Getting Quinn to eat vegetables is an Olympic-sized
challenge. If it were an Olympic event, these Zucchini Bites I found on Pinterest would win the gold
medal. Q’s a huge fan of muffins, so I called it a zucchini muffin and handed
it to him. He scarfed down two of them! (Shhh, don’t tell him they’re healthy!)
My recipe below differs a little from the one on Pinterest.
I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but I made some modifications the
second time around and based on my family’s tastes. I added grated baby carrots
and a little basil and oregano. I also decided
not to use any pepper since I think I added too much the first time. Maybe next
time, I’ll just add a small pinch.
I like this recipe because there’s room for creativity. Feel
free to add other veggies or spices your family enjoys. The original recipe also offers some alternatives to eggs,
gluten and other ingredients. Feel free to experiment with the seasonings,
cheeses and veggies you use. Have fun!
Here’s the recipe for my favorite version of the zucchini
bites so far.
Toddler-approved zucchini bites
Ingredients:
Two regular-sized zucchini
Four peeled and washed baby carrots
(Note:
when grated and combined, all vegetables should fill about ¼ cup.)
¼ cup breadcrumbs (I like the Italian seasoned ones. If you’re
avoiding gluten in your diet, try quiona.)
¼ grated cheese (I like a mixture of sharp cheddar and
parmesan)
¼ cup minced onion
1 egg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp basil
½ oregano
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
Peel and grate the zucchinis onto a dish towel. Spread the
shavings out into a thin layer across the middle of the dish towel and roll it
up. Twist the towel and wring out all the moisture over the sink. Make sure you
wring it out really well otherwise your zucchini bites will be spongy in the
middle. I use a rubber spatula to scrape the zucchini shavings off the towel into
a mixing bowl.
Grate the baby carrots onto a dish towel and wring them out the same way, again getting out as much moisture as you can.
Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Spoon the mixture into a mini-muffin tin. This recipe only
makes twelve bites, so fill every other space in the tin if yours has
twenty-four spaces. (If you want to fill your whole tin, double the recipe.
However, the zucchini bites don’t reheat that well. They tasted okay on Day 2,
but they were much better right out of the oven. So maybe only making twelve at
one time is a good thing.)
Bake them at 400°
for 15-18 minutes.
Let the zucchini bites cool before removing them from the
tin with a small spoon.
I store them in an air-tight container on the counter, not
the fridge, and eat them within twenty-four hours. They taste good at room
temperature or you can zap them in the microwave for five to eight seconds. Maybe
melt a dab of butter on them… Mmmmm….
This recipe met all of
my criteria, and it’s super easy to make. My husband doesn’t seem to be
a big fan of these, but my toddler loves them. So Quinn and I will eat them
with dinner and for an afternoon snack the next day.
If you make adjustments to the recipe that you like, please
share and let me know. Quinn gets bored with food quickly, so I’m always
looking for ways to keep it interesting.
Enjoy!
