The age of 2 has come with a lot of challenges:
- a strong personality—where in the world could he get that from?!?
- a new sleep schedule—more like a no-sleep schedule—total pay back for when David started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks old—don’t hate me!
- lots and lots of demands and opinions—”I do need to go to Grandma’s house right now.” “I do need a snack.” “I do need to stay at the park.”
But with these trials have come a lot of fun things too. David is super verbal (again, where does he get that from?) and loves to tell hilarious, LONG stories—most often combinations of several real life events that have happened. He is a human GPS—he recognizes every single sign/logo we pass, knows all the road names, and points to the roads and tells me where it’s heading—”Mommy, this is the way to Veggie Grill?” as he points at westbound SR520—crazy! He is sweet and snuggly (on his own terms of course) and loves to tell me how much he loves me—“Mommy, I love you like a diamond in the sky!” Heart melting. And he’s completely interested in everything—EVERYTHING—I do in the kitchen! In between lots of spills and dangerously close counter reaches (when did he get so tall?!?), we’ve had a lot of fun together at Mommy-David cooking time. I see a long future of cooking ahead of us!
You may remember that this past Christmas, when asked what he wanted from Santa, he responded “zucchini muffins.” Santa looked at me in disbelief, but I assured him that David really did want zucchini muffins for Christmas. (I have no idea where this idea came from, as I had never made him zucchini muffins before!) We compromised, and David got some fun shape sorter play cupcakes in his stocking.
So last week, before heading to a play date, David and I made some zucchini muffins to share with our friends. We had just gotten some huge zucchinis in our farm box and I thought it would be a fun rainy day activity for David.
These muffins were a hit. Low in sugar, and only using completely unrefined sugar at that, they are a healthy treat. They are a great breakfast, and a good snack for later in the day too. When they are warm they really stick to the paper. I was a little annoyed by that, until I read that Joy the Baker made muffins that also stuck to the paper when warm. I figured I was in good company so I stopped worrying about it! They peel off easily once they cool a bit, or you can just scrape the paper with your teeth—am I the only one who does that? Alternately, you could just super grease a muffin tin and skip the papers completely.
I’m planning on making some sweet potato muffins/bread with David tomorrow—I’ll share if it turns out—what are your favorite foods to cook with the kiddos in your lives?
Zucchini Muffins
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
½ c maple syrup
¾ c non dairy milk
½ c coconut oil (vegetable oil would work too)
1 t lemon oil/extract (or would be delicious with almond extract)
1 t vanilla
2 t apple cider vinegar
½ – 1 T chia seeds
2 c grated zucchini (2 medium, be sure to buy organic—these can be GMO)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners—we made 1 dozen large and 2 dozen mini. This is a great job for kids to do, although you may need to help separate the papers first!
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate microwave safe bowl (I used a pyrex glass measuring cup), combine maple syrup, non dairy milk, and coconut oil. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until coconut oil is melted. You must warm them together—if you melt the oil and add it to the cold milk it will harden again right away, making it impossible to mix well! Add lemon extract, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar and add to the dry ingredients. Whisk together—this will make a very thick batter. Fold in chia seeds and zucchini. Don’t overmix.
Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out dry with a few crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. These were amazing served warm with coconut butter!
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