While they may not be the prettiest muffins you’ve ever laid eyes on, they just might be the healthiest. ย These little gems are packed with banana, apple and flax seed goodness. ย For those of you who aren’t nutrition obsessed California dieters, ย flax seed are rich in fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids which helps protect against heart disease and cancer. ย In these muffins, flax seed meal (ground up flax seeds) replace butter and oil. ย How great is that!? No butter, no oil muffins! ย Just healthy fats in a yummy, moist, fruit muffin!
The fruit in this recipe help to keep the muffins deliciously moist. ย I used grated apples and mashed bananas, although the recipe calls for carrots instead of bananas. ย Really, use any reasonable fruit of veggie you like: zucchini, apple, carrot, banana, pear, pineapple. ย Go crazy!
And! ย This is also my entry into February’s Weekend Breakfast Blogging Event- created byย Saffron Trail and hosted byย Tasty Palettes. ย This month featuresย Healthy Eats,ย and what could be healthier than fresh fruit and flax seed muffins? Serious Yum.
Gnarley Muffins
adapted from Bob’s Red Mill
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup flax seed meal (if you live near a Trader Joe’s, you can get flaxseed meal and oat bran there!)
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
2 apples peeled and shredded
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. ย Using a wooden spoon, mix together flour, flax seed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. ย Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts.
3. ย Combine milk, eggs and vanilla. ย Pour liquid all at once into the dry/fruit mixture. ย Stir until ingredients are moistened. ย Do not overmix.
4. ย Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. ย Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. ย Yields 15 medium sized muffins.
Healthy trans fat free muffins. Your heart say ‘Thanks!’
45 Responses
These are GREAT muffins. My husband loves them, my kids love them (except for the picky tween) and I don’t feel guilty about serving them at all. Having a great time coming up with new flavor combinations!!
i’ve only made this recipe once, but it was a big hit with the whole family. even the toddler! one question: there’s a strong baking soda/baking powder taste still present. yes, i love these muffins so much that even the powdery taste doesn’t stop me from devouring them. have you ever had that happen? did i do something wrong?
You know Belisa, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I can totally see what you mean about the baking soda/powder taste. I think you might be able to get away with taking the baking soda down to 1 tsp instead of 2. Give that a try!
Thanks for saying hello!
will do – and i’ll let you know the results!
btw, i also just made your zucchini and sweet potato bread for a family brunch this weekend and it was another huge hit with everyone. the toddler was actually obsessed with it and i think i’m going to have to make another loaf soon – she keeps asking for it!
I just made these last night. I wasn’t too thrilled with them when they came out of the oven (tasted kind of boring) but I decided to let them “mature” overnight and they tasted much better this morning! I used grated pineapple, carrots, and an apple. (I left the peel on the apple, I never peel apples in baking.) I also didn’t feel like food processoring my rolled oats into oat bran, so I just used rolled oats and liked them in there.
I also added some cardamom, ginger, and cloves to up the spice factor a bit! (I want to replicate the spices from Ina Garten’s Carrot Cake which I love but is not the healthiest thing.) Yummy! My muffins sunk a bit after they came out of the oven. I am thinking that is because of the pineapple juice added when the pineapple was grated or the volume of baking soda/powder. (It seemed a bit high for me.)
But I love that these are healthy and taste yummy. Will definitely be making again. Thanks Joy!
I made these at midnight last night. I followed the recipe posted with the carrots instead of the bananas. The only substitute I made was almond milk in place of cows milk. I also generously sprinkled sugar on top before baking. I also added the optional raisins and walnuts. They are really good!!! Moist, hearty and a little sweet. I calculated the nutrionals and if you make 12 muffins they are each about 350 calories and 10 grams of goooood fat.
just made a batch of these as a snack for my 20 month old and myself. we both gobbled ours in record time. yay for healthy treats!! thanks a mil for such a tasty recipe!
I am following the paleo diet. Do you know how much almond or coconut flour I should use in this recipe?