Every once in a while a sweet treat and/or a food I haven’t eaten for a while (like zucchini bread) makes me more mindful of the process of eating. 
How do you eat healthy without feeling like you’re depriving yourself of some of your favorite foods? A recent article in Shape Magazine, October 2015 entitled Eating Extremes caught my attention. The article discusses what I like to refer to as the all or nothing approach to food: ‘one day you’re eating clean and green, the next you’re digging into pork belly and cream cheese.’ I like these 3 tips from Shape to find a happy medium.
1. Excite your taste buds every week. Do you get bored by eating the same safe foods day in and day out? Are there some foods you won’t eat because they’re just too darn tasty and you don’t trust yourself to stop eating? If so, occcasionally include small bites of these foods along with your regular meals. For me, occasionally including something different (like a slice of this zucchini bread) along with my salad at lunch, hits the spot and makes me more mindful of the process of eating. You will find you eat much less when you’re satisfied.
2. Lose the good versus bad mentality. All food can fit into a healthy lifestyle. Stop villifying food. Learn the principles of mindful eating (which include not judging) to honor both the pleasure of taste and your health!
3. Tell yourself you can always have more. Serve a small portion of an indulgent food like zucchini bread (it’s basically cake, right?). Then remind yourself you can have more tomorrow. Trust yourself with food; you are in control. A slice of this bread along with a cup of coffee in the late afternoon is a pleasure of mine. When I make zucchini bread, I make 2 loaves and freeze what I don’t want to eat right away.
Zucchini Bread with Pepitas
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium)
- 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups 100% white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons canola oil
- 6 tablespoons low fat Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin kernels)
- cooking spray
- equipment : 2 8x 4 inch loaf pans
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray pans with cooking spray.
2. Trim stem and root end of zucchini. Using a box grater, grate zucchini. You should have about 3 cups.
3. Place the grated zucchini in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheese cloth and squeeze to press out as much liquid as possible.
4. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract .
6. Add grated zucchini to dry ingredients. Pour liquids over the top. Gently stir and fold just until no more flour is visable.
7. Pour batter into pans and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage: Store bread in an air-tight container for several days. To freeze, wrap tighly in foil for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or warm in oven for 20 minutes.
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