Zucchini Muffins - a healthy option

I am a huge fan of zucchini bread, however, the average recipe contains plenty of oil and sugar which didn't quite go along with my attempts at eating better, so I went in search of a healthier version. I gave this recipe a try this weekend and am thrilled with results. These muffins are wrapped in two sitting the in the freezer waiting to be thawed each day this week for breakfast on the go!

Source: adapted from Jenn and Food, Perfect Together

Yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/2 tsps baking soda

1 1/4 tsps nutmeg

2 1/2 tsps cinnamon

2 eggs (you can use 4 egg whites but I didn't have enough eggs for that)

1 1/8 cups sugar (or splenda if you like)

1 cup non fat plain yogurt

1/2 cup unweetened apple sauce

2 cups grated zucchini (I used two small to medium zucchinis and it was probably a little more than 2 cups)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Combine dry ingredients

3) In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, yogurt and apple sauce

4) Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until just combined (add more applesauce or yogurt if it won't all come together, but expect a thick batter)

5) Fold in the grated zucchini

6) Grease or line 24 muffin cups and fill 3/4 if the way full

7) Bake until knife into the center comes out clean - around 15-20 minutes (depends on your oven)

Enjoy!

Banana-Oat Muffins - The Perfect Portable Breakfast

I found this recipe while searching for a way to use up some about to die bananas. While I was a little concerned they would be heavy given the oats and whole wheat flour, the turned out really moist. I wrapped pairs of muffins in plastic wrap in a ziploc and froze them. I then defrosted a set overnight and microwaved them for 30 seconds at work the next day. Combined with a piece of fruit and yogurt it was a great breakfast that kept me full until a late lunch.




Source: Slightly adapted from Health Magazine recipe on myrecipes.com

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup fat-free milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup regular oats
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mash bananas and mix with canola oil, egg, milk and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined (the recipe say to combine in a separate bowl and then combine, but I just mixed them all in the same bowl just making sure the baking powder was well mixed). Spray muffin tin with Pam and fill with 1/3 cup batter (will be filled to top). Bake until pick comes out of center clean (around 16+ minutes).

The original recipe says this makes 9 muffins but with the extra banana I added it stretched to 12 muffins.

ENJOY!