Muffins in the morning

In college, I was sometimes known as "muffin a meal" girl.  My friends would tease me because I would justify muffins as a meal.  In all fairness, these muffins had to be decent in size and full of hearty ingredients like nuts, fruit, and bran.  They were so delicious and filling, why not make them a meal?

Right?

Well, those days are back!  Last week Mr. PT and I took a break from cereal and yogurt and enjoyed these muffins made hearty with whole grain flour, buckwheat, carrots, walnuts, apples, and raisins.  I tweaked this recipe from the King Arthur's Flour website.  They were so good I made another batch yesterday!  I replaced the oil with applesauce this time and the muffins actually came out fluffier!

You will need:

1/2 cup raisins or another dried fruit
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large tart apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup buckwheat or wheat germ
3 large eggs
2/3 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange or cranberry juice

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a small bowl, soak the raisins in hot water and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir in the carrots, apple, nuts, and buckwheat/wheat germ.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and fruit juice. Add to the flour mixture and stir until evenly moistened. Drain the raisins and stir them in.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter.

 

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling. 

I know the ingredient list looks lengthy, but you probably have most items in your cupboards.  These are so yummy! You can eat them plain, or smear on some light butter or jam.  As you can see, I used my jumbo muffin pan to make some seriously sized muffins.  You will have no choice but to call it a meal.

Enjoy!

Combine with working out.  Just do it. Now.  GO!

What is your favorite healthy meal-on-the-go?