Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've got a healthy snack to start your week! With so much zucchini available this time of year, I decided to make muffins. I cut back on the sugar and butter by also using natural sweeteners, such as honey and mashed bananas.  I also used a natural wheat flour and an all-purpose flour (not enriched). These types of flours are available at NYC greenmarkets on a weekly basis. The stand is called Greenmarket grains and it offers a variety of local flours that are perfect for all types of baking and cooking.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, medium size

1 cup wheat flour (Frederick Soft Winter Wheat Flour)

1/2 cup of regular all purpose flour (Frederick Soft Winter White Flour)

1/2 cup of sugar

3 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

5 Tbsp butter

1 banana, mashed

2 Tsp baking powder

1/2 Tsp cinnamon

1 Cup of chocolate chips (I used a 60% dark chocolate, but it's totally up to you!)

Directions:

Butter pan for 12 muffins. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and vanilla extract and mix.  Add the melted butter and mashed banana. I chose to peel off the skin of the zucchini and chop into smaller pieces before adding to the food processor.  Feel free to also use a grater to grate the zucchini in small pieces.  Either way, you'll want very thin slices of zucchini to add to the batter.  

Once ready, add the zucchini to the mixing bowl and fold in the rest of the ingredients until the batter is completely combined.  Add the batter evenly to each muffin and place in the oven for about 16-18 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are a light golden brown.  

Allow to cool and enjoy with your favorite tea or coffee! This muffin is full of great ingredients that provide added nutrients your daily routine.