Breakfast and/or After School Snacks

I was in major need of using up zucchini, blueberries, and two over ripe bananas (think fruit fly invasion!). I thought about a few recipes that we like; Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, but that still left my bananas that were starting to attract fruit flies. Rethought my plans and put the blueberries in zucchini bread and the bananas and chocolate in the muffins. This afternoon my house smelled so good with the aroma of sweet bread and muffins. Here are the recipes (original, along with my "healthy" tips/changes).

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 cup vegetable oil (*I did 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce)

• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups white sugar (*I only did 2 cups of sugar, could substitute with honey)

• 2 cups shredded zucchini

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (*I did 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 all purpose)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (*I did 1 cup all purpose and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour)

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (*I did 1/2 applesauce instead of oil)

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (*I didn't measure, I had two bananas so that's what I used)

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

**These are a favorite of my boys, we like to make them in mini muffin tins!