Almond Flour Zucchini Bread for warm Fall bellies!

Good morning all! It seems as though Fall is slowly creeping into South Texas this month and I for one could not be happier! The Fall season has always been my favorite. It's not so much about one specific event (some people love Halloween, some love the start of football season...) but more of a feeling I get. There's a specific smell in the air, a fresh crispness that only Fall has, that always reminds me of home. It's all very nostalgic. ;)

Another thing that Fall invokes for me is a desire to bake. I'm not sure if it's the fact that turning on the oven no longer creates an unbearable heat wave in the house, or the fact that the smell of baked goods just seems suitable for the season. In any case, I love it and I'm excited to share my first Fall baking recipe with you!

This one I found through one of the many Paleo/cooking/healthy eating sites that I follow, and for the life of me I cannot find the original post or the site it came from. I will happily credit the creator if I can ever figure out who that was, promise!

I love this recipe for so many reasons: It's easy, it's grain free, gluten free, lactose free, and sugar free. And best of all, it tastes AH-MAZING so you'll never know the difference, especially when they're warm and slathered with a pat of butter.

Sorry this is not the best photo, but it's hard to get good pics when you're stuffing your face with this goodness. You can make these into loaves, but you know how much I love to use my muffin tin, so of course I made muffins. These little pre-portioned snacks are just so nice and portable too.

Ingredients (makes 2 mini loaves or 12 muffins)

1-1/2 cup blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup honey
1 ripe banana
1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Place the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, then beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until frothy and fully combined. Add the zucchini and beat again just enough to incorporate.
Slowly add the dry ingredients with the mixer running, until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated.
Spoon the batter into 2 mini loaf pans. You can also use this batter to make muffins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

*A note about almond flour: They are all different, and each one will turn out a different color and texture of bread. If you're going for a lighter, slightly fluffier bread I would stick to something super fine and blanched like this from Digestive Wellness. If you're not so picky, you can totally use something like Bob's Redmill Almond Meal/Flour which you can find at some grocery stores, and pretty much any health food store.

Next time, I think I'll substitute pumpkin for the zucchini. While I loved the zucchini, my hubby was able to spot the "vegetables in my muffins," so the kiddos might too. Plus, who doesn't love pumpkin in Fall baking??

Have a great week!!

XOXO