The Sweetness of Summer (Squash)

By Kelli Swensen, Dietetics Student, Sargent College

This week’s box in pictures:

As much as I love zucchini and summer squash, it can get tricky knowing what to do with so much of it. Once you’ve added it to stir fry, pasta, and sandwiches, or stuffed it, what do you do with that little bit left over? Make zucchini bread, or rather summer squash bread. While it may be obvious to some of you, I never realized that zucchini is also a type of summer squash. So the yellow vs green doesn’t mean much taste wise meaning you can use both of them in your bread! And if you were wondering, the nutrition content of the two is very similar as well! After finding this recipe, I wasn’t satisfied with just sharing it, I needed to make it myself. This bread is a perfect breakfast snack bread, not too sweet and fairly hearty thanks to the whole wheat. Speaking of whole wheat flour, I was tempted to use half whole wheat and half all-purpose in fear the bread would turn out too dry, but I’m so glad I didn’t! The applesauce plus the oil make this bread perfectly moist.

Summer Quick Bread
Adapted from PreventionRD

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups summer squash, shredded (about 2 medium)
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

What to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray two ( 8” X 4”) loaf pans with cooking spray
2. Mix first 6 ingredients until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except the walnuts (save 2 Tbsp of sugar for later!). Fold in walnuts.
3. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar over top of each loaf. Bake 50-60 min until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on wire racks and let cool for about 10 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves with 8 servings/loaf

Nutrition (Per Slice, 1/8th loaf):
Calories 228
Fat 10.4g
Cholesterol 35mg
Sodium 242
Total Carbohydrate 30.5g
Fiber 2.8g
Protein 1.9g