No added sugar, no added fat, all whole grain, loaded with vegetables these muffins are great meal side dish or snack.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: nut-free
Servings: 9
Calories: 90kcal
Equipment
box grater or food processor
muffin tin
Ingredients
½cupapplesauceor one 4 ounce individual serving
4ounceszucchini, shredded
4 ouncessweet potato, carrots, beets, eggplant or a combination *
2 tablespoonsground flax seeds
4tablespoonswater
¼cupplain Greek yogurt
1cupwhole wheat flour **
1 teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
1teaspooncinnamon
½teaspoonground ginger
¼teaspoonground cloves or nutmeg
¼cupdried cherries ***cut in half
Instructions
Shred the vegetables using a box grater or food processor. You should have 2 cups veggies.
Place the shredded vegetables on two paper towels. Wrap the vegetables and let the moisture drain out while you prepare the other ingredients.
Place the flaxmeal in a small bowl. Add water and stir to combine. Stir occasionally until a gel is formed and most of the water is absorbed.
Cut the dried fruit if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices into a small bowl. Mix well.
In a large bowl, place the flax eggs. yogurt and applesauce.
Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients in one batch. Stir well. The batter should be quite thick / stiff.
If the paper towels covering the vegetables are not completely wet, squeeze the shredded vegetables to remove any excess moisture. Add the shredded vegetables to the batter. The batter should loosen up a bit.
Add the dried fruit.
Thoroughly spray the muffin tins.
Use a muffin scoop (¼ cup or 4 ounce size) or ¼ cup measuring cup to place the muffins batter into 9 tins.
Bake the muffins at 350° for 15 minutes.
Rotate the muffins. Bake for 8 more minutes.
Muffins are done when an instant read thermometer reads over 200° when inserted in the middle of a muffin. You can also check doneness with a toothpick or cake tester.
Cool for two minutes in the pan before removing to a rack to finish cooling.
When the muffins are cool, store in the freezer.
Notes
* Use any combination of vegetables. You will have about 2 cups shredded vegetables - this includes the zucchini. We suggest using zucchini for half the vegetables.
The vegetables can be prepared ahead of time. Put in the refrigerator for storage.
** I use white whole wheat flour which has a milder flavor.
*** Dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots would all be good. If the dried fruit is larger like cherries or apricots, cut in half (cherries) or sixths (dried apricots)
**** If you do not have a thermometer to judge the doneness of the muffins, I suggest you bake a trial muffin to see when they will be done. Because these muffins are so moist (& the vegetables release moisture when they bake) the muffins will not come out of the pan, or hold together if they are not done. Bake one as a test muffin. Let it cool and test it to see if it is thoroughly cooked in the middle.