We are STILL trying to find new ways to enjoy all of the zucchini coming from our garden!  I’ve been slipping some zucchini into almost every meal we’ve made lately.

My favorite way to eat them is in muffins!  So the kids and I came up with another tasty muffin recipe which is especially good for using up some of those huge zucchinis that you waited to long to pick!  With raisins, nuts, coconut, carrots and zucchini, these muffins are filled with good stuff!

Healthy Day Muffins

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup evaporated cane juice

1/2 cup honey

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups white whole wheat flour

2 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

4 cups grated carrot and zucchini

1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins/craisins

1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

In your mixer bowl, combine oil, juice, sugar and honey.  Add your eggs and vanilla and beat until light.  Sift together your flour, baking powder, salt and spices and mix into the egg mixture.  Fold in your carrots/zucchini, walnuts, raisins and coconut.  Pour batter into muffin tins (either sprayed with oil or using paper liners).  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (mini-muffins) or 20-25 minutes (regular size muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes 3 sheets of muffins (36 regular or 72 mini).

School is starting soon and these would make excellent school day snacks.  Put a batch of mini ones in the freezer.  You can pop a couple into the kids’ bags in the morning and they’ll be thawed by snacktime!

Other suggestions for using up that zucchini:

* Saute with onions and cumin and use in quesadillas.

* Combine with some sweet corn and make squash/corn chowder.

Now I need to figure out what to do with all of those tomatoes …