Skip the sugar… make these Skinny Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Related to my blog post yesterday… I was in the mood for a sweet treat. I looked at what I had in my kitchen, and staring at me were perfectly ripe (…maybe almost toooo ripe) bananas. Meanwhile, I had a few zucchinis out that I was planning to use for dinner. My sweet tooth took over and I decided to make these fabulous Skinny Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins adapted from this recipe.

More than just satisfying my sweet tooth-- these yummy muffins are portion controlled and can freeze well. When you make them… make sure not to eat them all at one time. Leave out a few (they always taste better fresh…) and put the rest away in an air-tight container. (Out of sight) In my case… I gave them to my husband to bring to his office as his mid-afternoon snack (instead of the cookies and cakes normally found in his office pantry).

In my excitement of eating these muffins, I did not photograph them. Imagine that these are what they looked like! Seriously… they were pretty close ;)

Sugars: exposed

Sugar is confusing-- there are so many types and so much marketing for those types. It is naturally found in fruits, dairy, and some vegetables/grains-- which are part of a healthy diet-- but it often gets a bad rap!! 

Types of sugar

The controversy stems from the fact that the majority of the intake in the American diet is not from these natural sugars but from “added sugars.”  These are sugars that are added to foods during processing, preparation, or upon consumption to sweeten the flavor of food and drink. They may be also added to foods to help with preservation, texture, body, and appearance. There are many kinds of added sugars, including white sugar, brown sugar, corn sugar, honey, syrup, and current studies indicate that these typically make up about 15-20% of a person’s total caloric intake! Because of this high intake, recent government guidelines, as well as those from the American Diabetic Association  (ADA), the American Heart Association (AHA), and numerous other agencies, have called to reduce intake of added sugars.

The average American consumes 78 pounds of added sugars per year.

These days, there are many kinds of sugars, and it is important to know the difference between them-- especially because the nutrient label does not distinguish between added sugar and natural sugar (read more: Marion Nestle's Food Politics blog post). 

Here is a simple breakdown of common sugars: