Packed with the goodness of honey, zucchini, sunflower seeds, eggs, and whole wheat flour – and topped with a drippy sunflower butter glaze. This bread is a satisfying snack or a healthy way to start the day.

Do you know which state your food comes from?

The kids and I just finished driving the 1,300 miles from Montana where my parents live – to St. Louis area where we lived. All along the way, we were rewarded with seeing where lots of our food is grown: In Montana, we saw golden wheat that goes into our whole grain bread. There were fields of yellow-blooming canola – for canola oil – in South Dakota. We saw lots of beef cattle in Wyoming. But I think our favorite was driving past the bright yellow and green fields of sunflowers in South Dakota. I told the kids:

Look! That’s where those sunflower seeds came from that you like at snacktime.

They thought that was pretty cool. (However, truthfully, there was no jumping up and down – as they’d been sitting in the car for four long hours!)

Sunflowers growing in my garden!

When we got home – just for fun – I asked my 11-year-old if she could find the exact town where our package of sunflowers was produced: Clark, South Dakota.

And… I asked if she could find the sunflower seeds’ town of origin on a real paper map – you know the kind that unfolds.

My mom had given her the map to follow along as we drove cross-country. (I thought she’d lose interest; but she didn’t!) She actually followed along on the map as we drove from Billings, Montana to St. Louis.

Then she found Clark, South Dakota on the map – where our bag of sunflower seeds was grown. And she did think that was cool.

We decided to make something out of the sunflower seeds we’d seen growing – along with all the zucchini my dad packed into our car as we left Montana. Quick and delicious for back to school breakfasts: Sunflower Seed Zucchini Bread with Sunflower Butter Glaze via @TspCurry Click To Tweet

Here’s how I made this Sunflower Seed Zucchini Bread with Sunflower Butter Glaze a bit healthier than the typical oil- and sugar- laden zucchini bread:

• Whole wheat flour – To replace some of the all-purpose flour. I like the regular brown stuff for nutty taste.
• LOTS of zucchini – Most recipes contain only about 1 1/2 cups per loaf. This has 2 full cups.
• Sunflower seeds – Rich in vitamin E, magnesium, vitamin B-6 and folate, with trace amounts of iron.
• Less sugar and less oil – I cut the typical amount of sugar in HALF and the amount of oil by even more.

Sunflower Seed Zucchini Bread with Sunflower Butter Glaze

Packed with the goodness of honey, zucchini, sunflower seeds, eggs, and whole wheat flour – and topped with a drippy sunflower butter glaze. This bread is a satisfying snack or a healthy way to start the day.

• Author: by Serena Ball, RD
• Yield: 2 loaves 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (or more cinnamon)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 cups shredded zucchini (16 ounces)
• 1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds, divided
• 1/4 cup sunflower butter

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice; mix welll with a fork.
2. In another large bowl, combine eggs, oil and vanilla; stir in sugar and honey until well mixed. Add zucchini; stir until well combined. Add flour mixture; stir just until combined. Remove 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds and set aside; stir remaining sunflower seeds into batter.
3. Divide batter evenly between 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray and lined on the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. To make glaze, stir reserved sunflower seeds into sunflower butter and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm sunflower butter in microwave for about 15 seconds on medium power – or until runny enough to drizzle over bread. Drizzle glaze over bread.

How do you like to use sunflower seeds? Did you see how any food was grown/produced on your summer vacation?