A few friends and I have been talking about a camping trip all summer. A few weeks ago, we determined that Labor Day Weekend was the only weekend we were all free to get away. My brother lent me his hiking pack, a sleeping bag, a head lamp, and some other outdoorsy type stuff. My most experienced camping friend suggested that we do a backpacking trip in Michigan and we were all for it!
We decided to split up the food responsibilities. The goal was to pack non-perishable, light weight foods since we had to carry everything with us on our backs. Along with some granola and trail mix, I am in charge of breakfast. That’s perfect because it is my favorite meal, and I had some blog inspired ideas already brewing.
The first was Tina’s Zucchini Almond Butter Muffins. I’ve had my eye on these for awhile and was just waiting for a few minutes to shred up some zucchini. The time came on last Monday and I decided that I would make the muffins into loaves for my Labor Day camping trip. My only hang up…I didn’t want to use one of my farm fresh eggs which I absolutely LOVE for baking. I know…sounds crazy, but I only have a few Wisconsin eggs left. So…I did a little online research and decided to substitute in a flax egg for binding and applesauce for flavor.
It created a thick dough that fit perfectly into 2 small bread pans.
The bread baked up nicely, which I was excited to see after my egg experimentation.
I was eager to try this bread, after drooling over Tina’s muffins for weeks, so I sliced off a warm slice.
Believe it or not, almond butter and zucchini taste GREAT together!
I ate one mini loaf of bread during the week and froze one for our camping trip. It froze, thawed, and traveled really well. We ate it morning one of our trip smothered with almond butter and fig spread and still had a few slices left for the trail.
I have many more backpacking photos of the stunning Manistee River and a few more camping recipes to come.
Paleo Zucchini Almond Butter Muffins (or Bread)
Recipe from Carrots N Cake
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour/meal
3/4 cup almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated zucchini, pressed and drained
3 eggs (or 3 Tbsp flax with 6 Tbsp warm water and 1/4 cup applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey
Directions
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend well.
Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or use paper liners) and divide batter among nine cups.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until muffins are cooked all the way through.
Allow to cool before serving.
Makes 9 muffins
Note: To make into bread, follow instructions as written. Pour into 2 mini loaf pans and bake for ~30 minutes.
yummmm I love your recipes and even some from Carrots and Cake! Great job!
Thank you! This one is definitely a keeper…it’s really hearty with tons of protein. Love it!
Yummers! Can’t wait to give this a whirl 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the comment (and stopping by)! It is definitely worth the effort!
I love it… a healthy and practically guilt-free bread for breakfast or a snack. I loooove almond butter, too!
Is there anything almond butter doens’t taste good with?!?!
Looks like the perfect thing to bring camping and especially easy to pack. I usually have trouble fitting in vegetables on a camping trip, so this is a great way to get some easily.
I would never have thought of putting that combination together!! Looks yummy and super healthy!
I know…me either! But I am loving the idea of almond butter in my bread and muffins!
Looks delicious! I bet I could replace the honey and then with your flax egg it could be vegan, too!
The river picture is a good teaser!
I think that would be a simple sub! Would agave work? I took so many pictuers this weekend, it will be hard to choose just a few to share.
I always struggle to eat enough veggies while camping, so this is a perfect thing to bring! The loaf is also much more portable than muffins, which always get squished…I’ve learned the hard way. Looks great! I bet everyone was happy that they put you on breakfast duty 🙂
Thank you!
I think they were impressed with the homemade meals. It really is tough to find easy to carry fruits and veggies…especially since many of them are so heavy. The zucchini in here still tasted really fresh. I bet a carrot bread would be delish too! I have so many ideas…now I just have to plan my next camping trip : )
This bread looks great. I hope you had a good time camping. You are much braver than me. I can do the outdoors if I know I’ll be returning to my own bathroom and bedroom that same night.
This bread looks awesome! I bet the zucchini + AB is great together! I love veggies like zucchini or carrots with PB or AB. YUM!
Now that you say it…I have seen other people enjoy their carrots dunked in PB. I can definitely see the appeal!
The loaf looks wonderful! Almond butter and zucchini do taste great together, that’s why I am dying to try this out.
You’ll have to let me know what you thinnk of it. I’m a huge fan and can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for stopping by!
[…] followed this recipe, substituting bananas for zucchini and using the flax egg and applesauce to make up for the lack of […]
Am a huge zuchini lover. I love it any which way- I made some zuchini flavored butter last week and believe me- even the kids liked it!
And the wonderful pics up here have given me reason enough to want to try out the zuchini bread soon! 🙂
I can’t imagine zuchini butter…I bet that’s amazing! My boyfriend won’t touch anything zuchini but I bet he’d give butter a try. ha ha!
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