The other day during a Q+A on instagram, a sweet mama wrote to me and asked for tips on going back to work. She was feeling all the mom guilt (as we all d0) and was asking for suggestions. Not that I am any expert at ALL in this area, but I have learned something that I believe is very important for both kids and mama. I feel that this simple value can get cloudy in a world of everything looking rosie on social media.
Simple is best. Repeat after me, SIMPLE.IS.BEST.
Kids don’t care how pretty the craft is. They don’t care if the pizza is from a box or homemade or where they spend their afternoon. Because your kids just want to be WITH you. So when you’re with them, make the moments count and take the outside pressure off. Let me explain a little more. For instance, my kids love going to Trader Joe’s with me, baking in the kitchen, playing in the driveway, piling on the couch for a movie, playing house in the backyard, skateboarding in the park. Brian & Grace just LOVE it when I’m with them! We’ve taken them to all the zoos, NYC, museums, etc. but they like being with us wherever we are. So, if you’re feeling like going back to work you’re going to miss out on so much, remember this:
A. you’re not because the best moments that they will have are with you, regardless of what you’re doing or where you are.
B. quality over quantity
C. they’ll be SUPER adaptable from being away from you for those hours!!
YOU GOT THIS!
Okay that was really long. Let’s get into one of our FAVORITE activities – BAKING!
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE
Now this Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe is super simple to make and tastes like THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE you’ve ever had. You will totally forget it has veggies in it. I am always trying to look for ways to sneak veggies into our diet as the kids can be VERY picky. My mother-in-law always brings us zucchini bread when she comes to visit so I thought I would dabble in it since zucchini is at its summer peak right now. Grace and I made this chocolate zucchini cake the other night and we all LOVED it!
This chocolate zucchini bread would be great to bring to a backyard party (even with a little vanilla ice cream on top!) or serve at your next brunch.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pureed zucchini (from about 3-4 zucchini)
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, NOT Dutch processed)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 eggs
- 3/4 cup salted butter (softened)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coffee
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
How To Make
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
- Next, grease a 9-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray
- Now, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Then, in a large bowl add the eggs, butter, coffee, vanilla extract, and sugar. Stir until smooth.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t over mix.
- Once that is done, you can stir in the zucchini until just combined.
- Now the best part, stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes
- Let the bread rest in the pan until mostly cool and then gently remove it with a spatula and place on a cooling rack.
- Dig in and enjoy, and then put the remainder on a pretty dish to enjoy all week long!
And now I would love to know if any of you try this chocolate zucchini bread recipe. Please share using #purejoyeats so we can all see how yours came out! You can see all the recipe’s I’ve shared here, including Brian and Grace’s favorite smoothie recipe. Another healthy choice and easy to make for breakfast or a hearty snack.
