We had such a fun, yet busy, busy weekend! On Friday night, Kev and I (and baby Carson) were able to go out on a quick date. We decided to get some Chinese food and it was great.
Quick note: I’ve been EXTRA tired and sleep deprived lately (auuughh!) and I can really tell in this picture. My eyes just look so………….dang………….tired and my smile looks a little bit contrived, lol.
Such is the life of a new mother….or ANY mother for that matter!
I really, really….I mean REALLY wanted to order the Sweet and Sour Chicken, but I decided to keep it healthy and order the hunan style grilled chicken with veggies instead.
It was so tasty and I was glad I resisted the urge to order the yummy deep fried chicken covered in bright orange sugary goodness. Kev ordered something similar to me except his was spicy!
It was a nice evening and I was happy we were able to get away for a little bit.
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Our dear friends from Rhode Island came to stay with us this weekend as well. It was so much fun to have them here. On Saturday afternoon, we attended a session of General Conference, which is a wonderful semi-annual meeting for our church.
We heard so many inspiring and uplifting talks from our church leaders and I loved it so much! Conference always lifts my spirits, comforts me and motivates me be a better person. I love it.
If any of you have a desire to listen/watch any of the talks that were given during General Conference, you can click here to find all of them. They really are inspiring messages and the majority of them apply to anyone, not just to those of our faith.
Kev and a couple of my kids attended another session of General Conference on Sunday with a bunch of our Rhode Island Friends.
On Sunday night we invited another one of our Rhode Island friends over to our house to chat and have snacks.
It was a wonderful weekend and we loved getting together with so many of our old friends. We lived in Rhode Island from 2000-2003 and it was such a great experience for us! We met so many wonderful friends who became more like family to us. I miss them all so much. 🙁
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Well I told you guys about the abundance of produce Kev brought home from work a couple weeks ago, right?
Yes, it was crazy! I gave a bunch of it away, but I also got creative with it. We had a TON of zucchini, so I made zucchini noodles…
Made several dinners with zucchini…
I even froze a bunch of shredded zucchini and zucchini noodles…
I’ve frozen shredded zucchini before and it’s turned out great, but I’ve never frozen zucchini noodles before. I’ll let you know if they freeze well (fingers crossed.)
I also created a healthier zucchini bread recipe that turned out great!
Soooo, I thought I would share it with y’all!
Healthier Zucchini Bread
(Makes 2 loaves; 24 slices)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup sucanat (you can also use brown sugar)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups zucchini; shredded
Optional: nuts, chocolate chips, etc.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Spray two full-sized loaf pans with cooking spray.
- In large mixing bowl combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon together.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs, honey, sucanat, applesauce, coconut oil and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat well.
Stir in the zucchini (and nuts/chocolate chips if using) until well combined.
Pour the batter into the pans.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
Allow bread to cool for about 20 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
This bread turned out so flavorful, delicious and moist! BTW, I really don’t love the word “moist.” Ewww.
I hope y’all enjoy this bread and I hope y’all have a great night. Yay, Monday is OVER!
- Serves: 24 slices
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 110
- Fat: 3
- Carbohydrates: 44
- Sugar: 7
- Sodium: 129
- Fiber: 3.5
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 30
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup sucanat (you could also use brown sugar)
- ½ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups zucchini; shredded
- Optional: nuts, chocolate chips, etc.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Spray two full-sized loaf pans with cooking spray.
- In large mixing bowl combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon together.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs, honey, sucanat, applesauce, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat well.
- Stir in the zucchini (and nuts/chocolate chips if using) until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
- Allow bread to cool for about 20 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
I never thought to freeze zucchini noodles! Brilliant!
Life of being mom? Always wonderful and sometimes unbelievably exhausting 🙂
I hope the noodles freeze well….we’ll see. I know, I love being a mom but MAN, it’s a busy, tiring job!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. As a “not new” mother, I can vouch for the fact that the lack of sleep continues in strange ways well past our childrens’ infancy – but it is so worth it! 🙂 Hugs to you.
I know, the life of a mother is so exhausting, but as you know, so rewarding! Thanks for your encouragement….I very much need it right now. 😉
Oooo! I’m working on freezing some meals for after baby gets here. Did you use a spiralizer to make your noodles? What do you use shredded zucchini for? I might have to give this a try!
I just used a julienne peeler, but I would love to get a spiralizer. The peeler seems to work fine though. I use the shredded zucchini for zucchini bread and it works out great. I’m sure it could be used for zucchini cakes and other baked goods as well.
Tell me if the zoodles freeze well! That’s genius! What’s the fastest method you use for making zoodles? Takes me forever!
LOVED gen conference–it was so great! I’d say that’s one of my favorite times of the year.
The bread looks great–I’ll have to try some!
I hope the zoodles (I like that word!) freeze well. I like to just cut them using a julienne peeler and then stir-fry them in a pan with a little olive oil. Here’s a link to a post I wrote about my process if you’re interested….https://www.happybeinghealthy.com/frustrations-with-weight-loss-things-that-make-me-happy/
I loved Conference so much too! I’m always so sad when it’s over. 🙁
What a great idea to freeze all of that zucchini!!! Sounds like you had a great weekend hanging out with friends from the past – always fun to reconnect.
I love having zucchini in the freezer so I can make a batch of zucchini bread whenever a craving hits, lol. We did have a wonderful weekend as well!
Thanks for posting the inspiring message links from your conference. I will check them out. I love messages to uplift and motivate. Zucchini bread is one of my favorite treats. My sister’s mother-in-law makes a delicious zucchini bread too.
I hope you enjoy those talks from Conference. I’m going to go back and re-listen/re-read a bunch of them too! I love zucchini bread so much as well and I’m happy this recipe is a little bit healthier.
That zucchini bread looks great.
Thanks! We’ve really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to make another batch.
I don’t see the tired eyes, in fact I think you look lovely in all these photos!!! I also think this bread looks lovely, and I want it in my mouth.
Thanks so much Britt! I’m so dang tired, but also so grateful and happy as well. 😉
It’s that time of year when we have produce coming out our ears. It’s a blessing and a little bit of a curse if you don’t have the time to deal with it. I feel guilty when I let any go to waste. I started freezing fruit this year. My sister in-law had this great idea to make apple pie filling and freeze it, which I think I’ll do this weekend.
Last night we had gazpacho, babaganoush and a kale coleslaw with dinner – all with veggies from our CSA, and tomato plants from my husband’s crop. I always feel like a rock star when I can serve three veggie dishes with one meal. I just wish it looked like I made a dent in the pile of produce on my counter!
Ooo, freezing apple pie filling sounds awesome and dangerous! Your dinner sounds phenomenal and with so many fresh veggies! I love it!