About the Recipe
There's no beautiful origin story for this one. This recipe was brought to life out of sheer laziness, a lack of vegetables in my diet at the time, and a container of spinach that I had forgotten about for a week.
It is now one of my favorite recipes! I hope you enjoy it!
Please note: I am using a Vita-Mix Blender which can handle a bit more than a regular blender or a Magic Bullet. Know your blender's ability and help it out accordingly by either chopping, mushing, or grating the tougher ingredients before blending.
Want to make it Vegan?
Omit the Collagen and eggs. Create a flax egg with flax and warm water.
Ingredients
1 Banana
1 small Zucchini
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 egg
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
¼ cup maple syrup
2 cups oats
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
â…“ cup almond milk
1tbsp oil (olive, avocado or melted coconut)
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
To make it more dessert-y you can add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips after everything is blended up.
For added benefits you can add 1 scoop of collagen peptides and 2 tbsp. of ground flax seeds. No baking considerations need to be altered if you choose to.
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Make sure you have a rack available in the middle
Prepare your loaf pan by greasing sides with coconut oil or vegan butter. If using muffin tin you can use muffin cups or grease sides.
If Using Regular Blender:
Blend the oats and pumpkin seeds into a coarse flour and add to bowl
Cut up zucchini in to small cubes and blend with spinach and almond milk. Place into bowl with oat flour
Add egg, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt (collagen and ground flax if adding) and mix very well.
Add apple cider vinegar and mix lightly
If Using a High Powered Blender/ Food Processor:
Blend the oats and pumpkin seeds into a coarse flour, pour out into bowl
Cut up zucchini in to small cubes
Add flours, zucchini and everything else except for apple cider vinegar and blend gradually from low to high as it gets easier.
Blend until mostly smooth, it doesn't need to be silky
Add apple cider vinegar and mix on low for a few seconds
Pour in to pan or evenly into muffin tin.
Place on middle rack in the oven.
Close the door, turn the oven light on and watch it bake! (optional)
Bake for 18-22 minutes, testing every minute or so with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean and is cooked through
Remove from the oven and leave in pan for 5 minutes before removing onto a cooling rack
Enjoy it warm or store it in the fridge to have a for an easy grab and go breakfast or snack option!