find out.  I don’t proclaim to be a know-it-all when it comes to cooking, and definitely learn better by doing, than by reading.  As far as the agave nectar, well, if you aren’t familiar with this stuff, you should be!  It’s much sweeter than sugar, only it doesn’t spike your blood sugar the way table sugar does.  That helps you keep your figure, as well as prevent going on a carb-crash roller coaster after eating a big chunk of this awesome bread.

Speaking of keeping your figure….if you are currently trying to watch what you eat, and have a problem keeping your servings reasonable when it comes to baked good, you might want to hold off on making this one for a while.  Sure, its full of whole grain goodness, but I’m telling you, its so delicious, it’s sure to be a diet buster and a true test of your will power ;)

Whole Grain Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
2/3 plus 1/4 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
2/3 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups whole white wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325°F . In a large bowl, mix together the agave nectar, eggs, and vanilla. Next mix in the zucchini and melted butter. Add baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add the flour, a cup at a time. Fold in the nuts and dried cranberries.

Divide the batter equally between 2 non-stick sprayed loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.

Makes 2 loaves.

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