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!)

Sweet and healthy back to school breakfast >> Zucchini Bread with Sunflower Butter Glaze | @TspCurry

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

Author: by Serena Ball, RD
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

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

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice; mix welll with a fork.
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.
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.
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?