Oh Baking Potential

This recipe had the potential to be the best thing that happened to our family.  A tad-bit dramatic, but such a bread did have potential to be successful.  It still does and so I will lead you through the process, but also steer you away from the mistakes that I made.

This recipe was torn out of an Oprah Magazine article about feeling good about your body and life.  “Feeling Good” was the actual title and it was discussing the current research that people who allow a little indulgence now and then into their “diets” tend to have a more successful and lasting weight loss than those who keep themselves continuously guarded from any sort of trigger or treat.  I happen to believe this theory because staying away from such forbidden foods might help in the short run, but probably not in the long run.  Sure you might feel powerful, feeling the hunger pains, but one little temptation might set you over the edge and back about ten steps. So, follow what I’m sure you have heard many times before, everything in moderation and you are good to go.

The article recommends a little sweet in the morning with breakfast.  I’m not so sure going for the donuts should be your first move when you wake up, but a slice of this bread or even part of a pastry can’t hurt as your daily indulgence.  I liked how at the end of the article, it offered three separate recipes to sample in the morning but included *Recipes are not part of a diet plan.  Good to know. 😉

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add 1 cup each flour and cane sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder (I used TJ’s chocolate protein powder), 1 tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. each salt and cinnamon, and ¾ cup chocolate chips to a bowl and stir.  In another bowl, stir 2 cups shredded zucchini, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, ¼ cup each coconut oil and mashed, cooked sweet potato, and ½ cup Greek-style plain yogurt.  Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until well combined.  Lightly oil or butter 4 small loaf pans or one 8” loaf pan and pour in batter.  Bake 50-60 minutes. Cool before slicing.

Alright, first off, this was my first time using some of these items in an actual recipe besides dinner.  I’ve never made a bread or sweet using vegetables, but it was worth a shot.  In order to shred the zucchini, I simply sliced up two medium zucchinis and placed them in our Cuisart.  As for the sweet potato, I cut what I believed to be a medium cups worth off, microwaved it for a few minutes until it was softened, and placed it in the Cuisnart to give it a good whipped texture.   I had also never used coconut oil and was quite surprised by its consistency.  It was not like the type of oil I expected, and instead seemed to be a more waxy form of Crisco shortening.   One of my mistakes might have been not alternating the dry and wet mixtures while combining the ingredients.  I also probably should have folded the ingredients together using a spatula, rather than beating it to a pulp with a hand mixer.  In these types of recipes, using a standing mixer on low or simply mixing it by hand would be the best bet.  My last mistake might have been the fact that I used a glass baking dish rather than a metal one.  I’m not sure why this would have affected anything, but it might have.  I have learned yet another time why baking requires precise measurements and requires the baker to follow the instructions precisely.  Duly noted.

We placed the multiple batter pans in the oven for at least 55 minutes, checked it with a knife (another mistake – according to my expert grandmother, never use a knife, always use a toothpick), yet it continued to be doughy in the middle.  It went back in for at least 15 minutes, but to no avail.  For some reason this has happened to me with every other loaf cake or bread I have attempted.  It still tastes alright, but very doughy indeed.

I would reveal the end result, but my sister has named the healthy concoction a not-so-nice name, so I will spare you from that. So, once I get my hands on a metal bread pan and actually alternate the wet and dry ingredients while baking, I think there will be greater success and I will plan to re-post my results.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
– Albert Einstein