Morning Glory Muffins

I seem to be accumulating quite the collection of healthy breakfast muffin recipes.  I've got banana date bran muffins, zucchini oat bran muffins, chunky apple muffins, and the amazing (but poorly titled) breakfast muffin.

They're all nutritious AND delicious, which is a good thing.  But for some reason instead of making one of them this morning, I went and tried a new recipe.  To be perfectly honest, this has many of the same ingredients as all the above recipes and doesn't taste a whole lot different (which is to say, they taste very very good).

In my opinion, a good breakfast muffin contains a little bit of sweetener (so as to not be overly sweet like cake, this is breakfast after all!), a bunch of whole grains if possible (bran, flax, whole wheat flour, etc), and as many other nutrition-packed add-ins you can find (like fruits, vegetables, and nuts).

In the right combination, those components will result in a muffin that gives you energy, makes you say "yummmmm," and pairs perfectly with hot coffee or tea.  This is one of those recipes.  Go wild substituting as many other healthy things as you can (I certainly did!).

Whole Wheat Morning Glory Muffins, adapted from Whole Foods Market
makes 18 muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 apple, cored and diced finely (or substitute crushed or diced pineapple)
2 medium carrots, shredded finely
1/2 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit
1/2 cup nuts (I used pistachios)
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Mix all ingredients together (first dry ingredients, then add wet, then fold in fruit/veg/nuts).  Spoon into lightly greased muffin tins, sprinkle with more coconut.  Bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted in center.  My oven runs hot so you may need to bake a bit longer.

ONE YEAR AGO:  Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles
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THREE YEARS AGO:  Cold Press Coffee