Meal in a Muffin

Looking for a muffin that will actually fill you up? I was when I stumbled across this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks - The Girl Can't Cook by Cinda Chavich. This muffin is dense, heavy and packed full of energy and nutrients that will power you through all the way to lunch! They have great flavour and lots of texture. This muffin is low in fat, high in fiber and definitely stands up to being tossed in your bag when you're rushing out the door to work.

I know the photos don't look all that appealing, but do try this recipe - it is worth it. And my favorite part about this recipe is that it is low in sugar and instead of adding oil, you add fat free plain yogurt - a hit of calcium and no added fat! What more can you ask for? Other than a skinny latte to go with of course!

Meal in a Muffin

Recipe from The Girl Can't Cook - p.92

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped dates, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or slivered almonds
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2/3 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup grated apple

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, dates, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and pecans or almonds.
3. In another bowl, whis the eggs, egg white, yogurt and vanilla together until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just barely combines. Fold in grated carrots and apple.
4. Grease a muffin tin or line it with paper cups. Spoon batter into cups - they should be about 3/4 full. Bake 40-45 minutes, until tops are firm and skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. Makes about 18 muffins.

One tip for you - if you buy whole dates, they can be difficult to chop - they're so sticky! Use your kitchen shears to chop them into manageable bits. :) This is such a great recipe to make on Sunday evening - the muffins will last you for breakfast all week if you keep them in the freezer. Just pop a couple out of the freezer into a baggie in the morning on your way out the door. By the time you're ready to eat your breakfast at the office, they'll be thawed out for you to enjoy.

Happy Baking my Friends!!