*Healthy* Farmer's Market Muffins

The last time I tried to make healthy muffins, SJ took them to work and then a few hours later sent me a muffin recipe from the fun food blog Cookie & Kate with a note saying, "try these next time.".

Their recipe, for a straightforward, traditional muffin, sounded amazing. And, it made me realize that my recent muffin creations were over-superfooded, under-sugared, and just plain weird. They weren't really muffins at all and certainly wouldn't sell out at the local coffee shop. 

So I decided to revisit this classic Athlete Food recipe for bakery quality muffins. Instead of making substitutions to add protein or cut out sugar, I just added more garden fresh vegetables that I picked up at a farmer's market in New Jersey on the way home from the Philly Triathlon (think patty pan squash and even turnips!!).  The result? Let's just say they disappeared quicker than Laurel can swim a 200 meter freestyle. Win!

-Bec

---

Garden Muffins

Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins or 24 mini muffins

Fresh Vegetables, about 1 pound total (I used 1 patty pan squash, 1 medium zucchini, 1 medium carrot, and 2 small harukei turnips - yes, turnips!!!)

1 ½ cups Cup4Cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 cup whole grain gluten-free pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup golden flax seed meal 

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

3/4 cup olive oil

Grate the vegetables using the shredding blade on a food processor. (You’ll have 3 ¼ to 3 ½ cups.) Set a colander in the sink and, grabbing fistfuls of the shreds, squeeze out as much water as possible. Be thorough but not compulsive. (If you skip this step, the muffins will be larger and take a few more minutes to bake.)

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Using a spray or a little olive oil, lightly grease the muffin tins. Grease the spaces around the cups, too, so the muffin tops don’t stick to the pan.

Sift together the flours, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flax meal and whisk to combine.

In a second large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar until thick and a little bit frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the grated vegetables. 

Pour half of the dry ingredients into the batter and stir, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until just combined. It’s essential not to over mix the batter. You should still see flour. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, stir 10 times, then add the chocolate, and stir, scraping the sides, until just combined (a few streaks of flour are okay). Add the oils and stir until just barely incorporated. It’s okay to leave some small puddles of oil unincorporated. The batter will look greasy. 

Use a tablespoon or ¼ cup measure to fill each muffin cup with batter. Wipe off any drips. 

Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into a muffin in the center of the pan comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes (20 to 25 minutes for mini muffins).

Set pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Slide a pairing knife or small offset spatula down the side of each cup to lever out the muffins. Cool completely before storing. 

Shelf Life: The muffins will keep for two days at room temperature in an airtight container, or three months in the freezer.