This Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread is healthy with plenty of zucchini, whole grains, and coconut oil instead of butter. It’s decadently moist and utterly satisfying for breakfast or dessert. This Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread tastes amazing, yet is secretly healthy with coconut oil instead of butter. In This Article Video: Watch Us Make This recipeWhy This Recipe Stands OutKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions and VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow to Prep AheadCommonly Asked QuestionsChocolate Chip Zucchini Bread RecipeMore to Bake and Eat View more Video: Watch Us Make This recipe Why This Recipe Stands Out We love a good quick bread recipe, especially one with a hidden veggie inside! Here’s why this recipe stands out: Supremely Moist and Tender: The combination of zucchini and coconut oil in this bread ensures that it stays incredibly moist, just like our incredibly popular Pumpkin Bread. Incredibly Tasty: This bread tastes like a treat and we love that it’s packed with squash without tasting like squash. Deep Chocolate Flavor: With chocolatey, delicious goodness in every bite, this bread is a dream come true for chocolate lovers, like our Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. Healthy Ingredients: We love that it’s packed with zucchini and uses coconut oil instead of butter, making it a healthier option. Simple and Easy: This is a simple, quick bread recipe that anyone can master. It’s one of our favorite zucchini recipes! Key Recipe Ingredients Zucchini – The star of our recipe, shredded fresh zucchini adds moisture and veggie goodness to the bread. Make sure not to drain the zucchini, as the natural juices help keep the bread moist. Coconut Oil – We use pure coconut oil for its healthy fats and subtle tropical aroma. Make sure to measure it as a liquid for the right consistency in the bread. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – This is what gives our bread its rich, chocolatey flavor. Make sure to use natural, unsweetened cocoa powder for the best results. Instant Coffee Granules – A hint of coffee enhances the chocolate flavor without making the bread actually taste like coffee. Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – These mini chips add bursts of chocolate throughout the bread and also melt into the batter for pockets of chocolatey goodness. Substitutions and Variations Here are our favorite substitutions and variations: Flour: White whole wheat flour provides the nutrition of whole grains with a milder, softer texture. You may use regular whole wheat instead if you prefer. You may also forgo the whole wheat and use 100% all-purpose flour. Nuts: Feel free to add chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans for an extra crunch, as we do in our Apple Zucchini Carrot Muffins. Spices: Try adding a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or a pinch of nutmeg for a warm, cozy flavor. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix melted coconut oil with brown sugar, and whisk in honey, eggs, and orange extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, cocoa powder, salt, leavenings, and coffee granules. Gently fold the flour mixture into the coconut oil mixture. Stir in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Once done, cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How to Prep Ahead Take a look at our favorite prep ahead tips and strategies: Shred the Zucchini: You can shred the zucchini a day or two in advance. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Dry Ingredients: Combine both kinds of flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and instant coffee granules ahead of time and store in an airtight container. Bake and Freeze: This bread freezes well, so you can also make it completely ahead of time. Just let it cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature. This Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread is super moist and tender due to the plentiful shredded zucchini. Commonly Asked Questions Can I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini chips? Yes, you can use regular-sized chocolate chips if you don’t mind them not melting completely. However, mini chips melt best into the bread. Can I use a different type of oil instead of coconut oil? Yes, you can. While the recipe calls for coconut oil, you can also use other oils like olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil as a substitute. Why do I need to add instant coffee granules? Adding instant coffee granules enhances the chocolate flavor in the bread. It doesn’t make the bread taste like coffee, but it does make the chocolate flavor richer and more intense. You can use decaf granules, too. How long does chocolate chip zucchini bread keep? This zucchini bread can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want to store it for a longer period, you can refrigerate it for up to a week. Be sure to wrap it tightly to retain its moisture. Can I freeze this bread? You can freeze baked/cooled bread airtight for up to 2 months. Print Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread This Chocolate Zucchini Coconut Oil Bread is made healthy with plenty of zucchini and coconut oil instead of butter. It’s decadent, moist, and utterly satisfying for breakfast or dessert. Course Breakfast, DessertCuisine AmericanDiet VegetarianMethod baking Prep Time 20 minutes minutesCook Time 1 hour hourTotal Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes Servings 8 Calories 364kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients2 cups shredded fresh zucchini about 2 small zucchini softly packed, undrained½ cup pure coconut oil + 2 TB more, measured as liquid¾ cup brown sugar tightly packed2 TB pure honey2 large eggs1 tsp orange extract1 cup all purpose flour⅔ cup white whole wheat flour*⅓ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder½ tsp table salt½ tsp baking powder½ tsp baking soda½ tsp instant coffee granules decaf is fine1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips mini chips melt into the bread best, but you can use regular sized chocolate chips if you don’t mind them not melting completely. InstructionsPreheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan, placed on top of a baking sheet (for ease of transport.) Set aside.In a large bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil with brown sugar and whisk to combine well. Add honey, eggs, and orange extract and whisk to combine.In a separate bowl, whisk together both kinds of flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and instant coffee granules until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold flour mixture into the coconut oil mixture just until combined. Do not over-mix; it will remain a thick consistency. Gently stir in the shredded zucchini with all its liquid. Stir in chocolate chips. Again, stir just to combine and don't over-mix.Use rubber spatula to scrape batter into the greased loaf pan evenly. Bake 1 hour, or just until a toothpick inserted into the center come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool on wire rack completely before removing from pan. Video Notes White whole wheat flour provides the nutrition of whole grains with a milder, softer texture. You may use regular whole wheat instead, if you prefer. You may also forgo the whole wheat and use 100% all purpose flour.  *If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡ NutritionCalories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 5.9g | Fat: 17.6g | Saturated Fat: 13.2g | Cholesterol: 46.5mg | Sodium: 249.2mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 26.8g More to Bake and Eat Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes – These Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes are super moist, fluffy, and richly chocolatey. Chocolate Zucchini Cake – Indulgently rich, this chocolate zucchini cake is surprisingly healthy too! It has the perfect balance of moisture and rich chocolate flavors that satiate your sweet tooth. Moist Lemon Zucchini Bread – The perfect balance of whole, nutritious ingredients create the ultimate lemon zucchini bread. Enjoy it any time of day. One-Bowl Zucchini Carrot Bread – get your veggies and enjoy it, too! This super moist bread is teeming with all the good stuff, and tastes amazing. The post Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread appeared first on Chew Out Loud.

