I’m sure most moms can relate. This recipe came about because my kids suddenly stopped liking the previous version. I used to make them zucchini carrot muffins with raisins to take to preschool for lunch (usually with yogurt and some sort of fresh fruit). They loved them. Gobbled them down. I always had some in the freezer. Then M started not to eat hers. She said she didn’t like the raisins in her muffins. Despite loving raisins everywhere else. Because of course.
OK. Mama’s got this. I substitute chopped prunes - one of her favorite dried fruit treats. She ate them a couple of times and then decided, no, those wouldn’t do either. They keep us on our toes, right? Sigh… OK, so pivot again. This time I went with a no-fail approach. Add peanut butter (or in this case, almond butter so they were OK to send to preschool) and they are pretty much guaranteed to eat it. Is that just my kids or is this a universal phenomenon?
So I developed this zucchini muffins with almond butter recipe and sent them off to school. Sure enough, lunch boxes came home empty and M raved about her new delicious muffins. Mom 1, Kids, 1 billion. It’s a start, right? Right?! That was about a year ago and we’re still going strong on these almond butter zucchini muffins, so I’d say they are a winner! (If you have muffin munchkins like I do, or just like having some in the freezer for emergencies, definitely check out my muffin category collection.)
I love, too, that they’re getting whole grains, vegetables and protein, all in a perfectly portable muffin! And I still pair these muffins with yogurt (plain Greek yogurt with one of my fruit mix-ins) and some sort of fresh or dried fruit. Plus milk. Great healthy school lunch! Knowing how these things go though, we’ll probably switch it up again in a few more months, so stay tuned 😉
You can use peanut butter if your child/school isn’t peanut-free. I use muffin liners and spray them with cooking spray. These don’t have oil or butter so I want to make sure they don’t stick. Cause that would make the kiddos sad! These freeze great! I wrap them up in small pieces of aluminum foil and toss them in a plastic freezer bag. I thaw a couple muffins overnight in the refrigerator before adding them to my kids’ lunch boxes. If you’re enjoying these at home, you should absolutely top them with some extra almond butter!
Hope you give these a try for an on-the-go power breakfast, a school lunch or an afternoon snack. Enjoy! ~ Kathryn
You can substitute peanut butter if your child/school isn’t peanut-free.
