Muffins should not be cake + Protein Muffin Recipe

There’s something magical about a Sunday noon brunch with a few girlfriends. I wanted everything to be special, thoughtful and healthy so bought flowers, set out some candles, and even used place mats! I break out the place mats as often as I try out for the Olympics, so this was very special indeed! You see, I have a friend who isn’t feeling so well and has been struggling with health issues for several years. She needed some girl-time with her closest buds to love, encourage and lift her spirits. So, brunch with crab and avocado omelettes, and yes, they were as sumptuous as they sound. So, will be sharing one of my favorite healthy protein muffin recipe with you. But first, let’s take a look at a cake-like option so you have a comparison.

Enter offending muffin.

I quickly picked up some flax seed muffins my local grocery store. With store-bought baked goods, it is usually a carrier for stealthily disguised extra sugar and fat, but with the flax seed, orange and cranberries I knew they would not necessarily be uber healthy, but a nice addition to the menu. Upon further scrutiny they had 52 grams of sugar, very high fat and over 400 calories. That’s more sugar than a Snickers candy bar….EEEK!

A muffin should be a muffin…should be a muffin, and not be cake posing as a muffin. Being a muffin is more than just it’s shape; it implies healthy ingredients. Who’s with me on this?

Here’s an example of a poser, the Costco Banana-Walnut muffin and here are their exact words to describe the nutritional benefits:

Costco’s banana nut muffins contain just 50 fewer calories than the chocolate muffins, with a total of 640, but are significantly lower in fat, with 32 g of total fat and 4 g of saturated fat. The banana nut muffins are significantly lower than the chocolate muffins in sugar, with 32 g per muffin. However, this amount — which contributes 128 calories — is more than the daily suggested intake of added sugars for women, and 85 percent of the daily suggested intake of added sugar for men.

Double EEEK!!

This experience made me, and hopefully will help you honor my recipe the respect it deserves for being nutritious and without added sugars. Give it a gold medal for balance, technical difficulty and overall deliciousness!

TONI’S Banana-Walnut Protein Muffin Recipe

From the book BITE ME! Change Your Life One Bite at a Time

Two muffins make a perfectly balanced grab and go meal or snack!

Makes 12 Muffins

Each muffin 165 calories, 9 grams of protein, 29 carbohydrates and only 2 grams of fat.

PERCENT CALORIES FROM PROTEIN 20% | CARB 68% | FAT 27%

Ingredients:

Combine in a large bowl:

1 c Whole Wheat Flour

1 c Oat Flour (simply put rolled oats in a blender)

2/3 c Vanilla Protein Powder

1/2 t Salt

1/2 t Baking Soda

1 t Baking Powder

Combine separately:

2 Egg Whites

5 T Honey or 5 Stevia Packets

1/2 c Nonfat Milk or Almond Milk

1 T Zest of an Orange, coarsely grated

½ c Unsweetened Applesauce

2 T Bacardi Limon Rum, Limón cello or 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/4 c Chopped Walnuts or Almonds

Add Last:  1 ¾ c Ripe Bananas, mashed (about 3 large)

Use If You Care parchment muffin cups for easy clean up. These muffins do not have added oils so will stick to traditional paper cups.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a mixer, combine dry ingredients and set aside. Next, combine wet ingredients and add to the dry, except the banana, just until incorporated, then fold in the banana and stir by hand so the chunks of fruit are retained. It creates a moist and better textured muffin.

After you garnish each muffin with 3 small pieces of chopped walnuts, then bake at 350 for 12-18 minutes. Remove from oven when slightly under cooked as it will continue to bake after removed. These can get try so check your first batch carefully.

Please share this recipe with your friends who enjoy muffins that don’t pretend to be cake!

From my heart to yours,