Turns out defending women’s sports is a no-go if you want a long career at ESPN. Samantha Ponder, host of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” has been fired, according to The Athletic. Supposedly Ponder, who was reportedly in a three-year, $3 million-plus contract, was axed “for financial reasons, as ESPN nears the conclusion of its fiscal year at the end of September,” the sports publication owned by The New York Times reported. Yeah, right. Just this January, ESPN put out a glowing press release about how “Sunday NFL Countdown” was thriving. The show “earned its most-watched regular season since 2019 and its second-best since 2016 … . The viewership marks a significant 8% jump from the 2022 season and was up 15% from the 2021 season,” the sports network boasted, noting additionally that “Sunday NFL Countdown” had increased its audience among women and young adults. Maybe the spike in viewers for the 2023 season was because Ponder was expressing popular views. Ponder made waves in May of 2023 when she retweeted former collegiate swimming champion Riley Gaines, who competed against Lia Thomas, a biological male, and has since become an outspoken advocate of banning men from women’s sports. I barely said anything publicly abt this issue & I’ve had so many ppl msg me, stop me in the street to say thank you+ tell me stories abt girls who are afraid to speak up for fear of lost employment/being called hateful. It is not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls https://t.co/teNoMDWNW4— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) May 25, 2023 “It is not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls,” Ponder wrote on X. When a user accused of her being a “transphobe,” Ponder responded, “call me whatever names you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is inherently unfair for biological males to compete in female sports. It’s literally the reason they were separate in the first place + the reason we needed Title IX[.]” But that wasn’t the end of the controversy. USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour warned, “Don’t be fooled by the people who screech about ‘fairness’ to cloak their bigotry toward transgender girls and women … . This is, and always was, about hate, fear, and ignorance.” It’s likely Ponder also received backlash from ESPN honchos for her posts. Her former colleague, Sage Steele, told Gaines her own social media posts about Thomas earned her a scolding. “I was asked to stop tweeting about it. I was asked to stop doing anything, saying anything about it on social media because I was offending others at the company,” Steele said in December, according to the New York Post. Meanwhile, it’s not like ESPN was banning all talk about transgender participation in women’s sports. In March of 2023, the network honored Lia Thomas during a special on … Women’s History Month. But it’s Ponder, Steele, and Gaines—not ESPN or Nancy Armour—who are expressing the view held by most Americans. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 69% of Americans believe that athletes should only be able to play “on teams that match birth gender.” In January, a poll by NORC at the University of Chicago found that 66% of Americans thought transgender girls should never or rarely be allowed to play on girls’ teams. More recently, Ponder praised Italian boxer Angela Carini, who forfeited her Paris Olympics boxing match on Aug. 1 against Algerian Imane Khelif, who seems likely to have XY chromosomes, not XX chromosomes. “Proud of this woman,” wrote Ponder of Carini. (Khelif, meanwhile, went on to win the gold medal for women’s boxing in Paris.) Earlier this year, Ponder also defended Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who came under fire from the Left for advocating, in a commencement speech at a Catholic college, traditional values and suggesting women would find fulfillment as wives and mothers. pic.twitter.com/ETbhk8OBsZ— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) May 17, 2024 In an Instagram story, Ponder decried a petition to fire Butker as “unamerican.” “Personally, I agreed with a few things he said … especially that most women are more excited/proud of their families than their day jobs,” she wrote, although Ponder also noted some areas she disagreed with Butker on. If the bosses at ESPN were wise, they’d realize that Ponder’s views are the same as those of many of their audience members. Firing Ponder, who has been with the network since 2011, sends a clear message that genuinely feminist sports fans aren’t welcome. Sure, the network might point to football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who recently shared his own views about transgender athletes. Responding to the question “Do men belong in women’s sports?” Herbstreit wrote, “Of course not.” Of course not. Ridiculous question https://t.co/SpwZ07zewv— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) August 6, 2024 But while Herbstreit hasn’t been fired (yet), he’s also a man. Ponder, as ESPN executives probably realize all too well, is more compelling on this issue. “Ponder had emerged as the only female voice inside Disney since Sage Steele’s departure to speak out against ‘trans women’ (as in men) competing in women’s sports,” writes OutKick’s Bobby Burack. So, Ponder had to go. If ESPN was about making money, it’s unlikely the popular Ponder would be fired. But like too many companies these days, ESPN seems to be about forcing its values on all Americans, not making money. No doubt, Ponder will land at another outlet. But Americans shouldn’t forget that ESPN has effectively sided with the men who want to be in women’s locker rooms and stealing records and wins from hardworking female athletes, not the women who just want a fair shot to compete. The post Coincidence? ESPN Fires Anchor Known for Defending Women’s Sports appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Remember when Democrats cared about America's reputation? It seems like only yesterday that they were apoplectic any time a Republican president mispronounced the word "nuclear" or sent mean tweets because it embarrassed them. Each transgression led to them wringing their hands and rending their garments as they endured the utter...